Turbulent Spray Burner for Assessing Halon Alternative Fire Suppressants.
Turbulent Spray Burner for Assessing Halon Alternative
Fire Suppressants.
(670 K)
Grosshandler, W. L.; Lowe, D. L.; Rinkinen, W. J.;
Presser, C.
93-WA/HT-23;
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Winter
Annual Meeting. November 28-December 3, 1993, New
Orleans, LA, 1-8 pp, 1993.
Sponsor:
Air Force, Wright Patterson AFB, OH
Keywords:
halons; halon 1301; in-flight fires; fire protection;
air velocity; injection; nitrogen; pressure; halon
alternatives
Abstract:
A research program to characterize candidate compounds
for replacing halon 1301 for in-flight aircraft fire
protection is described in this paper. The
thermodynamical, fluid mechanical, and flame extinction
properties are examined, and a number of fuels and flame
arrangements are investigated in an attempt to develop a
general test protocol which will reliably predict the
relative fire suppression efficiency of new agents being
considered for a variety of applications. A coaxial
turbulent spray burner was built to evaluate the
relative effectiveness of agents for suppressing high
intensity fuel fires such as one might encounter in a
jet engine nacelle. Fuel is injected along the
centerline of the 50 mm diameter burner, and air
co-flows about the fuel passage at bulk velocities up to
33 m/s, producing an 18 kW flame with an overall
equivalence ratio of 0.17. The flame is stabilized in
the wake formed behind a 35 mm diameter disc surrounding
the fuel nozzle. A key element of the facility is the
agent delivery system, which is designed to inject the
desired amount of material into the air upstream of the
fuel nozzle. The amount of agent is controlled by
varying the storage pressure and the duration of time
(13 to 910 ms) that the solenoid valves remain open.
The influence of air velocity, fuel flow, and injection
period on the amount of a N2 required to extinguish the
turbulent spray flame is discussed, and the
effectiveness of twelve gaseous agents is compared.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899