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Top 15 Technologies
1.
New fire extinguisher material may replace existing Halon systems
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A new fire extinguisher material was developed to replace the internationally banned Halon 1301. While remaining environmentally safe, the new fire extinguisher outperforms Halon 1301 and is less expensive. The discovery was made by a research team under Wright Laboratory's Materials Directorate. The other research team members were Huntington Research and Engineering (HRE), California Institute of Technology, and the University of North Texas.
The research team tested a variety of materials such as solid powders, slurries, liquids, and gases, at HRE's jet engine fire simulator. The testing yielded a new type of fire suppression composition, which could extinguish a 500-kW fire while remaining environmentally safe and economically sound. The material required to extinguish a 500-kW fire would cost only $0.25, occupy less space, and is lighter than Halon systems. The mass of this new fire suppressing composition is about one-thousandth that of Halon 1301.
With its ability to save weight and volume while remaining at a low cost, this new fire extinguishing material may be the alternative to Halon systems that the aircraft industry was seeking. Because Halons were determined to be responsible for depleting up to 23% of the ozone layer over recent years, their production was banned at the beginning of 1994. Since their production ended, Halon prices have continued to escalate. A comparable alternative for Halon systems has not been developed for aircraft. Therefore, a new fire suppressing system would be valuable to the aircraft industry.
This new material could be an effective alternative to Halon systems in aircraft. Further testing will be conducted on this material to determine chemical kinetics, material compatibility, toxicology, agent propulsion, and ease of manufacturing. Other applications of this technology will be explored during the testing process.
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