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Suggested Citation:"GLOSSARY." National Research Council. 1997. Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon for U.S. Navy Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5744.
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Appendix E
Glossary

A

Activation energy:

the energy, over and above the ground state, which must be added to a reaction system in order to prompt the reaction to occur.

Adiabatic:

referring to any change in which there is no gain or loss of heat.

AFFF:

aqueous film-forming foam; a water-based foam used primarily to fight flight-deck fires aboard ships that carry aircraft.

Alkanes:

hydrocarbons having the formula CnH2n+2.

Atmospheric lifetime:

average length of time a compound survives in the atmosphere.

B

Bilge:

the inside bottom of a ship or boat.

C

CAAA:

Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

Cardiotoxicity:

toxic effects with impact on heart tissue or function.

CFCs:

chlorofluorocarbons; carbon compounds containing both chlorine and fluorine.

CVN:

nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

D

DDG:

a guided-missile destroyer.

DNA:

deoxyribonucleic acid; the molecule that stores genetic information in biological systems.

E

EKG:

electrocardiogram

Endothermic reaction:

a chemical reaction that absorbs heat.

Enthalpy:

also known as heat content or total heat; the sum of the internal energy of a system plus the product of its volume multiplied by the pressure exerted on the system by its surroundings.

Entropy:

a measure of the disorder of a system, equal to the Boltzmann constant times the natural logarithm of the number of microscopic states corresponding to the thermodynamic state of the system.

EPA:

Environmental Protection Agency.

F

FAA:

Federal Aviation Administration.

Fetotoxicity:

toxic effects with impact on a fetus.

FFG:

Fiscal and Force Capability Guidance guided-missile frigate.

Frigate:

an ocean escort ship that is smaller and slower than a destroyer.

G

Greenhouse gas:

a gas that absorbs infrared radiation and thus contributes to radiative forcing.

GWP:

global warming potential; an index that represents a cumulative measure of the expected effects on global climate from the emissions of a gas relative to carbon dioxide (CO2).

H

Halocarbon:

a carbon compound containing one or more of the halogen elements (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine).

Halon:

or halons; a generic term referring to halocarbons containing bromine that are widely used as fire and explosion suppressants. The term "halon" is used in this report to refer to halon 1301 (CF 3Br) and halon 1211 (CF2ClBr).

HARC:

Halon Alternatives Research Corporation.

HCFCs:

hydrochlorofluorocarbons; hydrocarbons that contain chlorine and fluorine.

Heat capacity:

the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by a fixed amount. Materials with high heat capacity can absorb heat efficiently.

Heat of formation:

the increase in enthalpy (total heat) resulting from the formation of a fixed quantity of material from its constituent elements.

Heterogeneous reaction:

a chemical reaction system in which the reacting agents are in different physical phases. For example, one reactant may be a gas and the other a liquid.

HFCs:

hydrofluorocarbons; hydrocarbons that contain fluorine.

HRC:

Halon Recycling Corporation.

HTOC:

Halon Technical Options Committee.

Suggested Citation:"GLOSSARY." National Research Council. 1997. Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon for U.S. Navy Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5744.
×

I

IMO:

International Maritime Organization

Inert gas generators:

devices containing a rapidly combustible material that yields chemically inert gases, such as nitrogen, upon combustion. Inert gas generators are widely used in automotive air bags and are used in some fire suppression systems where the inert gas displaces oxygen and thus inhibits combustion.

Inertion:

interruption or suppression of an explosion.

Infrared radiation:

electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the range of 0.8 to 1000 µm, which is longer than those of visible light and shorter than those of microwaves.

J

JSF:

Joint Strike Fighter.

L

Lagging:

the insulation around pipes aboard a ship.

Latent heat:

the amount of heat absorbed or evolved by a unit mass of a substance during a phase change (such as melting, sublimation, or vaporization).

LCAC:

landing craft, air cushion.

LHA:

a general-purpose amphibious assault ship.

LHD:

a multipurpose amphibious assault ship.

LOAEL:

lowest observable adverse effect level.

LPD:

an amphibious transport dock ship.

M

Mesosphere:

the region of the atmosphere extending from about 45 to 55 km to about 80 to 95 km, characterized by a general decrease in temperature with increasing altitude. The mesosphere extends from the top of the stratosphere to the temperature minimum (mesopause) at the interface between the mesosphere and the thermosphere.

MSC:

Military Sealift Command.

N

Nacelle:

a separate streamlined enclosure on an airplane for sheltering or housing something, such as the crew or an engine.

