Powder / foam compatibility test
"Stop the users’ doubts and have your products tested!"
Due to concerns about the limited biodegradability of fluorosurfactants, an increasing number of foam concentrates without these effective ingredients are offered on the market.
The destruction of fire extinguishing foams through fire extinguishing powders when used simultaneously practically became less important with the fluorosurfactant-containing foam concentrates.
A new generation of fluorosurfactant-free foam concentrates once again raises the question of reciprocal compatibility of powder and foam concentrates when fighting fires and foam-compatible extinguishing powders are again becoming more important.
A small-scale test is offered as per the test procedure outlined in the newly published Standards edition EN 605:2009 in Appendix K, in order to assess the powder/foam compatibility.
Two comparative small-scale extinguishing tests with the foam extinguishing equipment as per Appendix K of the EN 615 are to be conducted. Then a second extinguishing test is performed, in which the extinguishing powder is spread across the surface of the fuel before it is ignited. An increase of 25 % or more in the extinguishing time or a decrease of more than 25 % in the burn-back time, as compared to the test results obtained without the use of extinguishing powder, is considered an unacceptable impairment of the extinguishing efficiency of the foam mixed with the extinguishing powder.
