ISO 7203-1:2019

Fire extinguishing media — Foam concentrates — Part 1: Specification for low-expansion foam concentrates for top application to water-immiscible liquids

This document specifies the essential properties and performance of liquid foam concentrates used to make low-expansion foams for the control, the extinction and the inhibition of reignition of fires of water-immiscible liquids. Minimum performance on certain test fires is specified. These foams are suitable for top application to fires of water-immiscible liquids. The foams that conform with ISO 7203-3 are also suitable for top application to fires of water-miscible liquids. The foam concentrates can be suitable for use in non-aspirating sprayers or for subsurface application to liquid fires, but the requirements specific to those applications are outside the scope of this document.

Agents extincteurs — Émulseurs — Partie 1: Spécifications pour les émulseurs bas foisonnement destinés à une application par le haut sur les liquides non miscibles à l'eau

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 30-Jun-2019
• ICS: 13.220.10 - Fire-fighting
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 21/SC 6 - Foam and powder media and firefighting systems using foam and powder
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 21/SC 6/WG 4 - Water-based fire extinguishing agents
• Current Stage: 9020 - International Standard under periodical review
• Start Date: 15-Jul-2024
• Completion Date: 15-Jul-2024

Relations

• Revises: ISO 7203-1:2011 - Fire extinguishing media — Foam concentrates — Part 1: Specification for low-expansion foam concentrates for top application to water-immiscible liquids
• Effective Date: 19-Dec-2015

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 7203-1
Third edition
2019-07
Fire extinguishing media — Foam
concentrates —
Part 1:
Specification for low-expansion foam
concentrates for top application to
water-immiscible liquids
Agents extincteurs — Émulseurs —
Partie 1: Spécifications pour les émulseurs bas foisonnement destinés
à une application par le haut sur les liquides non miscibles à l'eau
Reference number
©
ISO 2019
© ISO 2019
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting
on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address
below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Grades and uses of foam concentrates . 4
4.1 Grades . 4
4.2 Use with sea water . 4
5 Tolerance of foam concentrates to freezing and thawing . 4
6 Sediment in foam concentrates . 4
6.1 Sediment before ageing . 4
6.2 Sediment after ageing . 4
7 Determination of viscosity . 4
7.1 Newtonian foam concentrates . 4
7.2 Pseudo-plastic foam concentrates . 5
8 pH of foam concentrates . 5
8.1 pH limits. 5
8.2 Sensitivity to temperature . 5
9 Surface tension of the foam solution . 5
9.1 Before temperature conditioning . 5
9.2 Temperature sensitivity . 5
10 Interfacial tension between the foam solution and cyclohexane. 5
10.1 General . 5
10.2 Before temperature conditioning . 5
10.3 Temperature sensitivity . 6
11 Spreading coefficient of the foam solution on cyclohexane . 6
12 Expansion and drainage of foam. 6
12.1 General . 6
12.2 Expansion limits . 6
12.3 Drainage limits . 6
13 Test fire performance . 6
14 Marking, packaging and specification sheet . 7
14.1 Marking . 7
14.2 Packaging . 8
14.3 Specification sheet . 8
Annex A (normative) Preliminary sampling and conditioning of the foam concentrate .9
Annex B (normative) Determination of tolerance to freezing and thawing .10
Annex C (normative) Determination of volume percentage of sediment .12
Annex D (normative) Determination of viscosity for pseudo-plastic foam concentrates .13
Annex E (normative) Determination of surface tension, interfacial tension and spreading
coefficient .15
Annex F (normative) Determination of expansion and drainage time .16
Annex G (normative) Determination of test fire performance .22
Annex H (informative) Description of a radiation measurement method .28
Annex I (informative) Compatibility .32
Annex J (informative) Small-scale fire test .33
Bibliography .42
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL:
www .iso .org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 21, Equipment for fire protection and fire
fighting, Subcommittee SC 6, Foam and powder media and firefighting systems using foam and powder.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 7203-1:2011), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are:
— addition of Part 4 containing specifications for Class A foam concentrates;
— extension of Clause 2;
— modification of Clause 12 to run two tests instead of one and take the average of both values instead
of having just one datum;
— correction of figures;
— extension of Annex G by a scheme of a decision tree, and modification of the acceptable temperature
range for testing fire performance;
— removal of Annex J: “Typical anticipated performance for various types of foam concentrate”.
A list of all parts in the ISO 7203 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html.
Introduction
Firefighting foams are widely used to control and extinguish fires of Class B (flammable liquids) and/or
Class A fuels (solid materials, usually of an organic nature) and for inhibiting reignition.
Foams can be used in combination with other extinguishing media, in particular halons, carbon dioxide
and powders which are the subject of other International Standards, including, ISO 6183, ISO 7201-1,
ISO 7201-2 and ISO 7202. A specification for foam systems can be found in ISO 7076.
Attention is drawn to Annex I, which deals with the compatibility of foam concentrates, and the
compatibility of foams and powders.
vi © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 7203-1:2019(E)
Fire extinguishing media — Foam concentrates —
Part 1:
Specification for low-expansion foam concentrates for top
application to water-immiscible liquids
1 Scope
This document specifies the essential properties and performance of liquid foam concentrates used
to make low-expansion foams for the control, the extinction and the inhibition of reignition of fires of
water-immiscible liquids. Minimum performance on certain test fires is specified.
These foams are suitable for top application to fires of water-immiscible liquids. The foams that conform
with ISO 7203-3 are also suitable for top application to fires of water-miscible liquids.
The foam concentrates can be suitable for use in non-aspirating sprayers or for subsurface application to
liquid f
...

