SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Testing Services

Contact/Request for Proposal Form

Laboratory and full-scale fire performance evaluation supporting automotive, rail, mass transit, marine, and aerospace industries are provided by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). These evaluations include:

• Automotive fuel tanks and systems

• CNG/LPG tanks

• Alternative fuels

• Aboveground fuel storage tanks

• Shipping containers for radioactive and hazardous materials

• Interior components

• U.S. Coast Guard/IMO testing/classification/certification

• Aerospace systems

• Thermal/heat shield for aerospace

• Mass transit

• Trucking

Automotive Fuel Tanks and Systems

For more than 50 years, SwRI has offered engineering and evaluation services in

• Engine and vehicle research

• Automotive component development

• Emissions research

• Fire performance research

• Durability testing

SwRI is equipped to perform accepted and proposed test methodologies developed by

• Department of Transportation (DOT)

• Commission of the European Union

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• California Air Quality Resource Board (CARB)

• Industrial groups such as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and the Society of Plastics Industry (SPI)

Some of these performance tests include:
 

SwRI's automotive and component durability and emissions testing capabilities include a new 4,000-square-foot nonmetallic tank permeation and durability test facility. SwRI's facilities include two full-scale SHEDs for testing vehicle evaporative emissions and two mini-SHEDs for tank and component fugitive emissions that can accommodate multiple micro-SHEDs for precursor tests on material coupons. The total hydrocarbon emissions from these tests can be quantified and speciated by gas chromatography. To test tanks and system components, the durability test facility includes:

• Slosh table

• Pressure/vacuum cycling

• Vibration-shosh

• Environmental exposure

CNG/LPG Tanks

The Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracted SwRI to conduct performance tests on compressed natural gas (CNG) tanks used on commercial vehicles to determine if the minimum requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS-304) are met. The tests involve:

• Ambient temperature/pressure cycling

• Hydrostatic burst test

• Bonfire test

• Marking/labeling requirements

The compliance tests are performed to enhance public safety.

Rail tank cars containing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) use thermal insulation systems for passive fire protection. Title 49 CFR, Chapter 1, Section 179.105-4 requires that the performance of the thermal insulation systems be evaluated under simulated pool fire and simulated torch fire tests, representing a postderailment fire scenario.

Alternative Fuels

Alternative fuels, like methanol, offer many advantages especially in terms of clean emissions; however, new safety issues must be fully understood by distributors and the consumers of alternative fuels. Burn characteristics and safety concerns of alternative fuels are investigated by SwRI to determine hazards and risk associated with the use of alternative fuels during their entire life cycle from production, distribution, and final consumption in vehicles. Experience gained with the use of alternative fuels also provides a strong foundation for studies of fuel cells and other energy producing machines.

Aboveground Fuel Storage Tanks

The EPA published technical requirements for underground storage tanks (USTs) and mandated that, effective December 1998, all USTs had to have secondary containment, corrosion protection, leak detection, and pollution liability insurance.

Through investigations, aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) were found to be an acceptable alternative to USTs. However, the safety concerns associated with the installation of aboveground tanks required the development of regulations and test protocols different from those available for USTs. In addition to provisions dealing with spills and overfills, leaks, corrosion, floods and flotation, and seismic activity, ASTs could potentially be exposed to

• Fires or explosions

• Vandalism

• Ballistic impact

• Heavy vehicular impact

• Environmental situations such as large temperature fluctuations that require special considerations

SwRI responded by developing SwRI Test Procedure 93-01, "Testing Requirements for Protected Aboveground Flammable Liquid/Fuel Storage Tanks." This procedure, published in 1993, includes tests to evaluate the performance of ASTs under fire, hose stream, ballistics, heavy vehicular impact, and different environments. Concurrently with the development of SwRI 93-01, the UFC Appendix Standard 79-7 for Protected Tanks was published. In 1994, the first edition of UL 2085, addressing both protected tanks and fire resistant tanks, was issued. In 1997, UL published the second edition of UL 2085, which only applied to protected tanks, and drafted UL Subject 2080 to address fire-resistant tanks.

In addition to SwRI 93-01, SwRI has published SwRI 95-03 for multihazard tanks and SwRI 99-01, which evaluates a partially filled tank to complete flame engulfment from a hydrocarbon pool fire.

Since 1993, SwRI has tested, listed, and labeled ASTs in accordance with all protocols available in the United States, including, in addition to the ones listed above, UFC 79-7 and UL 142. SwRI has received accreditation to test, list, and label ASTs from

• National Evaluation Services (NES)

• International Conference of Building Officials Evaluation Service, Inc. (ICBO ES)

• Building Officials and Code Administrators International Evaluation Services (BOCA ES)

• Southern Building Code Congress International – Public Safety Testing and Evaluation Services (SBCCI-PST&ES)

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

SwRI is recognized as an independent testing laboratory and listing and labeling agency by the Explosives and Dangerous Goods Division of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) of New Zealand and by PEMEX Refinación of Mexico.

Shipping Containers for Radioactive and Hazardous Materials

SwRI evaluates the thermal response and insulation capacity of containers used for storing and shipping hazardous materials to fire tests. SwRI engineers also subject the containers to extreme temperature cycles, drop and penetration impact, and leakage.

