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DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE, NON-HALOGEN FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM
Citation:
Patterson, R., G. Gobeli, R. Tapscott, AND P. DiNenno. DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE, NON-HALOGEN FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-97/006 (NTIS PB97-147961), 1997.
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
With the phaseout of halon production, two alternative technologies - water misting and low-residue particulates - have come to the fire protection forefront. These technologies use water or dry chemicals in reduced quantities to provide acceptable fire protection. A review and assessment of the state-of-the-art for these technologies were conducted. Consequently, water misting was recommended as the most promising near-term technology. An experimental program defined and optimized the operating parameters for a water mist system at laboratory-scale, followed by room scale testing. In the laboratory, a water flux of 0.6 L/min-sq m effectively extinguished Class A and B (heptane) fires. Below this water flux level, the extinguishment times varied significantly, while water fluxes above this level did not decrease extinguishment times in comparison to the amount of water used. Room-scale experiments demonstrated that scale-up from the laboratory is straightforeward and can minimize the requirements for room-scale tests. A cost comparison of water mist systems with respect to the equivalent halon system indicates that water mist is competitive in many applications. Water misting fire suppression system design and costs are estimated at $90-$150/ cu m across a range of technologies. Halon systems now average $125/cu m in many applications.