In the early 2000s, 3MTM released Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid, which has no ozone-depleting potential and a minimal global-warming potential. Prior to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) consideration for approval as a complimentary agent in Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) operations, Novec 1230’s fire-extinguishing capabilities had to be evaluated in full-scale fire tests similar to the ones described in DOT/FAA/AR-95/87. A research team at the William J. Hughes Technical Center evaluated the extinguishing capabilities of Novec 1230 discharged from a flight line extinguisher in simulated wheel brake fire involving hydraulic fluid tests, three-dimensional inclined-plane fire tests, and pan fire tests with 16- and 30-foot (ft) diameters. While these tests were based on those performed in DOT/FAA/AR-95/87, some parameters were changed due to test site restrictions and to enhance repeatability. Novec 1230’s performance on the simulated engine nacelle was previously evaluated in AFCEC-CX-TY-TR-2014-0033, the results of which were accepted for this research effort.

Under this research effort, Halotron® I also was tested on three-dimensional inclined-plane fire tests, 16-ft pan fire tests, and 30-ft pan fire tests. Halotron I’s performance on the simulated engine nacelle fire tests was previously evaluated in NAWCWD TM 8572, the results of which were used as data for this evaluation. Data from these tests were used to compare Novec 1230’s performance with that of Halotron I. While Halon® 1211 is still an FAA-approved clean agent for use at airports, ARFF vehicle manufacturers have not installed Halon 1211 extinguishing systems on their products in over a decade.

Throughout all experimental configurations, Novec 1230 required more agent by both weight and volume than Halotron I. The difference between performance parameters by percentage were consistent between the three experimental configurations with the exception of the simulated engine nacelle conducted by the United States Air Force and Navy. The results of the simulated engine nacelle tests were comparable with the results of the other experimental configurations with the exception of extinguishment time.

DOT/FAA/TC-19/27
Author: Casey, Jeremy