FIRE ENVIRONMENT IN COUNTERFLOW VENTILATION: THE IN-FLIGHT CABIN AIRCRAFT FIRE PROBLEM

Using propane gas burning in a diffusive mode, fire sources up to the equivalent heat release rate of a fully involved seat were simulated in an approximately 1/2 scale closed section of a ventilated-wide-body aircraft cabin. The ventilation flow direction was as in a commercial practice--counter to that of the buoyancy driven fire gases, i.e., fresh air was forced in at the top of the enclosure and drawn out at the bottom. Results indicate that for nominal ventilation rates the potential for significant enthalpy exchange through ventilation in times corresponding to a few airchanges is limited. That is, only a small proportion of the energy release rate of the fire is getting exhausted. Correlations of thermal conditions in the enclosure as a function of time, heat release rate of the fire, and position in the cabin are presented. Semi-infinite transient conduction models appear adequate in capturing the essential features of the fire-ceiling thermal interaction. Reduced data on PC-readable floppy disks for the entire test series will be made available for future cabin modelling purposes.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Institute of Standards and Technology

  Center for Fire Research
  Gaithersburg, MD  United States  20760
• Authors:
  • MCCAFFREY, B J
• Publication Date: 1988-6

Media Info

• Pagination: 100 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aircraft; Fires; Simulation
• Uncontrolled Terms: Interior
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00478330
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: NBSIR-88/3806
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 31 1989 12:00AM