SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

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	SwRI large-scale fire engineering and research building

Fire detection and suppression analysis activities are carried out in the 4,300-square-foot Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) fire engineering and research facility, which has a 65 x 65-ft footprint and is 65 feet tall—large enough to perform a 10-foot diameter pool fire or a 50-foot-tall corner test.

Features of the Fire Detection, Fire Suppression Facility

• Indoor area for large-scale fires with heat release rates in excess of 25 megawatts

• Pollution abatement system for reducing particulate emissions that can exhaust up to 120,000 standard cubic feet per minute of fire effluents during testing and remove particulate emissions above 1.5 microns with greater than 99 percent efficiency

• Twelve symmetrically placed louvers allow air to be drawn into the building without producing asymmetrical air currents

• An elevated control room for enhanced test monitoring and an adjustable-height ceiling for simulating various-sized structures

• Perimeter floor drain and a 40,000-gallon holding tank for liquid effluents

• Fire suppression system equipped with a 1,500 gallon per minute fire pump, supplied by a 30,000-gallon water storage tank

• A 1,500-gallon foam agent storage container and associated equipment to allow the induction of fire suppression agents during tests

• Remote viewing access for clients

• Tests documented with digital video and additional options include high-speed, thermal imaging and ultraviolet imaging

• A secure web site for clients to observe testing from any computer with Internet access

	Suppression of a Class B fire is attempted
	Sprinkler effectiveness is tested on a flammable liquid storage array

Standard Fire Suppression Testing

SwRI conducts a variety of standard fire suppression tests, including, but not limited to:

• FM 2000—Approval Standard for Automatic Sprinklers for Fire Protection

• FM 2008—Approval Standard for Suppression Mode [Early Suppression - Fast Response (ESFR)] Automatic Sprinklers

• FM 4995—Approval Standard for Commodity Classification of Idle Plastic Pallets

• FM 4996—Approval Standard for Classification of Idle Plastic Pallets as Equivalent to Wood Pallets

• IMO MSC Circ. 848—Revised Guidelines for the approval of Equivalent Fixed Gas Fire-Extinguishing Systems, as referred to in SOLAS 74, for Machinery Spaces and Cargo Pump-Rooms

• IMO MSC Circ. 913—Guidelines for the Approval of Fixed Water-Based Local Application Fire-Fighting Systems for Use in Category A Machinery Spaces

• MIL-F-24385F—Fire Extinguishing Agent, Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) Liquid Concentrate for Fresh and Sea Water

• NFPA 10—Standard for Portable Fire Extinguishers

• NFPA 11—Standard for Low-, Medium-, and High-Expansion Foam

• NFPA 18—Standard on Wetting Agents

• UL 162—Foam Equipment and Liquid Concentrates

• UL 199—Automatic Sprinklers for Fire-Protection Service

• UL 711—Rating and Fire Testing of Fire Extinguishers

• UL 1767—Early-Suppression Fast-Response Sprinklers

• UL 2335—Fire Tests of Storage Pallets

Nonstandard Fire Detection, Fire Suppression Testing

SwRI conducts nonstandard tests to evaluate fire protection schemes for storage of commodities. These types of tests can be used to develop recommendations to regulatory bodies as to the minimum acceptable protection guidelines for various applications.
 

View SwRI Fire Technology Department's Dynamics of Fire streaming video (Approx. 17 minutes. Requires Windows Media® Player 6.4+ for PC or 7.01+ for Macintosh)

For more information about fire detection and fire suppression capabilities at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please call (210) 522-2311 or e-mail fire-info@swri.org.

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Southwest Research Institute^® (SwRI^®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 12 technical divisions.

October 26, 2009