An Aircraft Hangar June06

8/6/2019 An Aircraft Hangar June06

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Aircraft hangars present special fire protection problems dueto the high value of their contents and the special proceduresand operations carried out inside them.

AircraftHangar

Application Note

Fire Safety


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AIRCRAFT HANGAR

Optical flame detectors are used to protect valuable aircraft from fire. Initially the UV and UV/IRdetectors were used for hangars protection. Since the introduction of the new Triple IR (IR3)technology over three years ago, it has become the requirement of most hangar designers. Thenew technology provides:

1. Superior false alarm immunity.

2. Reduce the number of detectors, as the IR3 will see a 1x1' fire at three times greater distancethan any other detector.

3. Better coverage of larger hangars, above and under the aircraft wings where the potentialthreat of fire exists.

The SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Optical Flame Detector provides the aircraft hangar designers witha powerful detector to meet the military and commercial requirements. Extensive evaluationtests conducted by the U.S. Navy, Swedish Air Force and Royal Air Force (UK) have shown thesuperior performance of the SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Flame Detectors.

Commercial Airlines have also adopted the SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Flame Detector for theiraircraft hangar protection, including special designs/layouts to protect expensive aircraft as

well as auxiliary equipment areas. Recent installations include United Airlines facility inIndianapolis (USA), Monarch Airlines, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines,and the Brunei Emirates aircraft hangars.

For more Installation Information visit: www.spectrex-inc.com

FIRE SAFETY


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he fire protection for militaryhangars is driven by differentfuel and parking restrictions

as well as protection of both theaircraft and the structure. The militaryfocus is on aircraft and people first and structure last.

The military developed definitivedesigns for high bay aircraft hangarfacilities where high value militaryaircraft are maintained and repaired.The US Navy recognized the unique

considerations that should be givento protecting vital assets, andidentified the installation of a reliableand easily maintained fire protectionsystem, which prevents damage tothe aircraft (not directly involved inan initial spill fire ignition scenario)and the hangar structure as a keyrequirement.

MILITARY VS. COMMERCIAL HANGAR PROTECTION

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Basically, an aircraft hangar is a large building designed to provide weather protectionand workshop facilities for aircraft maintenance and storage. Hangar size andconfiguration vary widely - some are designed to house one or more specific aircraft,others may house various combinations.

In most commercial and military hangars, many engineers and technicians repairservice and maintain each aircraft around the clock. Maintenance activities necessarilymean the presence of flammable materials, including aviation fuels, hydraulic fluids,lubricants, cleaning solvents, and paints. As the aircraft is often significantly morevaluable than the hangar structure, high performance fire detection and suppressionsystems for both aircraft and building are either required or highly recommended.

OVERVIEW

any aircraft hangars have fire protectionsystems that are in accordance with NFPA409 Standard on aircraft hangars which

provides guidelines for the minimum fire protection.

The objective of NFPA 409 is to protect the hangarstructure and the people working in it not the aircraft!

Different insurance groups are responsible for thestructure and for underwriting the much more costlyaircraft both in the air and on the ground.

NFPA 409 also specifies 90% fire control shouldbe achieved within 30 seconds and 100% within60 seconds.

NFPA 409

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ithin the hangar, aircraft fuel is the majorfire risk. An undetected large fuel spill, whichif ignited and not detected early, could

rapidly engulf an aircraft and the surrounding area.

Before the aircraft enters a maintenance hangar, asmuch fuel as possible is often removed from thefuel tanks to reduce the fire risk. However, manyhangars service other than unfuelled aircraft, in which case optical flame detection is highlyrecommended and may be required by local codese.g. National Fire Code (NFC).

Some procedures require the use of highlyflammable materials e.g. fuel system leak testingor where personnel enter into the aircraft fuel tankfor visual inspection.

The risk of accidental fuel leakage or spillage isgreatest in the underwing area - the shadowedarea under the aircraft wingsand fuselage. Possible ignitionsources inc lude s ta t icelectricity discharge, electricalsystems malfunction andmaintenance activities. Someaircraft also utilize fuel tank

heaters, which increase thepossibility of flammable fuelvapor presence in the area.Other flammable materialssuch as plastics, electricalinsulation, and cleaningmaterials may be present thatcould lead to fire propagation.

