Initial Evaluation of Burn Characteristics of Phenolic Foam Runway Brake Arrestor Material

Tests of the burn characteristics of a phenolic foam, under evaluation as a runway brake arrestor material, were conducted by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration FAA Technical Center. The purpose of these tests was to assess the fire propagation properties of phenolic foam when exposed to a free burning Jet A fuel fire and to determine the fire control time of phenolic foam immersed in a jet fuel fire when extinguished using 3-percent Aqueous Film Forming Foam AFFF. Three pool fire tests were conducted as follows In the first and second tests, a 12-foot-square bed of phenolic foam material was placed adjacent to a 35-foot-diameter jet fuel fire. This configuration resulted in ignition and flame propagation across to adjacent foam material, resulting in charring of over 30 percent of the exposed surface of the phenolic foam. In the third test, the phenolic foam material was immersed in the jet fuel fire to determine ease of extinguishment using conventional AFFF agent. The fire control time was three times longer than when the phenolic foam material was absent. The extinguishing time was an order of magnitude higher than that without the foam.