Validation of Fluorine-free AFFF against Military Specification Performance Criteria
Abstract
Twelve PFAS-free foams (PFFs) were tested against MIL-PRF-24385F specification for Class B fire suppressants. Two engineering solutions, namely compressed air foam (CAF) and ultra-high pressure (UHP) foam delivery, were tested to determine the improvement in firefighting performance of PFFs. The PFFs failed the ecotoxicity and biodegradability specification, generally being considered slightly toxic. These products failed some of the corrosion tests and some of the other physical property tests, especially spreading coefficient. All PFFs failed fire-extinguishment time specification, and a few failed the burnback time specifications, but CAF delivery significantly improved both for all PFFs. On average, the extinguishment time was reduced by about 40 , but still fell short of the specification. The CAF testing at medium-field (315-ft^2) scale showed that the extinguishment time was not significantly different than at Mil-Spec (28-ft^2) scale. The UHP technology also has shown considerable promise, but the demonstration of its true potential requires larger field-scale testing. Both CAF and UHP technologies help to significantly reduce the foam use, and thus the operating costs for extinguishing Type B fires.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1217168
Entities
People
- Bridgett Ashley
- Heather R. Luckarift
- Jeff Eichler
- Jeffery R. Owens
- Julie Bryant
- Malena Maraviglia
- Melissa Roshon
- Melody Graves
- Satya Chauhan
Organizations
- Air Force Civil Engineer Center
- Battelle Memorial Institute
- Naval Surface Warfare Center