An enhanced propane underwater bubbler system designed to allow the testing of fire-resistant booms in flames was installed at Ohmsett in the fall of 1998 by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the US Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV). The test is based on a screening protocol for testing fire resistant booms in waves and flames developed for MMS and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG). The cornerstone of the test is an underwater bubbler system to create air-enhanced propane flames that produce an average total heat flux to the surface of a candidate containment system in the range of 110 to 130 kW/m2 and flame temperatures near the containment device on the order of 900°C. The candidate boom is stretched over the center of the bubbler, parallel to the long dimensions of the test tank, and tensioned to realistic towing forces. The fire exposure portion of the test involves three cycles of one hour of exposure to air-enhanced propane flames in waves, followed by a one-hour cool-down period in waves alone, and conforms to ASTM F 2152-01. Since the air-enhanced propane system was developed, 11 fire resistant boom systems have been tested. These include: three refractory fabric booms, one stainless steel boom, three water-cooled blanket prototypes, three reflective/insulating blanket prototypes, and one water-cooled boom. This paper summarizes the test methods used and the results.

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