ISO/PRF 7203-1:2019(E)
ISO TC 21/SC 6
Secretariat: SAC
Fire extinguishing media — Foam concentrates —
Part 1:
Specification for low-expansion foam concentrates for top application to water-immiscible
liquids
Agents extincteurs — Émulseurs —
Partie 1: Spécifications pour les émulseurs bas foisonnement destinés à une application par le haut sur les
liquides non miscibles à l'eau
DIS stage
Warning for WDs and CDs
This document is not an ISO International Standard. It is distributed for review and comment. It
is subject to change without notice and may not be referred to as an International Standard.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant
patent rights of which they are aware and to provide supporting documentation.
To help you, this guide on writing standards was produced by the ISO/TMB and is available at
https://www.iso.org/iso/how-to-write-standards.pdf
A model manuscript of a draft International Standard (known as “The Rice Model”) is available at
https://www.iso.org/iso/model_document-rice_model.pdf
Contents Page
Foreword . v
Introduction. vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions. 1
4 Grades and uses of foam concentrates . 4
5 Tolerance of foam concentrates to freezing and thawing . 4
6 Sediment in foam concentrates . 4
7 Determination of viscosity . 4
8 pH of foam concentrates . 5
9 Surface tension of the foam solution . 5
10 Interfacial tension between the foam solution and cyclohexane . 5
11 Spreading coefficient of the foam solution on cyclohexane . 6
12 Expansion and drainage of foam . 6
13 Test fire performance . 6
14 Marking, packaging and specification sheet . 7
Annex A (normative) Preliminary sampling and conditioning of the foam concentrate . 9
A.1 Preliminary sampling . 9
A.2 Conditioning of foam concentrate . 9
A.3 Subsequent testing . 9
Annex B (normative) Determination of tolerance to freezing and thawing . 10
B.1 Apparatus . 10
B.2 Procedure . 10
Annex C (normative) Determination of volume percentage of sediment . 12
C.1 Sampling . 12
C.2 Apparatus . 12
C.3 Procedure . 12
Annex D (normative) Determination of viscosity for pseudo-plastic foam concentrates . 13
D.1 General . 13
D.2 Viscosity determination . 13
D.2.1 Apparatus . 13
D.2.2 Test temperatures . 13
D.2.3 Viscosity measurement . 13
D.2.4 Results . 14
Annex E (normative) Determination of surface tension, interfacial tension and spreading
coefficient . 15
ii © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

E.1 Reagents and materials . 15
E.2 Procedure for surface tension . 15
E.3 Procedure for interfacial tension . 15
E.4 Spreading coefficient . 15
Annex F (normative) Determination of expansion and drainage time . 16
F.1 Apparatus . 16
F.2 Temperature conditions . 16
F.3 Procedure . 16
Annex G (normative) Determination of test fire performance . 22
G.1 General . 22
G.2 General conditions . 22
G.2.1 Test series and criteria for success . 22
G.2.1.1 Foam concentrates not compatible with sea water . 22
G.2.1.2 Foam concentrates compatible with sea water . 22
G.2.1.3 Decision tree fire test protocol . 22
G.2.2 Temperature and wind speed . 23
G.2.3 Records . 23
G.2.4 Foam solution . 24
G.2.5 Fuel . 24
G.3 Forceful application fire test . 24
G.3.1 Apparatus . 24
G.3.2 Procedure . 24
G.4 Gentle application fire test . 25
G.4.1 Apparatus . 25
G.4.2 Test procedure . 26
G.5 Synthetic sea water . 27
Annex H (informative) Description of a radiation measurement method . 28
H.1 Evaluation . 28
H.2 General arrangement of test . 28
H.3 Technical data for radiometers . 28
H.4 Procedure . 29
Annex I (informative) Compatibility . 32
I.1 Compatibility between foam concentrates and fire extinguishing powders . 32
I.2 Compatibility between foam concentrates . 32
Annex J (informative) Small-scale fire test . 33
J.1 General . 33
J.2 Apparatus . 33
J.3 Test procedure . 33
J.3.1 Test conditions . 34
J.3.2 Set-up . 34
J.3.3 Fire test . 34
Bibliography . 42
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO
collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any
patent rights id
...