Mike Willson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mike Willson

Research paper thumbnail of JOIFF Catalyst - What could we learn from Japan's A350 crash? Q1 Feb.

JOIFF Catalyst, 2024

This paper questions the increasing complexity and difficulty of modern aircraft firefighting wit... more This paper questions the increasing complexity and difficulty of modern aircraft firefighting with bigger passenger and fuel loads, at a time when growing composite materials use and difficulty extinguishing coincides with increasing frequency of near-miss incidents, runway incursions and hotter summers. Yet we see potentially weakening fire test standards (new F3 MilSpec and ICAO Level B/C), potentially exposing passenger safety to greater threat scenarios. Re-inforcing a need for review and potential overhaul of current fire test standards and firefighter training to include composite material fire testing, effectiveness verification during increasingly hot summers, proven dry chemical compatibility to provide increased safety and help avert future tragedies.

Research paper thumbnail of IFSJ Airport Firefighting Too Hot to Handle Jan23

International Fire and Safety Journal, 2023

Our summers are getting hotter but how does that impact our safety when flying on holidays? Are t... more Our summers are getting hotter but how does that impact our safety when flying on holidays? Are temperatures getting too hot for some firefighting foams to handle effectively and efficiently? Are existing aviation fire test standard still fit for purpose or should we be considering extra high temperature fire testing verification. Important issues of life safety in aircraft accidents are raised.

Research paper thumbnail of IFF Fifteen important checks when transitioning to F3s Mar 23

International Firefighter, 2023

This paper discusses key questions you should be asking if considering a transition to Fluorine F... more This paper discusses key questions you should be asking if considering a transition to Fluorine Free Foams from legacy long-chain PFAS containing foams. It raises important factors of complexity and potential unintended consequences which could compromise existing fire protection systems, which could cost lives.

Research paper thumbnail of IAR Does New F3 Mil Spec Deliver Equivalent Life saving Performance in hot summers iss 4 Nov 23

International Airport Review, 2023

This paper examines the new US Fluorine Free Foam land based freshwater only MilSpec fire test. I... more This paper examines the new US Fluorine Free Foam land based freshwater only MilSpec fire test. It assesses how it compares to existing ICAO Level B and C tests and AFFF MilSpec fire test standards, and whether tough life safety requirements may becoming eroded. It also considers whether this new MilSpec can meet challenging conditions of the increasingly hot summers being experienced globally and the safety factor which should be used in ARFF fire vehicle design application rates.

Research paper thumbnail of Fluorotelomer Based Foams: Are They Safe For Continued Use?

Research paper thumbnail of Changing times in Aviation foam testing

International Airport Review, 2012

This article covers changing times in Aviation foam testing. It considers the problems of edge fl... more This article covers changing times in Aviation foam testing. It considers the problems of edge flickers and gentle application and differences between fluorinated and fluorine free firefighting foams.

Research paper thumbnail of Field experiments on high expansion (HEX) foam application for controlling LNG pool fire

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009

Previous research suggests that high expansion foam with an expansion ratio of 500 to 1 is one of... more Previous research suggests that high expansion foam with an expansion ratio of 500 to 1 is one of the best options for controlling liquefied natural gas (LNG) pool fire on land. However, its effectiveness heavily depends on the foam application rate, foam generator location, and the design of LNG spill containment dike. Examination of these factors is necessary to achieve the maximum benefit for applying HEX on LNG pool fires. While theoretical study of the effects of foam on LNG fires is important, the complicated phenomena involved in LNG pool fire and foam application increase the need for LNG field experimentation. Therefore, five LNG experiments were conducted at Texas A&M University's Brayton Fire Training Field. ANGUS FIRE provided Expandol solution to form 500 to 1 high expansion foam (HEX) and its latest LNG Turbex Fixed High Expansion Foam Generators. In this paper, data collected during five experiments are presented and analyzed. The effectiveness of high expansion foam for controlling LNG pool fires with various application rates at two different types of containment pits is discussed. LNG fire behaviors and the effects of dike wall height are also presented and discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Flickers and Foam

Research paper thumbnail of Advances in Airport Rescue and FireFighting: Are We On The Right Track?

Research paper thumbnail of Limitations in Labelling

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

Research paper thumbnail of What do recent ICAO Fire test Changes Mean for Airports?

Research paper thumbnail of Missing Criteria

Industrial Fire Journal, 2014

This paper discusses missing criteria form ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) fire ... more This paper discusses missing criteria form ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) fire testing, which should be considered when selecting appropriate firefighting foams for various applications.

