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Fire Test Summary #33/Balc/FEB09

HI-FOG systems for Cabin Balconies

Product SPU/SPUD

21 FEB 2009

Test standard

IMO MSC.1/Circ.1268 Guidelines for the approval of fixed-pressure water-spraying and

water-based fire-extinguishing systems for cabin balconies

Summary

The performance of HI-FOG systems for protection of cabin balconies was evaluated in a total
of four fire tests. Tests were conducted in a mock-up simulating an outdoor balcony under
quiescent conditions as well as with a wind of 5 m/s at the spray head located either at the
ceiling or sidewall.
All acceptance criteria were met in the tests: the fire was prevented from spreading to
adjacent balconies or to the inside cabin as was verified by the undamaged balcony walls and
temperatures at a moderate level.

Without HI-FOG

With HI-FOG
Conclusions

The HI-FOG balcony fire protection systems operated either in a deluge mode or by
individually activating sprinklers, with the principal installation criteria given below, were
shown to sufficiently suppress any conceivable fires on outdoor balconies to prevent the fires
from spreading to adjacent spaces.
HI-FOG spray head

4S 000 8MC 1000

S40

HI-FOG sprinkler

2N 000 8MC 100X

S40 XXC

K factor (lpm/bar )

3.4

2.6

Max distance from bulkheads (m)

1.0

Ceiling

Sidewall

Pendent

Horizontal

Nozzle type
1/2

Spray head / Sprinkler location

Spray head / Sprinkler projection
Min operating pressure (bar)

60

Max ceiling height (m)

2.5

Max distance from balcony partitions (m)

1.5

Max spacing (m)

3.0

Marioff Corporation Oy reserves the right to revise and improve its products and recommended system configurations as it deems necessary without notification. The information contained herein
is intended to describe the status of HI-FOG products and system configuration at the time of its publication and may not reflect the product and/or system configurations at all times in the future.

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1. Introduction
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has provided guidelines for the approval of fixed pressure waterspraying and water-based fire-extinguishing systems for cabin balconies. The acceptance criteria set in IMO
MSC.1/Circ.1268 are based on typical fires expected in such areas with the requirement to prevent fire from
spreading to adjacent cabins and to other balconies.
In total, four free burn and four fire suppression tests for a deluge system were conducted. According to the
guidelines, the results are equally applicable to wet-pipe, individually activating sprinkler systems.

2. Test arrangement
The tests were carried out in a large test hall at Marioff Corporation Oy Fire Test Facility, Lohja, Finland. The length,
width and height of the hall are 26 m x 12 m x 8 m, respectively. For the tests, a balcony mock-up was constructed
with the dimensions of 3.0 m x 2.0 m x 2.5 m (L x W x H) representing typical balcony dimensions on ships. The
walls and ceiling of the mock-up were made of non combustible material covered with steel plates. A wind channel
equipped with a fan was attached to the left side of the mock-up in order to provide wind velocity at the spray head
location as required by the fire test method. A schematic drawing with a clarifying picture is presented in figure 1.

Fan
2.0 m

2.5 m

1m

Wind channel

0.5 m

3m
Chairs

Ignition

2m

Fan

3m
Figure 1. Balcony mock-up.
Fire scenarios
Two fire scenarios are included in the test method: one with no wind i.e. the fan not operating and one with the fan
generating a wind of 5.0 0.2 m/s measured symmetrically around the discharging spray head. The 5 m/s should
not be taken literally as a fixed upper limit for a proper performance in real applications. Higher wind velocities at this
specific test set-up resulted in practically no conceivable suppression solution at all and, hence, the test velocity was
limited to the given value.
Fuel package
The fuel package consists of two simulated chairs, a steel frame table, plywood wall paneling, a wood crib and a
heptane pool. All materials are well-defined and non-fire retardant. The chairs are made of steel frames and four
cushions (dimensions 0.8 m x 0.5 m x 0.1 m) cut from polyether mattress. Prior to ignition 250 ml of heptane is
poured in a 0.1 m2 tray under the table and the wood crib is placed on top of it. Heptane is then ignited with a
propane torch. A photo of the fuel package is presented in figure 2.

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Figure 2. Balcony fuel package just after ignition.

Test procedure
At least two free burn tests are to be run first under both ventilation conditions to define the pre-burn time in the
corresponding suppression tests: The pre-burn period to be applied in the suppression tests is defined as the
average ignition time of the plywood wall panel(s) in the free burn tests minus 30 s. Suppression tests are then run
with the specified pre-burn time. After activation of the suppression system the test is continued for 10 min and any
remaining fires are then to be extinguished manually.
Acceptance criteria
Acceptance criteria are based on the requirement that the fire must be limited close to its origin and in no case may
it spread to the adjacent cabin or balconies. Essentially, the following requirements must be met:
- Plywood wall panels may not ignite
- Temperature at the ceiling level may not exceed 100 oC 30 seconds after the activation of the system in
the scenario without ventilation.

3. HI-FOG systems
The HI-FOG systems used in the tests consisted of one open HI-FOG spray head of type 4S 000 8MC 1000 (ceiling)
or S40 (sidewall) installed in a symmetric manner in the balcony. The spray head was operated at the minimum
pressure of 60 bar supplied by an electric pump unit, and the water was taken from town mains.

4. Results
All tests were passed: the fires were suppressed as required, i.e. the wall panels did not ignite and the temperatures
were kept below the acceptance limits.

NOTE: The tests described form the basis for the relevant type approvals
A complete description of the tests and their results is given in
Test Report no. VTT-S-5246-08, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

Marioff Corporation Oy Virnatie 3 / P.O.Box 86, FI-01301 Vantaa, Finland

Tel. +358 (0)9 870 851 Fax +358 (0)9 8708 5399 www.marioff.com