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Industrial Fire Journal - Fire & Rescue - Hemming

Group Ltd: Marine and offshore water mist
solutions
Marine and offshore water mist solutions
Published: 01 October, 2008

Water mist is an old technology, and physics shows the obvious characteristic where small droplets evaporate
faster than large droplets. However, the attempts to use water mist for fire fighting purposes in the 1930s and
the 1950s were not as successful as one might think.

Water mist technology was redeveloped during the late 1980s along two main lines: the need for a Halon
replacement when the Montreal Protocol was agreed upon and the release of Ozone-depletion substances into
the atmosphere were banned: and a little later when the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
introduced regulations with a higher safety level after a severe fire accident in a passenger ship.

One trend saw water mist replacing Halon in process areas because it used similar technology as gas fire
fighting systems, and again the protection of public spaces onboard ships was simply an optimisation of
traditional sprinkler technology.
A twin-fluid technology used to produce oil sprays in combustion systems was further developed in the UK
with the purpose of fire fighting, and later several high and low pressure systems were brought to the market.

The main use of water mist in offshore oil and gas production facilities was in enclosed spaces that had a
limited volume, such as turbine hoods, emergency generator rooms and some rooms with electrical
equipment. No attempts were made to optimise deluge systems in process or drilling areas, using less water
than required by standards.

Where can water mist replace gas fire fighting systems?

The definition of water mist is: “Water spray for which the diameter Dv0,90 measured in a plane 1 m from
the nozzle at its minimum operating pressure is less than 1 mm.” This translates into 90 per cent of the water
having droplets of a diameter less than 1 mm.
Water mist however consists of water droplets of different sizes, dispersed from nozzles or devices, and each
system manufacturer may have different spray characteristics.
Since most water mist sprays have droplets larger than those that will stay airborne over long periods of time,
water mist does not have the same airborne movement characteristics as a gas.

Over time, droplets will settle on surfaces, and hidden spaces may not be reached by water mist. On the other
hand, small water droplets quickly evaporate when they get into contact with flames or hot smoke gases, and
are then transferred into a gas in the form of water vapour (steam).

Water vapour, it must be remembered, is a true gas, and it can penetrate hidden spaces like other gases. And
water vapour has the additional characteristic that it condensates (into small droplets) when cooled to ambient
temperature.

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The difference between water mist and other gaseous fire fighting media is that water needs a certain
temperature to stay as a gas inside the enclosure.
It’s well known that water boils at 100°C and that air can contain only a certain fraction of water vapour at
temperatures below 100°C.

CO2 on the other hand has a boiling point of -78,5 °C, and will stay as a gas at normal ambient temperature.

Some clean gases for fire fighting purposes have a boiling point just above normal ambient temperature, and
the ability to mix with air as a gas, without condensation.
Water however has a large advantage as a fire fighting medium; its cooling ability is among the greatest of
any substance.

In addition, water vapour forms an inert gas concentration of approximately 30 per cent at a temperature of
70 °C. The only disadvantage (from a fire fighting point of view) is that if the atmosphere is cooled down too
quickly to a temperature below 70 °C, the water vapour will re-condense and form droplets instead of gas. At
that point, if all fires in the enclosure haven’t been extinguished, small fires could continue to burn, despite
the water mist that has been applied.

If, however, the fire grows larger, the temperature may rise to a level where water vapour will be present in
an inert concentration, and may then be extinguished. This feature of water mist is called the “paradox of
water mist”. Figure 1 explains the conflict between cooling and inerting.

Total flooding systems vs local application

Some spaces in offshore facilities are ideal for the replacement of gas systems with water mist. Water mist
has an extinguishing effect at average room temperatures well above ambient, which means that water vapour
can exist at concentrations high enough to make the atmosphere inert. In these cases, total flooding
applications are used.

Water mist can replace gas fire suppression systems in enclosures up to a certain size and will effectively
suppress and extinguish large fires in these enclosures. The extinguishing mechanism is similar to gas
systems, it is water vapour that makes the atmosphere inert.

Examples of where total flooding is used are turbine hoods (gas or diesel-fuelled turbines powering
generators for electricity).

Turbine enclosures are normally quite air-tight constructions, with internal heat sources (the turbine itself)
and controlled ventilation.

