Fire Test Summary #020/MS/JUN05

Page 1 of 3

HI-FOG MT4 systems for total compartment protection of machinery

spaces and cargo pump rooms up to and inc. 3300 m3 net volume
HI-FOG

Product SPU/SPUD

31 Aug 2005

Fire test summary HI-FOG MT4 systems for total compartment protection of machinery spaces and cargo pump
rooms up to and including 3300 m3 net volume.
Test standard

IMO MSC/Circ. 1165 Revised guidelines for the approval of equivalent water-based fireextinguishing systems for machinery spaces and cargo pump-rooms

Summary

In total, 24 machinery space fire extinguishing tests and four thermal management tests were
conducted according to nine different fire scenarios in enclosures corresponding to 2200 m3
and 3300 m3 engine rooms. The fire scenarios included both exposed and obstructed spray
fires, cascade fires, pool fires and class A fires and their combinations. All the fires were
extinguished within the acceptable time of 15 min and temperatures were controlled as required.

Conclusions

The HI-FOG MT4 fire protection system with the principal installation criteria below was shown
to be applicable as an alternative fixed fire extinguishing system as required by Regulation II-2/
10 of the SOLAS convention in machinery spaces of Category A and cargo pump rooms up to
and including 3300 m3 net volume.
Max installation height (m)
Spray head type
3
4S 1MB 6MB 1000
5
4S 1MC 8MB 1000
11
5S 1MC 8MC 1000
Pressure
Location
Projection
Max spacing
Distance from bulkheads
Min water flux density

K factor (lpm/bar1/2)
1.4
1.9
3.9

50 bar
Ceiling and intermediate levels
Downward
4m
1.25 4 m
0.1 lpm/m3

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 state of Hi-fog products and system configurations at the time of its publication and may not reflect the product and/or system configurations at all times in the future.

HI-FOG

Fire Test Summary #020/MS/JUN05

Page 2 of 4

1. Introduction
International Maritime Organization (IMO) has provided guidelines for alternative arrangements for halon fire
extinguishing systems, which were banned on board ships after October 1 1994. The fire test procedures described
MSC/Circ.1165 are intended for evaluating the effectiveness of water-based total flooding fireextinguishing systems
as alternative arrangements in machinery spaces of Category A and cargo pump rooms as defined in SOLAS II-2/10.
Twentyfour fire extinguishing tests and four thermal management tests in accordance with MSC/Circ.1165 were
conducted with the HI-FOG MT4 system in two different volumes, i.e. 2200 m3 and 3300 m3.
2. Test arrangement
The test enclosures were constructed in the large test facility of Marioff Corporation Oy at Lohja, Finland. Figures 1
and 2 show schematic views of the two enclosures with ceiling mounted spray head grids. The 3300 m3 squareshaped enclosure had a 18.5 m x 18.5 m flat floor, whereas the floor area of the 2200 m3 enclosure was rectangularshaped with dimensions 12 m x 18.5 m. The maximum height in both cases was 11 m. A 2 m x 2 m opening was
constructed at the middle of one of the end walls.
Test fires were arranged at and on the engine mock-up as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The fuel used was either low flash
point heptane, which resembles regular gasoline except for its lower toxicity, or high flash point light diesel oil. The fire
scenarios above the bilge are summarized in Table I. In each test the fire was first ignited and after a test specific
preburn time of 5 s 2 min the HI-FOG system was manually activated. To pass the tests, the fires must be extinguished
within 15 min after starting the suppression and no reignition may occur. In the thermal management test temperature
control below 100 oC is the acceptance criterion.

Figure 1.
2200 m3 enclosure with test fire on
top of the engine mock-up.

Figure 2.
3300 m3 enclosure with test fire on the
side of the engine mock-up.

Fire Test Summary #020/MS/JUN05

HI-FOG

Page 3 of 4

Table 1. The test scenarios.

Test
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Fire scenario
Low pressure horizontal spray on top of the engine
Low pressure spray on top of the engine aligned 45 upward
striking a metal rod
High pressure horizontal spray fire on top of the engine
Low pressure concealed spray fire plus 0.1 m2 pool fire on the
side of the engine
0.7 x 3 m2 pool fire on top of bilge under the exhaust plate
Flowing fire (0.25 kg/s) from the top of the engine
A wood crib in a 2 m2 pool fire on the side of the engine
Low pressure, low flow spray striking a 350 C steel plate on top
of the engine
Thermal management test concealed tray
2.1 m2 in 2200 m3
3.1 m2 in 3300 m3

Test fuel Heat release

rate (MW)
Diesel oil
~6
Diesel oil
Diesel oil

~6
~2

Diesel oil
Heptane
Heptane
Heptane

~6
> 4.5
~12
> 4.5

Heptane
Heptane

>6
4.4
6.6

3. HI-FOG system
The HI-FOG MT4 system is a deluge water mist system discharging plain water through a homogeneous grid of
spray heads throughout the protected space. All the spray heads may be mounted at the ceiling level, pointing
downward, or alternatively spray heads can be installed at multiple levels, the spacing between adjacent
levels depending on the type of the spray head. The minimum water flux density in each case is 0.1 lpm/m3.
In the tests with ceiling mounted grid only at max 11 m height, the spray heads were of type 5S 1MC 1MC 1000
installed at 4 m spacing and max 4 m distance from walls. The system was operated by electric pumps at a line
pressure of 50 bar. Positioning of the spray heads is shown in Figures 1 and 2. At installation heights of max 3
m and max 5 m the spray head is of type 4S 1MB 6MB 1000 and 4S 1MC 8MB 1000, respectively.
4. Results
All the tests were passed: the fires were extinguished in less than 13 min after starting the suppression and no
re-ignition occurred. In the thermal management tests the temperatures were maintained below 60 oC, i.e. well
below the acceptance level of 100 oC.

NOTE: The tests described form the basis for the relevant type approvals.
A complete description of the tests and their results are given in the
Test Report No. RTE2184/05, VTT Building and Transport, June 2005
Test Report No. RTE2580/05, VTT Building and Transport, July 2005

Marioff Corporation Oy, P.O. Box 86, Virnatie 3, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland,
tel +358 9 870 851, fax +358 9 8708 5399, e-mail info@marioff.fi, www.hi-fog.com