Research paper thumbnail of Missing firefighting foam criteria

The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul th... more The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul this year, underpinned by insightful analysis contrasting how the sprinkler market works compared to the water mist market. Whilst the European sprinkler market is dominated by a handful of manufacturers selling to hundreds of installers whose work is dictated by straightforward standards, water mist works on a per-project basis usually carried out by the manufacturer himself, who often has to prove that his system will work by carrying out his own tests. Such is the impact of a lack of an accepted performance standard on this market. Nevertheless the power of this technology should not be underestimated, and as the conference in Istanbul showed, water mist is often the technology of choice for some of the most challenging environments imaginable. Still on the subject of extinguishing technology, fire fighting foam continues to divide the industry. On the one side, many scientists, leading manufacturers of fluorine-free foams and environmental regulators continue to highlight the negative aspects of using fluorochemicals. On the other, some manufacturers insist the latest generation of C6-based AFFF gives no cause for concern, and that competitors' fluorine-free foams just don't perform as well-even though the best fluorine-free foams have passed the same performance tests (UL, ICAO B etc) as top-quality AFFF foams. The debate just doesn't seem to want to go away .

Research paper thumbnail of Missing firefighting foam criteria

The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul th... more The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul this year, underpinned by insightful analysis contrasting how the sprinkler market works compared to the water mist market. Whilst the European sprinkler market is dominated by a handful of manufacturers selling to hundreds of installers whose work is dictated by straightforward standards, water mist works on a per-project basis usually carried out by the manufacturer himself, who often has to prove that his system will work by carrying out his own tests. Such is the impact of a lack of an accepted performance standard on this market. Nevertheless the power of this technology should not be underestimated, and as the conference in Istanbul showed, water mist is often the technology of choice for some of the most challenging environments imaginable. Still on the subject of extinguishing technology, fire fighting foam continues to divide the industry. On the one side, many scientists, leading manufacturers of fluorine-free foams and environmental regulators continue to highlight the negative aspects of using fluorochemicals. On the other, some manufacturers insist the latest generation of C6-based AFFF gives no cause for concern, and that competitors' fluorine-free foams just don't perform as well-even though the best fluorine-free foams have passed the same performance tests (UL, ICAO B etc) as top-quality AFFF foams. The debate just doesn't seem to want to go away .

Research paper thumbnail of JOIFF Catalyst - What could we learn from Japan's A350 crash? Q1 Feb.

JOIFF Catalyst, 2024

This paper questions the increasing complexity and difficulty of modern aircraft firefighting wit... more This paper questions the increasing complexity and difficulty of modern aircraft firefighting with bigger passenger and fuel loads, at a time when growing composite materials use and difficulty extinguishing coincides with increasing frequency of near-miss incidents, runway incursions and hotter summers. Yet we see potentially weakening fire test standards (new F3 MilSpec and ICAO Level B/C), potentially exposing passenger safety to greater threat scenarios. Re-inforcing a need for review and potential overhaul of current fire test standards and firefighter training to include composite material fire testing, effectiveness verification during increasingly hot summers, proven dry chemical compatibility to provide increased safety and help avert future tragedies.

Research paper thumbnail of IFSJ Airport Firefighting Too Hot to Handle Jan23

International Fire and Safety Journal, 2023

Our summers are getting hotter but how does that impact our safety when flying on holidays? Are t... more Our summers are getting hotter but how does that impact our safety when flying on holidays? Are temperatures getting too hot for some firefighting foams to handle effectively and efficiently? Are existing aviation fire test standard still fit for purpose or should we be considering extra high temperature fire testing verification. Important issues of life safety in aircraft accidents are raised.

Research paper thumbnail of IFF Fifteen important checks when transitioning to F3s Mar 23

International Firefighter, 2023

This paper discusses key questions you should be asking if considering a transition to Fluorine F... more This paper discusses key questions you should be asking if considering a transition to Fluorine Free Foams from legacy long-chain PFAS containing foams. It raises important factors of complexity and potential unintended consequences which could compromise existing fire protection systems, which could cost lives.

Research paper thumbnail of IAR Does New F3 Mil Spec Deliver Equivalent Life saving Performance in hot summers iss 4 Nov 23

International Airport Review, 2023

This paper examines the new US Fluorine Free Foam land based freshwater only MilSpec fire test. I... more This paper examines the new US Fluorine Free Foam land based freshwater only MilSpec fire test. It assesses how it compares to existing ICAO Level B and C tests and AFFF MilSpec fire test standards, and whether tough life safety requirements may becoming eroded. It also considers whether this new MilSpec can meet challenging conditions of the increasingly hot summers being experienced globally and the safety factor which should be used in ARFF fire vehicle design application rates.

