Offshore staff
RIDDERKERK, the Netherlands – InterDam says that it is close to completing testing of a new pre-fabricated fire and blast-resistant panel for use offshore.
Generation V follows the company’s Generation IV fire-resistant sandwich wall system, developed in response to requests for prefabricated walls that fit modular and standardized construction designs.
InterDam has made changes to the panels’ insulation material by realigning the layers of fibers and optimizing the panel support structure to absorb more energy.
It field tested the concept last November using three sample positions. These tests included damaging the panels to study their breaking point, and proving that they are gas-tight after a blast pressure of 0.8 bar (11.6 psi).
Further trials will follow this month at a specialist fire test laboratory in the UK where one of the 0.25 bar (3.6 psi) blast-tested samples will be tested in a hydrocarbon fire to determine the wall’s post-blast fire resistance.
“There are no regulations for this yet,” said an InterDam spokesman, “but analysis of offshore accidents indicates a combination of a blast and a fire in over 50% of cases and InterDam is committed to pushing for industry best-practices in this area.”
01/23/2017
