(53u) Taking the Burn out - Material Selection Considerations for Pfp (Passive Fire Protection) As It Relates to PHA

Unfortunately, we still deal with incidents or a loss of containment scenario in the industrial process world. While much of the focus, as it should be, is on human behavior, another important piece to consider is the materials selected that will help mitigate and passivate a fire scenario should it occur. To this end, the authors with a combined +40 years in the industry will examine and show the journey of passive fire protection materials selection, what's been learned through real-life fire scenarios and where are we today in this arena.

Section 1 Historical material selection method. As major energy industry segments started to build major infrastructure onshore and offshore, there was a thought process to look at what had worked over the years as well as what would be new and innovative that would drive the industry forward. In general major energy infrastructure was built "on-site" and so materials were selected, in addition to meeting codes and standards, based on ease of application, adoption into the market, testing and evaluation criteria and of course commercial considerations. For onshore industrial facilities, concrete was the basis of design and in general mostly done by the General or Mechanical contractors hired to build or by the Asset owner's themselves crews.

Section 2 - Major developments - As the industry developed and construction methods changed, testing and evaluation continued, R&D was advanced, different materials emerged and became available. "In the 1950s, Textron pioneered a lightweight ablative material with a specific formula of silica fibers with an epoxy-novalic resin developed just for the Apollo crew capsule." NASA.gov. After a launch pad fire in the early 1970's from Apollo 1, development continued on these materials. Ultimately the technology was commercialized and became known as what we know to be Epoxy intumescent. These materials developed, along with others, to help meet the demands of HSE community as well as regulatory and practical considerations. This includes addressing weight, different fire scenarios, modularization in combination with other methods, global supply chain impacts and damage mechanisms like corrosion and others.

Section 3 - Today's considerations - History has taught us through incidents, product developments, advanced materials and testing, labor impacts and human behavior how we can approach this critical area of material selection. The impact is significant, as the goal of the pfp or passive fire protection materials is, in cases of a loss of containment, to allow people nearby adequate time to escape safely while allowing the response crews time to put out the associated fires. This will examine relevant testing of materials, materials performance, material limitations and benefits as well as methodologies that tie in engineering and operations to achieve the best possible outcomes for the selection of these materials.