- Author
- Gann, R. G.
- Title
- Next Generation.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
- Fire Risk Management, 52-55, May 2008
- Keywords
- fire suppression | aircraft safety | technology utilization | halon 1301 | halon alterntives | effectiveness | fluid flow | dispersions | fire simulation | storage | plumbing | flame extinguishment | evaluation | fire tests | costs
- Identifiers
- Next Generation Fire Suppression Technology Program (NGP); dispensing from a storage bottle; fluid flow through distribution plumbing; effective fluid dispersion; required agent residence time; chemistry of fire suppression; potential for new suppressants; screening measures; measurements during fire tests; life cycle cost assessment
- Abstract
- Set up in 1997, the United States Department of Defence Next Generation Fire Suppression Program (NGP) was born of necessiry. Up to the 1990s, the use of halon 1301 (CF3Br) had become widespread to protect valuable assets, and the Department had come ro rely heavily on halon 1301 systems for fire protection in its numerous military ground. sea and air systems. However, the growing recognition that fully halogenated compounds containing chlorine or bromine posed a threat to the ozone layer leading to the international Montreal Protocol agreement that effectively banned the production of halon 1301 from January 1994 - led the Department of Defence to explore alternative suppression options, particularly for use in aircraft. Ten years on, and the NGP has revitalised the science and technology of fire suppression. While the research focused on the extreme conditions of in-flight fires in aircrafrt much of the science and undersranding is applicable to a broader range of scenarios well-beyond aircraft. There have been advances in how best to deliver a flame extinguishing chemical to a fire; knowledge of chemical interactions with flames; how to examine/screen large numbers of chemicals as potential fire suppressants; which chemicals and fluid properties make for effective and safe suppression; ways to engineer non-fluid suppression systems for improved effectiveness and efficiency; and how (to evaluate the true cost of a new fire suppression system.