MoD Eskişehir Fasbat Aircraft Hangar — High-Expansion Foam Suppression

From a fire-engineering standpoint, an aircraft hangar is one of the most demanding examples of the “large volume + large quantity of flammable fuel” equation. On the MoD Eskişehir Fasbat Aircraft Hangar project, A-Pro Engineering met this risk with a high-expansion foam suppression system: a complete system that fills the vast hangar volume with foam within seconds of a fire.

Why Foam? The Nature of a Jet-Fuel Fire

The primary risk protected in a hangar is the jet fuel carried by the aircraft that can pool on the floor (Class B, flammable-liquid fire). In this type of fire, water alone is useless — even harmful:

• Being denser than fuel, water sinks beneath it and can spread the burning fuel, worsening the fire.
• Foam blankets the fuel surface like a thin cover; it cuts off oxygen, suppresses vapour and prevents re-ignition.

The international reference standard for aircraft-hangar fire protection is NFPA 409, which is built around foam systems.

High-Expansion Foam: The Logic of Filling a Volume

Hangars are not just wide but also very tall in volume. This is where high-expansion foam comes in:

• A small amount of foam concentrate and water expands hundreds of times to produce an enormous foam volume.
• The entire hangar volume fills with foam within seconds; the fire is suppressed not only on the floor but three-dimensionally.
• Aircraft, equipment and personnel gain fast, total protection.

The Heart of the System: Bladder Tank, Generator and Deluge Valve

The system was installed complete from complementary main components:

• Bladder (membrane) foam tanks — dose the foam concentrate into the line at the correct ratio, driven by the pressure water applies to the membrane, with no need for a separate pump.
• High-expansion foam generators — mix the foam solution with air to produce high-expansion foam and discharge it into the hangar.
• Deluge valves — open when detection triggers, bringing all open nozzle groups online at once; they start suppressing a large area instantly.

Turnkey Delivery

A-Pro Engineering carried the project complete, from a single source:

1. Engineering design — foam flow rate, expansion ratio and discharge scenario for the hangar volume.
2. Procurement — bladder tanks, foam generators, deluge valve sets and ancillary equipment.
3. Mechanical works — foam and water pipework, support systems.
4. Installation — generator, valve and nozzle installation.
5. Testing and commissioning — functional and foam-discharge scenario tests.

Outcome

The MoD Eskişehir Fasbat Aircraft Hangar was secured with the right solution for large-volume, high-fuel-risk structures — a high-expansion foam suppression system. The project reflects A-Pro Engineering’s experience installing complete foam suppression systems in special-risk military and industrial structures.