Phase I: The objective of this project was to develop a near full-scale screening test protocol for the effectiveness and durability of fire resistant oil containment boom that incorporates simultaneous testing in waves and flames. Realistic, inexpensive testing is needed in both waves and high-temperature flames for extended time periods to evaluate any fireboom systems capabilities and limitations before expensive testing at sea. The ability of a boom exposed to fire to contain thick, hot oil and to survive extended exposure to wave action prior to and after exposure to flames was also to be determined. Booms that survive the fire tests without structural degradation would then be tested both for abilities to contain thick oil slicks and to survive extended exposure to more energetic wave conditions.
Phase II of this project was conducted as a Joint Industry Project (JIP) with the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). Based on the success of the 1996 field work, the CCG offered to co-fund the 1997 field work program. The objective of Phase II was to further develop the test protocols particularly in increasing the heat flux (through increased propane flow and air injection into the burn zone), improved heat flux and Temperature monitoring, and pre-tensioning the boom during the outdoor tank tests.
Phase I was completed in November 1996. A near full-scale test protocol was developed that evaluates a fire resistant boom's durability and its ability to contain oil during an in situ burn with the environmental problems of burning crude oil or the costs of testing offshore. The screening test was comprised of four discrete stages:
1. The pre-burn wave stress stage, where the test boom was flexed under tension in waves to simulate deployment of the boom and transit to the spill site.
2. The burn in waves stage, the test boom was exposed to waves and repeated one hour cycles of propane gas fires to simulate burning operations.
3.The post-burn wave stress stage, the test boom was again flexed under tension in waves to simulate retrieval of the boom.
4. The oil-containment stage, the ability of the boom to contain thick pools of hot oil was assessed.
5. The difference in the degrees of damage to the sections of the boom exposed to fire and those outside the firezone (complete versus very little) prove that testing of fire resistant booms must be done in waves and flames simultaneously.
It is recommended that the enhanced screening test protocol be further benchmarked by using it on another make of fire resistant boom. Portions of this test protocol were used to evaluate six different types of commercially available fire resistant booms at the U.C. Coast Guard Fire and Safety Test Detachment, Mobile, AL, September-October 1997. Results from this research project will be used by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) F-20 Committee to develop standards and guidelines for the performance and evaluation of fire resistant oil containment booms.
Phase I was successful. The screening test protocol was benchmarked using a section of the fire resistant boom obtained from the CCG that was similar to the boom used in the Newfoundland Offshore Burn Experiment (NOBE). The tests were conducted at the Canadian Hydraulic Centre's Outdoor Ship Maneuvering Basin, Ottawa, Ontario. Comparing the damage suffered at NOBE with that produced by this test led to the conclusion that the protocol reproduced the correct stresses (both mechanical and heat) of an in situ burn operation, but that the intensity needed to be increased.
Phase II was completed in October 1997. The revised fire exposure portion of the test protocol was again benchmarked using a section of the fire resistant boom in NOBE. The tests were conducted at the Canadian Hydraulic Centre's Outdoor Ship Maneuvering Basin, Ottawa, Ontario and involved four one-hour cycles of enhanced propane flames and waves and four one-hour cycles of waves alone. A final report was completed.
The conclusions from this project are:
1. Increasing the flow of propane per unit area and adding compressed air to the middle of the combustion zone, increased the total heat flux to the fire.
2. Tensioning the boom lengthwise along the tank produced realistic strain loads on the boom.
3. Propane fires, when enhanced with additional air, are reasonable analogs for crude oil fires, producing comparable heat fluxes and temperatures.
4. The revised test protocol, incorporating the burns in waves with enhanced propane flames, will subject a boom to a realistic in situ burning environment.