Feature 1 | SAFETY
Jet-fire testing is an essential part of the ISO22899 certification process.
Importantly, wet / dry cycling tests are used by this standard.
These
are recognised as having a greater correlation to exterior
natural
weathering than ‘continuous’ tests such as Hot Salt Spray exposure (ISO 7253; ASTM B117). Common sense dictates that in-service weather conditions will vary, and thus ‘continuous’ accelerated tests have little relevance. Jet-fires are caused by the ignition
of a stream of pressurised gas and can be very damaging to surrounding steelwork. In the past, choosing an epoxy PFP for jet-fire protection has been complex. A number of old standards were used and there was no definitive protocol on how to make assessments of materials for this fire scenario. As a result, the classification societies were unable to offer Type Approvals for PFP for jet-fires. The introduction and adoption of
the new international jet-fire standard ISO22899 has been a significant
development.
For the first time there
is a formalised industry standard that outlines the key assessments required to more accurately determine the suitability of an epoxy PFP for jet-fire protection,
as recognised by the
classification societies Bureau Veritas, Lloyd’s Register, Det Norske Veritas
and ABS – and, subsequently, granting all class societies a robust and reliable standard on which to base their Type Approvals. SBI
[ NACE (2011) Paper No. 11037 “A review
of the Robustness of Epoxy Passive Fire Protection to Offshore Environments”
Turning to Novec 1230 for safe spraying
Manufacturer M3 pledges to offer money back if substance falls foul of future environmental legislation.
U proofed’
S fire-fighting solutions developer Sea-Fire has launched what it describes as a ‘future- fire extinguisher solution for
its customers, which utilises 3M’s Novec 1230 fire protection fluid, vaunted as a safe alternative substance to CO2
and halon, as
a fire suppressant. 3M claims that Novec 1230 has been designed specifically to elude future phase-outs, and the company is offering a money-back guarantee should the substance fall foul of environmental regulations, particularly those concerning ozone depletion potential or global warming potential (GWP), further down the line. Ernie Ellis, Sea-Fire
forefront as a major environmental concern. In the 1990s, Sea-Fire addressed ozone depletion with FM-200 [see Ship & Boat International November / December 2011, Safety, page 46]. Novec 1230 also has zero ozone depletion potential, but a GWP of just one. Compared to halon’s atmospheric life span of 300 years, Novec 1230’s is only five days.” Novec 1230 has been designed to
president,
comments: “GWP has moved to the 20
suppress fires as quickly as possible, before they get the chance to spread, by attacking fire at a molecular level and depleting the blaze of heat until it reaches a point where it is extinguished. 3M claims that whereas inert gas or CO2 fire-fighting agents typically take up to 120-150 seconds to completely
extinguish fires, the Novec 1230 solution can achieve this result in approximately 10-40 seconds. The substance can counteract combustible material, electrical and flammable liquid fires, and has been formulated to cause no long-term damage to computers, radars and other items of onboard electrical equipment. So far, this range of extinguishers has
been approved by Det Norske Veritas, ABS, RINa and the US Coast Guard, among others. Sea-Fire is currently supplying Novec 1230 as an application for use in areas sized between 11m3 to 690m3
, as well as a tailor-made
application for larger onboard spaces, increasing to 7929m3
. SBI Ship & Boat International January/February 2012
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