NASA:

National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NAVAIR:

Naval Air Systems Command.

NAVSEA:

Naval Sea Systems Command.

NFPA:

National Fire Protection Association.

NIST:

National Institute of Standards and Technology.

NOAA:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAEL:

no observable adverse effect level.

O

ODP:

ozone depletion potential; an index that represents a cumulative measure of the expected effects on ozone from the emissions of a gas relative to CFC-11 (CFCl3).

OECD:

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, an association of the world's wealthiest and most industrialized nations that, among other things, publishes guidelines on various technical subjects related to regulations, standards, and testing.

OSHA:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Ozone:

a reactive oxygen compound (O3) found in the atmosphere; it shields Earth's surface from UV radiation.

Ozone layer:

that part of the atmosphere in which the concentration of ozone is greatest. The term is used in two ways: (1) to signify the layer from about 10 to 50 km in which the ozone concentration is appreciable, and (2) to signify the much narrower region from about 20 to 25 km in which the concentration reaches a maximum.

P

PFCs:

perfluorocarbons; hydrocarbons in which all of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by fluorine.

Phase change:

the metamorphosis of a material from one physical phase to another, such as gas to liquid, liquid to solid, or solid to gas.

Photodissociation:

synonymous with photolysis.

Photolysis:

chemical decomposition induced by the absorption of light.

PKP:

potassium bicarbonate powder.

Suggested Citation:"GLOSSARY." National Research Council. 1997. Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon for U.S. Navy Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5744.
×

R

Radiative forcing:

net change in irradiance (in watts per meter squared, Wm-2) at the tropopause after allowing for stratospheric temperatures to readjust to equilibrium.

Radical:

or free radical; an atom or molecule that has one unpaired electron.

RDT&E:

research, deployment, test, and evaluation.

Retrofit:

installation of new or updated systems in existing platforms.

S

SNAP:

Significant New Alternatives Program.

Stratosphere:

that region of the atmosphere lying above the tropopause in which, in contrast to adjoining regions, temperature does not increase with increasing height. The stratosphere extends from the tropopause to a height of about 50 km, where the temperature reaches a maximum.

Streaming agent:

a fire suppression agent (typically liquid) applied in a stream, often from hand-held extinguishers, directly on an unobstructed fire.

T

Teraflop:

1 million million (1012) floating point operations per second.

TFA:

trifluoroacetic acid (CF3COOH).

Thermosphere:

the atmospheric shell extending from the top of the mesosphere to outer space. It is a region of more or less steadily increasing temperature with increasing altitude, starting at about 80 to 95 km.

Total flooding agent:

an easily dispersed fire suppression agent (typically gaseous) for use in obstructed spaces.

Tropodegradable:

tending to degrade, or break down into constituent elements, in the lower atmosphere (troposphere). Tropodegradable compounds emitted at the surface are not likely to be transported to the stratosphere.

Tropopause:

the atmospheric boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere, defined as the level at which the decrease in temperature with height becomes 2°C/km or less, over at least 2 km.

Troposphere:

the lowest layer of the atmosphere below the tropopause extending from Earth's surface to about 8 km at the poles and 16 km at the equator.

U

Ullage:

space above fuel inside a partially filled fuel tank.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation:

electromagnetic radiation lying beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum with wavelength less than 400 nm.

UNEP:

United Nations Environment Programme.

UV-B radiation:

electromagnetic radiation with wavelength in the range of 280 to 320 nm, which affects plants and animals.

V

V-22:

"Osprey"; a vertical takeoff and landing tilt-rotor aircraft currently under development.

Volume mixing ratio:

the ratio of the number of molecules of a species in air to the total number of gas molecules in a sample.

W

Water mist systems:

fire suppression systems that dispense water in the form of finely aerosolized droplets. The fine water mist behaves, in some instances, like a gaseous agent and is able to be dispersed effectively in obstructed spaces.

Window region:

a region in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths in the range of 8 to 12 µm. The atmosphere is relatively transparent to radiation in this spectral region.

WMO:

World Meteorological Organization.

Suggested Citation:"GLOSSARY." National Research Council. 1997. Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon for U.S. Navy Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5744.
×
Page 96
Suggested Citation:"GLOSSARY." National Research Council. 1997. Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon for U.S. Navy Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5744.
×
Page 97
Suggested Citation:"GLOSSARY." National Research Council. 1997. Fire Suppression Substitutes and Alternatives to Halon for U.S. Navy Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5744.
×
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