Interior Components

SwRI has extensive capabilities to evaluate the fire performance of materials and components used in the transportation industry to comply with national and international regulatory requirements. In the United States, interior materials of passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses must meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 302. NFPA 130 has specifications for materials used in rail cars based on performance in small-scale tests such as the NBS smoke chamber (ASTM E 662) and the radiant panel test (ASTM E 162). The most recent version of NFPA 130 allows for the use of the Cone Calorimeter (ASTM E 1354) as an alternate method to qualify materials.

U.S. Coast Guard/IMO Testing/Classification/Certification

Southwest Research Institute is an accepted laboratory by the US Coast Guard to perform all tests specified in the Fire Test Procedures Code (or FTP Code) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The FTP Code is also referred to as IMO Resolution MSC.61(67). The FTP Code specifies tests to determine the following fire performance characteristics:

• Noncombustibility of insulation and other components of fire-resistant construction (Part 1 of Annex 1 to the FTP Code)

• Smoke and toxicity of bulkhead, wall, and ceiling finish materials; plastic pipes; and electrical cables (Part 2 of Annex 1 to the FTP Code)

• Fire resistance of decks, bulkheads, doors, ceiling linings, windows, fire dampers, pipe penetrations, and cable transits (Part 3 of Annex 1 to the FTP Code and IMO Resolution A.754)

• Surface flammability of bulkhead, wall, and ceiling finish materials; primary deck coverings, plastic pipes; and electrical cables (Parts 5 and 6 of Annex 1 to the FTP Code)

• Resistance to ignition and propagation of flame of draperies, curtains, upholstered furniture, and bedding components (Parts 7, 8, and 9 of Annex 1 to the FTP Code)

SwRI also has the capabilities to qualify materials as "fire restricting" for use on high-speed craft. The acceptance criteria for fire restricting materials are based on performance when tested according to the ISO 9705 room-corner test (for bulkhead, wall, and ceiling finish materials) or the ISO 5660 Cone Calorimeter (other materials).

The fire resistance of plastic pipes is determined as described in IMO Resolution A.753. There are three levels of fire resistance:

• Level 1 and 2 pipes are qualified by a furnace test similar to that described in Part 3 of Annex 1 to the FTP Code and IMO Resolution A.754, with the pipe fully immersed in the furnace environment.

• Level 3 testing is a less stringent test that exposes the test specimen to a propane burner array.

The US Coast Guard has additional test requirements for plastic pipes used on mobile offshore drilling units for specific applications. These requirements are based on the IMO test procedure for Level 3 pipes with a dry/wet cycle or a jet fire exposure.

Aerospace Systems

Aerospace systems and components face extreme temperature and pressure conditions as a result of flight envelopes or demands placed on the following critical components, which creates extraordinary heating or spark potential.

• Engines

• Fuel feed systems

• Pumps submerged in fuel reservoirs

• Hydraulic systems

• Rotating components under high stress

Typical components that SwRI engineers have evaluated include:

• Rocket motor thermal heat shields

• Fuel wetted components that generate or experience electrostatic charge

• Fabrics and other aerospace materials subjected to fire, explosion, and penetration by projectiles

Thermal/Heat Shield for Aerospace

SwRI developed a full-scale test apparatus capable of simulating the high-intensity exposure environment (radiative, convective, and erosive effects) experienced during the ascent burn of launch vehicles equipped with solid rocket motors and vectorable nozzles.

To evaluate the functionality and performance of flexible heat shield prototype assemblies, SwRI designed, fabricated, and calibrated a test apparatus consisting of a movable premixed gas vapor/oxygen burner apparatus. The apparatus is capable of producing consistent, sustained heat flux levels in excess of 100 Btu/ft²-sec (1200 kW/m²) and temperatures above 3000 °F (1870 °C), simulating the thermal environment flight profile for various heavy and medium payload launch vehicles. Critical burner parameters, such as gas vapor/oxygen pressure and flow rates, total heat flux, temperature, and burner distance record, determine the operational parameters needed to correctly simulate multiple, specific flight profiles.

Validation of the test apparatus is accomplished by performing multiple calibration tests to demonstrate the capability of attaining the required thermal exposure profile with good repeatability. Tests are performed on several flexible heat shield prototype assemblies, and results are input into a statistical database for analysis. An evaluation of the thermal integrity of the tested assemblies is used in the design optimization of advanced heat shield assemblies.

Mass Transit

SwRI serves the transportation industry by evaluating the safety of mass transit vehicles. SwRI conducts fire resistance tests of railcar structural components including passenger floors, walls, and roof assemblies. Testing in this area also includes small-scale material flammability of railcar components as well as the capability to conduct full-scale burn tests on assemblies to gain fire growth and heat release data.

Trucking

SwRI conducts performance tests of external, metal fuel tanks for the trucking industry. These tanks are evaluated under open burn conditions to evaluate their pressure-relieving capabilities under the extreme heating conditions of a fuel spill fire.

For more information about fire technology services and fire performance assessment for the transportation industry at SwRI or how you can contract with SwRI, please call (210) 522-2311 or e-mail fire-info@swri.org.
 

| Fire Technology Department | Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Division | SwRI Home |

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a multidisciplinary, independent, nonprofit, applied engineering and physical sciences research and development organization with 11 technical divisions.

February 07, 2007