Smoke Management on FFG 7 Class Ships - An Evaluation of Smoke Removal Diagrams and Procedures on USS CLIFTON SPRAGUE (FFG 16).

We performed a series of smoke migration tests on board USS CLIFTON SPRAGUE FFG 16, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, to validate the FFG 7 class Smoke Removal and Procedures Diagram developed by the Naval Sea Systems Command. These diagrams divided the ship into 23 smoke control zones three of those zones were tested. A smoke generator designed by the Naval Equipment Training Center was used to release a chemical smoke and to simulate the smoke from a fire. We found that smoke can be confined to the designated zones, but some leakage will occur through cable penetrations and nondogged doors. Removal of smoke was hampered by a local fan controller located within the zone, which is necessary to reset the ventilation system in that zone. These fan controllers should have a means of being bypassed or should be relocated external to the zone. We were able to de-smoke the test zones within four air exchanges.