The movement of smoke andheat in high bay aircrafthangars with hangar doorsopen or closed, along with firesources from the various fuels,make fire detection difficultand require special fastresponse, optical flamedetectors, capable of rapidlydetecting a very small firesource from a long distance.

While the worst-case scenariois total loss of the facility andaircraft, even comparativelysmall aircraft fuel fires, cancause extensive damage to

aircraft wings and fuselages within minutes. It is

therefore important to identify the sensitivity and

response time required to detect and suppress a

fire beforeextensive aircraft damage occurs.

The objectives of the fire protection system are to:

Detect a fire in its incipient stage

Control a fire in the shortest possible time

Minimize damage to aircraft and equipment

Minimize disruption to hangar operations

Minimize the incidence of false alarms

Optical flame detectors will provide the fastest

detection of an underwing aircraft fuel fire in theearly ignition stage. The fast response capability,

adjustable field of view, and programmability

provided by optical flame detectors make them

extremely well suited for monitoring areas whereaircraft wings may obscure high risk ignition areas

FIRE HAZARDS

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Fig. 1. A typical drawing of hangar coverage by Triple IR detectors.


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FIRE HAZARDS

within large open areas, with high ceilings andopen doors.

Protection of aircraft requires optimal detectioncoverage. Flame detection with high sensitivity andimmunity to false alarms, are essential determiningfactors when designing systems for this application.

In the past, adequate detection coverage oftenrequired a great number of combined UV/IRdetectors. This solution, however, was costly anddetectors were subject to false alarms. Point typesmoke detectors are not capable of covering thecritical shadow areas underneath an aircraft wherea fire most likely would occur.

As a result, Triple Infrared (IR3) Flame Detectors arenow recommended. The IR3 detector has anextended range of vision, allowing the number ofdetectors covering the same area to be halvedcompared to UV/IR types and resulting in substantialcost savings.

The IR3detector is extremely sensitive but also hasa highly increased ability to distinguish betweenfire and false alarm sources that can be commonwithin maintenance hangars, and will detect flamesin the presence of other common hangar radiant

energy sources such as welding, light sources (incl.Halogen), X-ray inspections and solar blind.

The IR3detector offers two to three times thedetection coverage of any solution usingconventional IR or UV/IR detectors. Interfaced toa fire alarm system and an automatic fireextinguishing system, these unique detectors willprovide optimal detection coverage and the safestand most reliable solution for aircraft protection.

SharpEye IR3 Flame Detectors incorporate:

Fast response time Up to 200 ft (60m) detection distance for

gasoline, 150 ft (45m) for JP fuelsImmunity to false alarms from high temperaturesources and flickering background radiation

Built-in self-test for the electronics, sensors andwindow cleanliness.

3 year warranty / 150,000 hr MTBF

With the introduction of the SharpEye Triple IR(IR3) Optical Flame Detector, the aircraft hangardesigners are able to meet the military andcommercial requirements for reliable fire detectionwith improved immunity to false alarms and widercoverage of the protected area.

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The number of detectors and their locations in the

protected area are determined by: The size of fire to be detected The size/dimensions of the protected area The distance to be detected

The sensitivity of the detectors The type of flammable materials or expected

fuels for a fire that may be present Detectors cone of vision (90horizontal/vertical)

Obstructions to the lines of sight

A dedicated AutoCAD program was developed by

Spectrex to provide detailed installation guidelineswith detector locations and coverage layout.

Aircraft hangars are usually divided into detection

zones, in line with the layout of aircraft bays.

LOCATION OF DETECTORS

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Typically, up to 4 detectors cover each detectionzone. Two are mounted on the wall, about3.3 ft (1m) above floor level, to monitorunderwing areas and two are mounted 50 ft (15m)above floor level. Each detector has a 90 verticaland horizontal cone of vision, ensuring completecoverage of the area. Detectors should be directedtowards the middle of the detection zone andhave an unobstructed view of the protected area.

For added integrity, coincidence detection logicis often used in the control system i.e. at leasttwo detectors, in the same zone, have to be in

alarm to actuate the fire-extinguishing system forthat zone and the neighboring zone(s).

The installation must comply with local/ nationalstandards.

