Fire Extinguishing Systems
Water mist system [11]
The purpose of this section is to do a review of historical, current, and state-of-the-art fire extinguishing systems which are being used or developed for aircraft. This shall be the main part of the literature review and will be required to answer all the questions proposed in the problem statement. And should as such contain enough information to determine if new systems are fit for purpose, why halons are being banned, and if proposed systems could face difficulties in composite structures. Contents of this section shall be based on findings in research which will seek to answer multiple questions
- What systems have been used historically, has it always been halon, and how effective have these systems been?
- What kinds of halons are used, and how are they used?
- Are there any extinguishing systems currently being used which aren't halon based?
- What are the legal requirements of extinguishing systems on aircraft, is there a legal code stating what's needed?
- Which chemicals will cause damage to an aircraft?
- Do the extinguishing systems have a history of causing problems with smoke control?
- How are extinguishing systems commonly used, short bursts, or long continuous burst, controlled by pilot?
- How long can fire extinguishing systems control a fire, is this long enough?
- What types of systems are being proposed for use, gas, water mist, gas and water mist, other?
- What are the technical details for each of these systems? (this is a large question for the review which cannot easily be split into sections at this stage due to the variations between the systems being developed. Will include details like what type of gases, how dense is the water mist, how is the extinguishing agent spread, etc.)
- Will other parts of the fire strategy affect the extinguishing system, like detection fire resistance and smoke control?
- How have new systems performed in tests, have they been tested?
- What type of fire extinguisher is commonly used, handheld, automatic, how does it vary between location and aircraft type?
- Do extinguishing systems ever fail, if so what happens when they do?