Water mist as fire protection in hangars
The Norwegian Fire Research Laboratoty finished a major project in the large test hall autumn 2001. The purpose of the project was to find out if water mist could be used to extinguish burning aviation petrol on the floor underneath an aircraft inside a hangar. The project was initiated by the Norwegian Defense who wanted to evaluate water mist extinguishing systems for combat aircrafts and helicopters in aircraft hangars.
140 tests were carried out during the test period. Most tests were performed with a full scale model of a F-16 aircraft made of steel. The test period was terminated with several tests on an old Starfighter (F104).
Two water mist systems were used in the project, one low pressure system and one high pressure system. The water mist systems were tested with nozzles installed in the ceiling and at floor level or just above.
The effect of the extinguishing systems was measured by recording the temperatures inside the aircraft body and underneath the aeroplane wings. The temperature rise on the aircraft body show how well the aircraft manage during a fire.
The tests showed that water mist systems with nozzles mounted in the ceiling did not extinguish all fires underneath the aircraft body and wings, while both low pressure and high pressure systems with nozzels mounted at floor level or just above, extinguished the fire within a short time, and is at least just as good as a traditional foam extinguisher.
