- Author
-
Faget, M. A.
|
Lilly, D. S.
|
Lasater, J. B.
|
Caldwell, B.
|
Duncan, P.
|
Sprick, C.
|
Todd, R. J.
- Title
- Active Firefighter Cooling and Breathing Systems. Final Report. July 1992-December 1992.
- Coporate
- Space Industries, Inc., League City, TX
- Sponsor
- Air Force Civil Engineering Support Agency, Eglin AFB, FL
- Report
-
ESL-TR-92-72-143
February 1994
76 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM: Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC), 8725 John J. Kingman Road, Ft. Belvoir, VA 22060-6218. Telephone: 1-800-225-3842 or 703-767-8273; Fax: 703-767-8228. Website: http://www.dtic.mil LIMITED DISTRIBUTION to authorized U.S. Government agencies
- Contract
- C-F08635-92-C-00062
- Keywords
-
fire fighters
|
self contained breathing apparatus
|
cooling
|
fire fighting
|
protective clothing
|
stress (physiology)
|
life support systems
- Identifiers
- portable life support; personal cooling; cryogen; Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
- Abstract
- This report contains the results of an SBIR Phase 1 design study effort to develop a lightweight, portable self-contained brathing/cooling system for firefighting. The purpose of the development is to improve firefighter safety and efficiency by providing thermal protection and breathing gas for prolonged periods of operation (2 to 4 hrs.). Included in this report are details on system requirements, trade studies, preliminary designs, engineering analyses, operational considerations, and results from breadboard testing. Trade studies were conducted to select optimal systems for air storage and body cooling. Engineering analyses were performed to identify fire/rescue external and metabolic heat loads, heat transfer efficiencies, and failure modes. Applicable military and civilian regulatory documents were referenced to establish operational requirements. Tests and analysis indicate that the optimal system (i.e., safe, lightweight, portable, orientation independent, and maintainable) employs subcritical air storage and liquid body cooling.