Evaluation of VERDAGENT\uae Against the FAA Minimum Performance Standard for Aircraft Cargo Compartment Halon Replacement Fire Suppression Systems

Suitable alternatives to Halon 1301 are being sought throughout the aviation industry as a result of a worldwide agreement to ban the production and use of Halon 1301 due to the detrimental effects to the atmosphere. Fire extinguishing agents proposed for use in transport category airplane cargo compartments must demonstrate effective firefighting performance against the types of fires likely to occur in airplane cargo compartments. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) developed a minimum performance standard (MPS) evaluation method to compare the efficacy of any proposed agent against the known performance of Halon 1301. In this study the FAA Technical Center (FAATC) Fire Safety Branch evaluated VERDAGENT\uae, a potential fire suppression agent, in the FAATC Full Scale Fire Test Facility. Tests were performed according to procedures outlined in the MPS. VERDAGENT\uae is a blend of two components \u2013 carbon dioxide and 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoroprop-1-ene (i.e., 2-BTP, commonly called Halotron BrX). The MPS was originally designed considering single component agents similar to Halon 1301. Evaluation of a multicomponent agent required supplementary tests to investigate component separation and uniformity of dispersion throughout the cargo compartment. An additional challenge fire test, not within the scope of the MPS, was also performed. This fire load consisted of lithium-ion batteries and a combination of ordinary combustible materials and flammable liquids. VERDAGENT\uae demonstrated successful performance in the MPS. Component separation was not observed, and the agent was found to disperse uniformly in the cargo compartment. The agent also performed effectively against the additional challenge fire test. The results summarize that VERDAGENT\uae met the requirements of the MPS for aircraft cargo compartment Halon replacement fire suppression systems