Enclosure Fire Tests for Understanding Aircraft Composite Fire Environments (Postprint)
Abstract
Composite materials are increasingly being used in aviation applications and as the amount of composite material increases, there is a greater need to develop a better understanding of composite material response in fire environments. We have recently developed an experimental and computational program to examine this problem, with a focus on understanding duration, intensity, and the underlying physics during composite fires as well as the technology and procedures to safely manage composite fire events. In the past year, we have performed both small and intermediate scale tests to understand the behavior of composite materials used in aviation applications. The current focus is on a set of intermediate-scale tests that generates data useful for understanding the behavior of carbon fiber epoxy composites in adverse thermal environments. Intermediate scale tests help bridge the gap of understanding between small-scale experimental efforts and practical scale problems. Our intermediate-scale tests are expected to result in a thermally extreme environment that may be representative of an intense fire scenario. The test set-up involves a 91 cm cubic enclosure, instrumented to measure heat flux, gas species, velocity, and temperature. Features of the enclosure include controlled air aspiration, insulated walls, and gas burners to ignite the composite materials placed therein. The floor of the enclosure is loaded with 22.7 to 45.4 kg (50 to 100 lbs) of material. Propane burners are used to ignite the solid materials during the first few minutes of the test. The remainder of the test involves sustained combustion of the composite materials. Preliminary results provide information on the severity of the environment both in terms of thermal intensity and chemical products.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA553462
Entities
People
- Alexander L. Brown
- Amanda B. Dodd
- Brent M. Pickett
Organizations
- Sandia National Laboratories