Validation of Fluorine free Fire Suppression Alternatives (FF_FSA) Against Military Specifications
Abstract
Thirteen 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 passed biodegradability and corrosion-related specifications, but all failed the spreading coefficient specification. Several PFFs also failed the viscosity specifications. All PFFs failed fire-extinguishment time specification, and most failed the burnback time specifications, but CAF delivery significantly improved both for all PFFs. On average, the extinguishment time was reduced by more than 25 , but still fell short of the specification. The CAF testing at medium-field (315-ft^2) scale and large-field (6,504-ft^2) scale showed that the extinguishment time was not significantly different than at Mil-Spec (28-ft^2) scale. The positive results from the demonstration of UHP technology at 6,504-ft^2 scale confirmed the potential of UHP. Both CAF and UHP technologies help to significantly reduce the foam use and associated wastewater volume, and thus the operating costs for extinguishing Type B fires.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 30, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1219153
Entities
People
- Andrew Mcmeans
- Bridgett Ashley
- Heather R. Luckarift
- Jeffery Eichler
- Julie Bryant
- Melissa Roshon
- Parren Burnette
- Satya Chauhan
- Steven Wells
- Sydney Corkran
- William Kavanaugh
Organizations
- Battelle Memorial Institute
- Naval Surface Warfare Center
- United States Army Corps of Engineers