WJH FAA Technical Center

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WJH FAA Technical Center John W. Reinhardt Fire
Safety Section, AAR-422 Atlantic City Intl
Airport, New Jersey 08405
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• BULK LOAD TESTS
• Halon 1301
• HFC-125
• Water Mist
• CONTAINERIZED TESTS
• Halon 1301
• Water Mist
• SURFACE BURN TESTS
• Halon 1301
• Water Mist

DC-10 Aft Section
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• AEROSOL CAN SIMULATION EXPLOSIONS
• Halon 1301
• HFC-125
• BULK LOAD TESTS WITH AEROSOL CANS
• Water Mist
• FIRE TEST ANIMATION VIDEO
• Halon 1301
• HFC-125
• Water Mist

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MPS
TEST ARTICLE The fire tests are to be conducted
inside a simulated below floor cargo compartment
of a wide-body aircraft
Cargo Compartment 2000 ft3
Leak Rate 50 CFM
Instrumented with thermocouples, gas analyzers,
and pressure transducers
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MPS
Bulk Load Fires
Containerized Fires
Flammable Liquid Fires
Aerosol Can Explosion Simulation
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For Bulk Load, Containerized, Flammable Liquid
Tests Only
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MPS
Fire Load 178 card board boxes (30 of Vol.)
containing 2.5 lbs of shredded paper
Ignition nichrome wire wrapped around folded
paper towels
System Activation 1 min. after one of the
ceiling T/C reaches 200 oF
Test Duration Five tests _at_ 30 minutes each
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Fire Load 33 card board boxes inside an LD3. 3
LD3 in Compartment
Ignition nichrome wire wrapped around folded
paper towels
System Activation 1 min. after one of the
ceiling T/C reaches 200 oF
Test Duration Five tests _at_ 30 minutes each
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Fire Load 0.5 U.S. Gallon of Jet A fuel (with
13 oz of gasoline)
Ignition Arc created by two spark plugs
System Activation 1 min. after one of the
ceiling T/C reaches 200 oF
Test Duration 5 minutes
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Fire Load 0.2 lb. Propane, 0.6 lb. of Denatured
Alcohol, 0.2 lb of water
Ignition Arc created by two spark plugs (230 W)
Simulator Activation When the agent, at 2 feet
from the floor, is at the minimum volumetric
design concentration
Test Duration 15 seconds after the activation
of the simulator
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RESULTS
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RESULTS
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RESULTS
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RESULTS
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The fire protection performance of Halon 1301 was
used to define the MPS Acceptance Criteria (by
adding 10)
HFC-125 was not effective in suppressing the MPS
Bulk-Load Scenario at its Minimum Design
Concentration. The Inert Concentration had to be
used to meet MPS Acceptance Criteria. The weight
penalty is equivalent to 4 or 5 times the weight
of Halon 1301.
Water Mist/Nitrogen System was effective in
controlling three out of the four MPS fire test
scenario. Additional testing is required to
determine the optimal control logic sequence in
order to meet the MPS Acceptance Criteria and
preserve water. The weight penalty factor is
2 to 3 times greater than halon.