Research paper thumbnail of Fluorotelomer Based Foams: Are They Safe For Continued Use?

Research paper thumbnail of Changing times in Aviation foam testing

International Airport Review, 2012

This article covers changing times in Aviation foam testing. It considers the problems of edge fl... more This article covers changing times in Aviation foam testing. It considers the problems of edge flickers and gentle application and differences between fluorinated and fluorine free firefighting foams.

Research paper thumbnail of Field experiments on high expansion (HEX) foam application for controlling LNG pool fire

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009

Previous research suggests that high expansion foam with an expansion ratio of 500 to 1 is one of... more Previous research suggests that high expansion foam with an expansion ratio of 500 to 1 is one of the best options for controlling liquefied natural gas (LNG) pool fire on land. However, its effectiveness heavily depends on the foam application rate, foam generator location, and the design of LNG spill containment dike. Examination of these factors is necessary to achieve the maximum benefit for applying HEX on LNG pool fires. While theoretical study of the effects of foam on LNG fires is important, the complicated phenomena involved in LNG pool fire and foam application increase the need for LNG field experimentation. Therefore, five LNG experiments were conducted at Texas A&M University's Brayton Fire Training Field. ANGUS FIRE provided Expandol solution to form 500 to 1 high expansion foam (HEX) and its latest LNG Turbex Fixed High Expansion Foam Generators. In this paper, data collected during five experiments are presented and analyzed. The effectiveness of high expansion foam for controlling LNG pool fires with various application rates at two different types of containment pits is discussed. LNG fire behaviors and the effects of dike wall height are also presented and discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Flickers and Foam

Research paper thumbnail of Advances in Airport Rescue and FireFighting: Are We On The Right Track?

Research paper thumbnail of Limitations in Labelling

Cambridge Review of International Affairs

Research paper thumbnail of What do recent ICAO Fire test Changes Mean for Airports?

Research paper thumbnail of Missing Criteria

Industrial Fire Journal, 2014

This paper discusses missing criteria form ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) fire ... more This paper discusses missing criteria form ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) fire testing, which should be considered when selecting appropriate firefighting foams for various applications.

Research paper thumbnail of Missing firefighting foam criteria

The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul th... more The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul this year, underpinned by insightful analysis contrasting how the sprinkler market works compared to the water mist market. Whilst the European sprinkler market is dominated by a handful of manufacturers selling to hundreds of installers whose work is dictated by straightforward standards, water mist works on a per-project basis usually carried out by the manufacturer himself, who often has to prove that his system will work by carrying out his own tests. Such is the impact of a lack of an accepted performance standard on this market. Nevertheless the power of this technology should not be underestimated, and as the conference in Istanbul showed, water mist is often the technology of choice for some of the most challenging environments imaginable. Still on the subject of extinguishing technology, fire fighting foam continues to divide the industry. On the one side, many scientists, leading manufacturers of fluorine-free foams and environmental regulators continue to highlight the negative aspects of using fluorochemicals. On the other, some manufacturers insist the latest generation of C6-based AFFF gives no cause for concern, and that competitors' fluorine-free foams just don't perform as well-even though the best fluorine-free foams have passed the same performance tests (UL, ICAO B etc) as top-quality AFFF foams. The debate just doesn't seem to want to go away .

Research paper thumbnail of Missing firefighting foam criteria

The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul th... more The International Water Mist Association delivered a fascinating annual conference in Istanbul this year, underpinned by insightful analysis contrasting how the sprinkler market works compared to the water mist market. Whilst the European sprinkler market is dominated by a handful of manufacturers selling to hundreds of installers whose work is dictated by straightforward standards, water mist works on a per-project basis usually carried out by the manufacturer himself, who often has to prove that his system will work by carrying out his own tests. Such is the impact of a lack of an accepted performance standard on this market. Nevertheless the power of this technology should not be underestimated, and as the conference in Istanbul showed, water mist is often the technology of choice for some of the most challenging environments imaginable. Still on the subject of extinguishing technology, fire fighting foam continues to divide the industry. On the one side, many scientists, leading manufacturers of fluorine-free foams and environmental regulators continue to highlight the negative aspects of using fluorochemicals. On the other, some manufacturers insist the latest generation of C6-based AFFF gives no cause for concern, and that competitors' fluorine-free foams just don't perform as well-even though the best fluorine-free foams have passed the same performance tests (UL, ICAO B etc) as top-quality AFFF foams. The debate just doesn't seem to want to go away .