Thor I. Eklund

A series of six fire tests was conducted on a 4-foot-diameter model fuselage located within a large building. A 4-foot-square pool of JP-4 was ignited adjacent to a single open door in the fuselage model. Heat and smoke accumulation within the fuselage were recorded to determine test repeatability. Concepts of Froude modeling were reviewed and developed for application to the behavior of external pool fires following an aircraft crash. The repeatability of the tests and the conceptual development indicate that Froude modeling is appropriate for studies of pool fire behavior in the presence of a fuselage. Anticipated limitations of the technique are discussed.

Louis J. Brown, Jr.

The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) smoke chamber is a widely used instrument for measuring smoke emitted from materials when exposed to radiant heat and flame sources. The standard NBS, chamber, however, lacks the capability of spanning the range of realistic heat flux levels experienced from a jet fuel fire. In order to provide this flexibility, a variable radiant heat flux Mellen furnace capable of reaching 10 British thermal units per square foot second (Btu/ft2s) was installed in the chamber. Also, a radiometer was mounted in the chamber for calibration of the furnace and a load cell was installed beneath the sample holder to monitor weight loss of test specimens. Finally, a laser transmissometer was mounted to allow comparisons with the standard photometric system supplied with the chamber. These modifications resulted in a more versatile laboratory test for characterizing material smoke emissions when exposed to radiant heat and flame, and for correlating laboratory and full-scale fire test results. Fifteen aircraft cabin materials were tested at 2.2, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 Btu/ft2 for piloted and nonpiloted exposure. For most of the materials tested, smoke production increased with increasing heat flux provided the sample did not ignite. Polycarbonate and polysulfone sheeting, wool carpet and PVC/ABS flooring produced considerably more smoke at heat flux levels above the “standard” 2.2 Btu/ft2 value. It was concluded that the “standard” 2.2 Btu/ft2 heat flux is insufficient for evaluating the smoke characteristics of cabin materials in a postcrash cabin fire situation where a higher and wider range of heat flux levels exists.

Morton Golub

The occurrence of degradation in singlet oxygenation of unsaturated polymers is discussed.

Eldon Nicholas

This outline provides a strategy for developing an interim fire safety standard for aircraft cabin materials. The strategy represents the state-of-the-art in cabin fire safety research and development effort to verify certain aspects and to finalize operating parameters in the test methods. This outline represents a team effort by the staff of the Cabin Fire Safety Program in NAFEC’s Fire Safety Branch. Expertise in the areas of material fire testing, toxicity, smoke, and fire dynamics was brought to bear on this task to develop a strategy for an interim standard.

C.P. Sarkos, J.C. Spurgeon, E.B. Nichols

The purpose of this paper is to familiarize individuals with the kinds of materials currently used in the cabin interior of a commercial airliner, to describe some of the more important fire tests used to evaluate these materials, and to summarize the behavior of these cabin materials when subjected to each of the fire test methods. Specifically, a detailed description is presented of the following respective test methods for flammability, smoke and toxic gas emissions: vertical Bunsen burner test. National Bureau of Standards (NBS) smoke chamber and a combustion tube furnace test. Fire test data on 75 cabin materials, are summarized for burn length, flame-out time., specific optical density (D), of smoke, and yields of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and carbon monoxide (CO).