SBIR-STTR Award

Water mist fire protection systems offer an attractive alternative to halon-proteted shipboard hazards. Well documented performance characteristics, combined with evolving commercial hardware technology, offers the opportunity to develop a retrofit suppression package for Navy ships. This Phase I proposal describes the feasibility study needed to advance this concept to prototype development and ultimate commercialization. Variables to address in the feasibility study include fire extinguishing performance as a function of nozzle design, system pressure flow rate, and actuating mechanism. Shipboard integration requires an architectural assessment of fluid power supplies, agent storage, valving, control systems, and survivability. Benefits There is the potential to commercialize a retrofit water mist fire protection package for application to a number of military/government ship platforms. Keywords water mist, shipboafd fire protection, flammable liquid hazards, halon alternatives, ship recoverability, fluid control

As a follow-on to the DDG 51 Phase I SBIR, PMS 500 and NAVSEA 05P4 are pursuing the goal of replacing all Heptafluoropropane (HFP) gaseous agent systems on future ships with water mist. More specifically, for use in marine gas turbine enclosures and flammable liquid storerooms. The objectives of the Phase II effort will be to address the technical issues associated with the use of water mist in turbine enclosures and flammable liquid storerooms, and to develop and optimize water mist systems for these applications. The preliminary designs developed Hughes Associates, Inc. (HAI) during the Phase I effort and will serve as the starting point for the Phase II program. The proposed approach is outlined as follows: • Identify the performance requirements of the system for the specific application. • Develop a detailed engineering design and design manual for implementing water mist in this application. • Conduct the necessary fire tests to bound, optimize and then validate the performance and capabilities of the prototype system. • Develop a detailed cost/benefit analysis for implementing the new systems. • Develop a detailed "Safety Case" to help establish the appropriate USCG/ABS approvals for commercialization.

Keywords:
Water Mist, Flammable Liquid Protection, Turbine Protection