Water mist can be applied for a short period and may extinguish fires caused by fuel or lubrication oil
leakage. The running turbine is vulnerable and even if a fire is detected inside the turbine hood, the turbine
will be running for quite a long time even after fuel shut-off. In case of lubrication oil leakage, it is necessary
to keep the oil pressure to avoid damage to the rotating parts. Too rapid cooling of the shelf of the turbine
must also be avoided, due to the risk of contractions leading to rotor crash.

In summary, a gentle application of water is required, and tests have shown that it is possible to fight fires
without damage to the turbine itself.

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Sequenced water mist applications are used, as well as just one shot of water followed by shut-down of
ventilation and closure of all openings. Water mist is frequently used in offshore turbine hoods, with a
number of success stories.

Similar to the turbine hoods, emergency generator rooms, pump rooms and other generator rooms are
frequently protected by water mist. In some of these applications, the equipment is not so critical with regard
to long lasting water mist application, and more water can be used. Cooling of the environment can be
obtained by continuous application of water mist.

In total flooding applications, not only are ceiling mounted nozzles used, but in many cases nozzles are
located where a fire is most likely to start. When a water mist system is being designed or installed, the
following are taken into consideration:

• spaces beneath a turbine, where there may be liquid pool fires

• insulation materials soaked with oil or spray fires
• areas where oil strikes hot surfaces

Local application

In open spaces or in large compartments, local application of water mist has to be designed into the system.

Water mist nozzles are placed in a pattern covering the high-risk areas of spill of combustibles and where the
risk of ignition is high. In large compartments, the water mist coverage may be split into zones, triggered by a
detection system. The purpose of a local application water mist system is to control the fire and reduce the
damage potential of the fire, not necessarily to extinguish the fires. In case of leakage of oil or gas, shutdown
of supply - combined with safe disposal of the inventory of pipelines and tanks - will limit the duration of the
fire.

Local application water mist systems should also be designed with special regard to wind or ventilation
conditions, and zones may be compartmentalised with shields and guides. This is to ensure that water mist is
not blown away from a protected zone by air movement.

Application in rooms with electrical equipment

Some water mist manufacturers deliver special systems for rooms with electrical equipment. Two important
questions are often raised:

• How do the electrical components react to water application?

• Will water mist penetrate into the narrow spaces where fire may originate?

Fire in electrical equipment normally occurs when equipment fails, either by over-heating or by electrical arc.

The combustibles are often insulation materials in cables or electronic cabinets. In both cases of failure, the
equipment itself is already damaged, and the purpose of fire fighting is limiting the fire spread and reducing
secondary damage.

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Clean water itself is an insulating substance, and it is safe to apply water mist into electrical equipment with
moderate voltage. In some cases, the water will be polluted, either by particles from the smoke or from the
interior of the cabinets, and short-circuit of neighbouring equipment may occur. Normally, the fuse will then
break the circuit and shut off the power.

Question number two, the penetration ability of water mist, is important. It is normally not possible to protect
cabinets with electrical equipment with room-mounted nozzles only. Dedicated cabinet protection or
sub-floor and cable duct protection with nozzles producing as small droplets as possible is needed.

In case of over-heating when a current break is not installed, the excellent cooling effect of water is highly
favourable in electrical equipment.

Future development and challenges

At present, a majority of machinery spaces (less than 3,000 m3) on board passenger ships are protected by
water mist. Public spaces onboard these cruise liners and ferries are also frequently equipped with water mist
sprinkler installations (sprinkler = automatic nozzles opened by thermal impact). The challenge for water
mist manufacturers is to develop systems for larger machinery spaces. At present, all these systems have to be
tested individually in specified fire tests, and the combination of large and small fires in connection with a
well ventilated test enclosure limits the possibility of success.

In the offshore sector, further use of water mist systems in storage and utility areas should be possible. A
further optimisation of water mist (perhaps in connection with large drop sprays adding penetration ability to
the spray) could potentially reduce the amount of water required in process and drilling areas, and this would
thus impact upon the size of fire water systems.

However, this development must be based on sound engineering, including full-scale testing.

One option would be the compartmentalisation of the process area in order to make water mist more
adoptable, together with reduction of explosion over-pressure in smaller compartments.

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