Advanced Technology for Fire Suppression in Aircraft. Final Report of the Next Generation Fire Suppression Technology Program.
Advanced Technology for Fire Suppression in Aircraft.
Final Report of the Next Generation Fire Suppression
Technology Program.
(175 K)
Gann, R. G.
NIST SP 1069; NIST Special Publication 1069; June
2007.
Keywords:
fire suppression; military aircraft; aircraft fires;
explosions; survivability; halon 1301; environmental
effects; aerosols; fire tests; dispersions; fluids;
propellants; verification
Abstract:
Fires and explosions were, and continue to be, among the
greatest threats to the safety of personnel and the
survivability of military aircraft both in peacetime and
during combat operations. Production of halon 1301
(CF3Br), long the fire suppressant of choice, ceased as
of January 1, 1994 due to its high ozone depleting
potential (ODP). By 1997, the U.S. Department of Defense
(DoD) had identified the best available replacement for
halon 1301 in aircraft, HFC-125 (C2H5F), but it requires
two to three times the mass and storage volume and
contributes to global warming. Meanwhile, new aircraft
were in various stages of design, and the international
community was questioning the necessity of maintaining
the large reserves of halon 1301. A new undertaking,
the Next Generation Fire Suppression Technology Program
(NGP), was created to identify, through research, fire
suppression technologies with reduced compromises.
Supported primarily by the DoD Strategic Environmental
Research and Development Program (SERDP) as Project
WP-1059, the NGP goal was to "Develop and demonstrate
technology for economically feasible, environmentally
acceptable and user-safe processes, techniques, and
fluids that meet the operational requirements currently
satisfied by halon 1301 systems in aircraft." The
multiple demands on the new technologies were daunting.
In its decade of systematic research (1997-2006), the
NGP revitalized the field of fire suppression science.
This book tells the story of how the NGP came about,
what research was performed, how it modernized the
thinking in the field, and the technical findings that
emerged related to fire suppression in aircraft. The
enclosed CD compiles the collected publications from the
program.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899