- Author
- Garner, r. P.
- Title
- Potential for Pulmonary Heat Injury Resulting From the Activation of a Cabin Water Spray System to Fight Aircraft Cabin Fires. Final Report.
- Coporate
- FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, OK
- Sponsor
- Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
- Report
- DOT/FAA/AM-95/17, May 1995, 11 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- aircraft compartments | aircraft fires | water sprays | respiratory system | smoke | aircraft accidents | aircraft safety | injuries | enthalpy | cabin atmospheres
- Identifiers
- thermal injury
- Abstract
- A cabin water spray system (CWSS) has been suggested as a means of attenuating the severity of smoke and fire commonly associated with aircraft accidents. All aspects of passenger and cabin safety must be considered when evaluating a new safety system or concept. The purposes of this report are to briefly review the pathophysiological changes occurring in the respiratory system as a result of thermal injury and to quantitatively estimate the risk of creating a more hazardous cabin environment by activation of CWSS. Changes in the heat content of the cabin atmosphere resulting from CWSS activation were calculated using parameters consistent with current aircraft and proposals for CWSS design. The results suggest that only a very small volume of the aircraft cabin would have an increase in heat content that could result in thermal injury.