The SharpEye range of optical flame detectors has

demonstrated extremely high reliability and

immunity to false alarms with an excellentperformance record of over 30,000 installations

worldwide. SharpEye Flame Detectors have been

designed to perform under extreme tough industrial

and environmental conditions.

The detector provided better and faster response

to the fire scenarios (as tested by the US Navy in

the dedicated hangar protection project), providinglarger area coverage with fewer detectors, thus

lowering the total cost and optimizing theperformance of the fire detection system.

With the latest development in fire detection fromSpectrex, the SharpEye combined CCTV / IR3 FlameDetector, aircraft hangars operators can utilizeClosed Circuit Television (CCTV) to improve theout-of-hours firefighting response. Detecting a fireat its incipient stage by the infrared sensors andestablishing its exact location and size by the colorCCTV camera integrated into the detector housing,provides the ultimate 21st century solution to fireprotection in aircraft hangars.

Fig. 2. AutoCADDetectors Layout Example


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Automotive - manufacturing, paint spray booths

Chemical Industry - production, storage,transportation

Explosives & Munitions - handling and storage

Oil & Gas - exploration, production, storage andoffloading

Offshore Platforms - fixed rigs and floatingvessels FPSO

Onshore - refineries, loading terminals, pipelines

Paint- manufacturing facilities

Petrochemicals - production, storage, shippingfacilities

Pharmaceutical Industry

Power Generation Facilities - pump areas,generator rooms, unmanned stations, gas-firedand coal-fired reactors

Printing Industry- solvent handling, presses,drying processes

Tank Farms - floating-roof and fixed-roof tankareas

Warehouses - storage facilities for flammablematerials

Waste Disposal Facilities - incineration,processing and storage of flammable wastematerials (solids, liquids, gases)

LIST OF INSTALLATIONS IN AIRCRAFT HANGARS

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Extensive evaluation tests conducted by the US Navy, Swedish Air Force and Royal Air Forces (UK) haveshown the superior performance of the SharpEye Triple IR (IR3) Flame Detectors.

Other SharpEye Flame Detectors applications include:

Royal Air Force (RAF) - United Kingdom:Barkstone Heath; Benson; Sealand; St. Leuchars;

Wattisham; Wittering

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF): Amberley,

Queensland; East Sale, Victoria; Edinburgh, SouthAustralia; Fairburn Aust Capital; Williamstown,

New South Wales

US Air Force (USAF): Bergstrom AFB, Austin,

TX; Elison AFB; Holloman AFB, Alamagordo,NM;McCord AFB; Mc Clellan Park; Tyndall

AFB;Vandenberg AFB (Shuttle Area & AircraftHangar); USAF Academy, Colorado; Malmstrom

AFB (USA)

US Dept of Navy: China Lake Naval Air WeaponsStation, CA; Oceana Naval Air Station, Norfolk,VA; MCAS, Cherry Point, NC; Whiting Naval AirStation, Pensacola, FL; Ft. Worth Naval Air Station,Fort Worth, TX; Chambers Field Naval Air Station,Norfolk, VA

US Air National Guard: Portland A.N.G.

Japan Air Force: Hamamatsu Airforce Base,Shizuoka, Japan

Key West Naval Air Station- FL, USA

Misawa Airbase - Japan

Swedish Air Force

Military Aircraft Hangars installations include:

AirTran Airlines - Atlanta, GA, USA

Australian Airlines

British Airways - Heathrow and ManchesterAirports, UK

Brunei Airlines

CF International- Taiwan

Continental Airlines - Newark International

Airport, USA

Commercial Aircraft Hangars installations include:

Gastech- Australia

Iberia Airlines - Spain

Korean Airlines

Lockheed Aeromode Inc. - USA

Northwest Airlines - Columbus, OH, USA

South African Airlines

United Airlines - Indianapolis Airport, USA

Wood Frame Hangar- British Colombia, USA


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218 Little Falls Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009, USATel: +1 (973) 239-8398, 1 (800) 452-2107 (Toll free US only), Fax: +1 (973) 239-7614e-mail: [email protected], website: www.spectrex-inc.com

AN - Aircraft Hangar, June 2006Specifications subject to changes

An Aircraft Hangar June06

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