1 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its
seventy-fifth session (15 to 24 May 2002), having noted that the relevant
requirements of the International Life-Saving Appliance (LSA) Code specify
the provision of desalinators in liferafts and lifeboats and having
recognised the need for the desalinators to be manufactured and tested in
accordance with uniform performance standards, approved the Performance
standards and performance tests for manually powered reverse osmosis
desalinators, set out in the annex.
2
Member Governments are invited:
2.1 to apply
the annexed Performance standards and performance tests, in conjunction with
the provisions of paragraphs 4.1.5.1.19, 4.4.7.5 and 4.4.8.9 of the LSA
Code; and
2.2 to bring the annexed Performance
standards and performance tests to the attention of shipowners,
shipbuilders, ship manufacturers and other interested parties for use as
appropriate.
Annex
1 General
These performance standards and
performance tests should be applied to manually powered reverse osmosis
desalinators referred to in paragraphs 4.1.5.1.19, 4.4.7.5 and 4.4.8.9
of the LSA Code.
2 Performance
standards
2.1 The device should not
contain any materials causing harmful effects to health when in contact
with water.
2.2 Appropriate
biocide should be provided to prevent the growth of bacillus or mould
during storage.
2.3 The
device should be easily operated by a person in a survival craft.
2.4 The manual force
required to operate the device should not be excessive for one person.
In general, the required force should be less than 52 N.
2.5 A device intended for
stowage in an inflatable liferaft container should continue to function
properly after being subjected to the liferaft drop test in accordance
with paragraph 3.1.8.
2.6
The device should produce potable water with a salt rejection rate of
not less than 95% from sea water, at a rate within the range specified
by the manufacturer, but not less than 0.5 litres per hour, when tested
in accordance with paragraph 3.1.5.
3 Performance tests
3.1 At least three specimens
of manually powered reverse osmosis desalinators should be subjected to
the following tests in the order specified.
.1 Temperature cycling test
The specimens should be subject to the temperature
cycling as prescribed in paragraph 1.2.1 of the Annex to resolution
MSC.81(70) and then to external examination. The specimens should show
no sign of damage such as shrinking, cracking, swelling, dissolution or
change of mechanical qualities.
.2 Humidity test
The specimens should be subject to a temperature of
+65°C and relative humidity of 90% for at least 96 h, followed by ten
days at 20°C to 25°C at 65% relative humidity, and then to external
examination. The specimens should show no sign of damage such as
shrinking, cracking, swelling, dissolution or change of mechanical
qualities.
.3 Vibration test
The specimens should be mounted to a vibration testing
machine and the following tests should be conducted in three mutually
perpendicular directions. The specimens should show no sign of damage
and should continue to function effectively.
.3.1 Resonance search vibration test
The specimens should be vibrated at frequencies from 5
Hz to 16 Hz, at a single amplitude of 1 mm in a period of 10 min. Then
the specimens should be vibrated at frequencies from 16 Hz to 60 Hz, at
an acceleration of 1 G in a period of 10 min. The frequencies and
directions at which resonance occurred should be recorded.
.3.2 Endurance vibration test
The specimens should be vibrated for at least 1.5 h at
the resonant frequencies, or if no resonance was observed, at 16 Hz at a
single amplitude of 1 mm.
.4
Corrosion resistance test
The specimens should be exposed to a
salt water spray test (5% NaCl by weight) at a temperature of 35 ±3°C
for 100 h without interruption. After completion of the test the
specimens should show no corrosion which could affect their efficient
functioning.
.5 Rate of
production and potability test
Using salt water solution (3.4% NaCl
by weight) at a temperature of 20 to 25°C, the specimens should be
operated continuously for at least 14 hours according to the
manufacturer's instruction. The device should then be shut down for 12
hours and the procedure repeated. The product water flow rate and
salinity in ppm should be measured every 60 min. The salt rejection rate
should be not less than 95%. The capacity for 48 hours of use should be
calculated based on the measured flow rate.
.6 Manual power test
The amount of manual power required
to operate the device should be measured and recorded.
.7 Drop test to the floor
The specimens should be dropped from
a height of 2 m onto a rigid steel plate (about 16 mm thickness) on a
concrete floor so as to hit the floor with the specimen's major axis
perpendicular, horizontal and inclined at 45° to the floor. After the
test, the specimens should show no damage which could affect their
efficient functioning.
.8 Drop
test with liferaft
For a device intended for stowage in
an inflatable liferaft container, each specimen should be stowed inside
the packed inflatable liferaft container, and dropped into water from a
height of 18 m or the maximum stowage height of the liferaft, whichever
is greater. The test should be conducted two times, and the specimens
and liferafts should show no damage which could affect their efficient
functioning.
.9 Pressure test
The maximum operating pressure
specified by the manufacturer should be applied to each port of the
device for a period of 10 min with the other port plugged. The specimens
should show no leakage or damage.
.10 Relief valve test
The operating pressure of the relief
valve should be measured, and the relief valve should operate at a
pressure in accordance with the manufacturer.s specification.
.11 High temperature performance
test
The specimens should be taken from a
stowage temperature of +65°C and then operated at ambient temperature
using +30°C salt water solution (3.4% NaCl by weight) for a period of 30
min. The product water flow rate and salinity should be measured. The
flow rate should be not less than the manufacturer's specification, and
the salt rejection rate should be not less than 95%.
.12 Low temperature performance test
The specimens should be taken from a
stowage temperature of -30°C and then operated at ambient temperature
using 0°C salt water solution (3.4% NaCl by weight) for a period of 30
min. The product water flow rate and salinity should be measured.
The flow rate should be not less than the
manufacturer's specification, and the salt rejection rate should be not
less than 95%.
.13 Endurance
test
The specimens should be operated
continuously for at least 500 h according to the manufacturer.s
instruction. Performance data should be measured twice daily on each
specimen. The specimens should show no sign of damage and should
continue to function effectively.