Use of Ventilation to Control Smoke in Shipboard Firefighting, FY83

Abstract

The control of smoke and heat during shipboard firefighting remains a serious problem. This report describes three (Tasks 1-3) efforts to improve this control capability. In Task 1, we investigated the role of ventilation in manual fire suppression of engine-room fires. A series of model engine-room fire tests (encompassing various ventilation-fuel combinations) was conducted at the Camp Parks, California, test facilities. The objective of these tests was to verify the optimum ventilation conditions for smoke control and smoke removal in engine rooms. The test results support the conclusions of a previous analytical study that recommended operation of the exhaust system to remove smoke and heat in all but the largest Class-B fires. In Task 2, a test plan was developed to demonstrate smoke control and removal for the Collective Protective System (CPS) . A survey of the CPS on the LHA-3 revealed three classes of fire threats pertinent to the zones included in the system. A test plan based on fires simulated with air fans and tracer-gases was developed to measure the effectiveness of the available ventilation options for controlling and removing smoke. This plan is enclosed as Appendix A. Task 3 concerned laundry space fire tests aboard the Coast Guard fire test ship, the Albert E. Watts. Under this task, we provided planning assistance in formulating a series of smoke control and removal tests. Our efforts included recommendations for instrumentation and predictions of fire behavior for various fuel-ventilation combinations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1984
Accession Number
ADA160537

Entities

People

  • Raymond S. Alger
  • Walter H. Johnson

Organizations

  • SRI International

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Flow
  • Air Supplies
  • Air Temperature
  • Burning Rate
  • Combustion Products
  • Detectors
  • Fire Fighting
  • Fuel Consumption
  • Instrumentation
  • Jet Engine Fuels
  • Load Cells
  • Measurement
  • Observation
  • Smoke Generators
  • Test Equipment
  • Test Facilities
  • Trace Gases

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Fire Suppression Systems Design.
  • Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Space