Full-Scale Testing of Water Mist Fire Suppression Systems for Small Machinery Spaces and Spaces with Combustible Boundaries. Volume II

摘要

This report provides an evaluation of the firefighting capabilities of the state-of-the-air water mist fire suppression systems in smaller (approx. 100 cu m) machinery space applications. The primary objective of this investigation was to evaluate the applicability of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) test protocol and design requirements to smaller machinery spaces and to machinery spaces with combustible boundaries. The following water mist systems were included in this evaluation: Chemetron CFs, Fike Micromist, Grinnell AquaMist, Fogtec Fire Protection Systems, and the U.S. Navy's water mist system. The five water mist systems were each capable of extinguishing a majority (at least nine out of fifteen) of the test fires included in this evaluation. Variations in system capabilities were observed primarily during the tests conducted with forced ventilation. Machinery spaces with combustible boundaries were shown not to pose a significant challenge to the water mist systems. The results of these tests suggest that the current IMO design requirements can be reduced for smaller machinery spaces. The amount of reduction needs to be determined on a case-by-case basis. An approach for defining the protection requirements (i.e., duration of protection) for these smaller machinery spaces is also described in this report. The report and Appendix A (Instrumentation and Camera Details) are contained in Volume I. Volume II consists of Appendix B (Test Data) and Appendix C (Combustible Boundary Test Data). Appendices B and C are available in paper copy only from the Research and Development Center.