Articulated Nozzle for Aircraft Fire Protection

ABSTRACT: Fires in dry bays and engine nacelles of military aircraft present a significant hazard to aircraft survivability. The USAF is interested in reducing weight and improving performance of systems to protect these spaces. ADA Technologies, Inc. has 10 years experience developing advanced fire suppression technologies, and proposes a solution that aims a plume of clean agent directly at fires. This transition from a flooding approach to local application of extinguishing agent will result in a smaller system that extinguishes fires more quickly. We will build and evaluate proof-of-concept designs for a local application fire suppression system that employs an aimable nozzle to apply to an evolving fire a plume of CO2 and water stored as a microemulsion. ADA has demonstrated that this microemulsion is very effective as a fire-inhibiting agent that can be discharged in less than 100 milliseconds. In Phase I we will use commercial components to construct a novel system to steer the nozzle toward the target fire. We will conduct fire tests of the system in a simulated confined space. In Phase II we will integrate the new hardware with state-of-the art detectors and controllers, followed by fire testing to demonstrate fast and effective fire suppression performance. BENEFIT: A local application fire suppression system for confined spaces would have wide appeal in the aerospace field for the protection of military aircraft. Applications would also include service in commercial aircraft as a fire protection system in engine nacelles as well as cargo compartments. A commercial variant would find markets for the protection of engine compartments of transport vehicles such as trucks, buses, and trains. Light armored military vehicles are another potential market for this technology, where both crew compartments and engines could be protected. Engineered for cost reduction, the market for automobile protection could also be addressed. ADA has identified candidate commercial partners who build and sell aerospace fire suppression equipment to help us take this technology to market as development advances through Phases I and II of the SBIR process.