PROJECT TITLE: Study of Agent Effectiveness in Suppression of Aircraft Post-Crash Cabin Fires Using Advanced FT-IR Diagnostics
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
The life safety problems in post-crash aircraft fire scenarios are particularly complex, as one needs to address a number of critical issues: high environment temperatures, high radiative heat fluxes, flammability of the polymeric cabin materials, toxicity of pyrolysis and combustion products, and interactions of the fire suppression agent (if used) with material pyrolysis and combustion products. Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. (AFR) and its affiliate, On-Line Technologies, Inc. (On-Line) have developed advanced FT-IR diagnostic methods for combustion systems and incorporated these methods into advanced material evaluation instruments, such as a high temperature Oxygen Index (OI)/FT-IR apparatus developed for the Army Materials Laboratory. The overall objective of the proposed program is to evaluate a test procedure and apparatus to investigate the interaction of fire suppression agents with pyrolysis and combustion products of representative polymeric aircraft cabin materials in high temperature, high radiative heat flux environments. This work will be comprised of four tasks: 1) selection of representative polymer samples; 2) modification of an existing OI/FT-IR apparatus, followed by fire suppression tests with the measurement of gaseous products and smoke by FT-IR spectroscopy; 3) analysis of data and evaluation of product toxicity; and 4) final evaluation of this method/apparatus.
POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
The potential commercial applications of the enhanced OI/FT-IR instrument and testing/procedure include product development, fire suppression agent screening materials testing, and quality control in private laboratories for transportation or building construction needs. This system could also be used by the DoD, NASA, NIST, or the FAA in a similar manner to develop safer materials.
NAME AND ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Yonggang Chen
Advanced Fuel Research, Inc.
87 Church Street
East Hartford , CT 06108-3742
NAME AND ADDRESS OF OFFEROR
Advanced Fuel Research, Inc.
87 Church Street
East Hartford , CT 06108-3742