ISO 7203-4:2022

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 7203-4
First edition
2022-02
Corrected version
2022-03
Fire extinguishing media — Foam
concentrates —
Part 4:
Specification for Class A foam
concentrates for application on Class
A fires
Agents extincteurs — Émulseurs —
Partie 4: Spécifications pour les agents émulseurs destinés à une
application par les matières solide combustible
Reference number
© ISO 2022
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Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Type and use of Class A foam concentrates . 3
4.1 General . 3
4.2 Use with sea water . 3
5 Tolerance of the foam concentrate to freezing and thawing . 3
6 Sediment in the foam concentrate .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 . 4
8 pH of the foam concentrate . 4
8.1 pH limits . 4
8.2 Sensitivity to temperature . . 4
9 Surface tension of the foam solution . 4
9.1 Before temperature conditioning . 4
9.2 Temperature sensitivity . . 5
10 Expansion and drainage of foam .5
10.1 Expansion . 5
10.1.1 Limits . 5
10.2 Drainage . 5
10.2.1 Limits . 5
11 Test fire performance . .5
12 Corrosion . 5
13 Toxicology and environmental information . 5
14 Marking, packaging and specification sheet . 5
14.1 Marking . 5
14.2 Packaging . 6
14.3 Specification sheet . 6
Annex A (normative) Preliminary sampling and conditioning of the foam concentrate .7
Annex B (normative) Determination of tolerance to freezing and thawing .8
Annex C (normative) Determination of percentage of sediment.10
Annex D (normative) Determination of viscosity for pseudo-plastic foam concentrates .11
Annex E (normative) Determination of surface tension .13
Annex F (normative) Determination of expansion and drainage time .14
Annex G (normative) Determination of fire test performance .20
Annex H (normative) Toxicology and environmental information .22
Annex I (informative) Compatibility .23
Annex J (normative) Determination of viscosity using a rotational viscometer with defined
shear rate .24
iii
Bibliography .28
iv
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
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electrotechnical standardization.
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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
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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 system using foam and powder.
This corrected version of ISO 7203-4:2022 incorporates the following corrections:
— the publication year included on the cover page and in the headers and footers of the document
has been corrected from 2021 to 2022.
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.
v
Introduction
Firefighting foams are widely used to control and extinguish fires of flammable liquids and for
inhibiting reignition. They can also be used to prevent the ignition of flammable liquids and, in certain
conditions, extinguish fires of solid combustibles.
Foams can be used in combination with other extinguishing media, particularly halocarbons, 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 the ISO 7076
series.
Attention is drawn to Annex I, which deals with the compatibility of foam concentrates.
1)
Attention is also drawn to Annex J, which contains information previously included ISO 3219:1993
that is considered relevant to this document.
NOTE ISO 3219:1993 is currently under revision with a view to expansion into a series. The content included
in Annex J has not yet been incorporated into a new Part.
A specification for portable extinguishers can be found in ISO 7165.
1) Cancelled and replaced by ISO 3219-1:2021 and ISO 3219-2:2021.
vi
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 7203-4:2022(E)
Fire extinguishing media — Foam concentrates —
Part 4:
Specification for Class A foam concentrates for application
on Class A fires
1 Scope
This document specifies the essential properties and performance of liquid foam concentrates used
to make foams for the extinguishment and inhibition of reignition of fires of Class A fuels. Minimum
performance on certain test fires is specified.
NOTE 1 Class A fires are fires involving solid materials, usually of an organic nature, in which combustion
normally takes place with the formation of glowing embers (see 3.16).
NOTE 2 Class A fuels can include materials such as vegetation, wood, cloth, paper, rubber and some plastics
(see 3.17).
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 304, Surface active agents — Determination of surface tension by drawing up liquid films
ISO 3104, Petroleum pr
...