HALON 1301 TEST GAS SIMULANTS

All new and retrofit installations of Halon 1301 total flooding fire protection systems in U.S. Navy shipboard machinery spaces require an acceptance discharge test. The primary reason for this testing is the verification of system design and performance (discharge time, initial concentration, maintenance of concentration, etc.). It is desirable to use a simulant instead of Halon 1301 in these tests in view of its contribution to stratospheric ozone depletion. Sulfur hexafluoride, SF6, was identified as a possible simulant on the basis of its similarity to Halon 1301 in physical and chemical properties. A detailed investigation was performed on the use of SF6 as a simulant, which led to a full scale evaluation on board the USS Chancellorsville (CG-62). This investigation demonstrated that sulfur hexafluoride is an excellent simulant for Halon 1301 in acceptance discharge tests of total flooding fire protection systems. As a direct consequence, the U.S. Navy has begun to use SF6 in their acceptance discharge tests. The transition from testing with Halon 1301 to testing with SF6 was completed by March 1990.