- Author
-
Reuther, J. J.
- Title
- Definition of Experiments to Investigate Fire Suppressants in Microgravity.
- Coporate
- Battelle, Columbus, OH
- Sponsor
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH
- Report
-
NASA Contractor Report 185295,
December 1990,
62 p.
- Contract
- NASA-CONTRACT-NAS3-25362
- Keywords
-
microgravity
|
experiments
|
spacecraft
|
fire safety
|
space shuttle
|
space statistics
|
solid fuels
|
oxidizers
|
smoldering combustion
|
fire suppression
- Identifiers
- review of suppression concepts for space; experiment definition and requirements for spacecraft fire suppression; definition completion and implementation plan for fire-suppression equipment
- Abstract
- Defined are the conceptual design and operation of a critical set of experiments expected to yield information on suppressants and suppressant delivery systems under realistic spacecraft-fire conditions (smoldering). Specific experiment parameters are provided on the solid fuel (carbon), oxidants (habitable spacecraft atmsopheres), fuel/oxidant supply, mixing mode and rate (quiescent and finite; ventilated and replenishable), ignition mode and event, fire-zone size, fire conditions, lifetime, and consequences (toxicity), suppressants (CO₂, H₂O, N₂) and suppressant delivery systems, and diagnostics. The scale, number, and duration of proposed ow-gravity experiments were estimated using data not only on the limitations posed by spacecraft-carrier (Shuttle or Space Freedom) accommodations, but also data on the details and experiences of standardized smolder-suppression experiments at normal gravity. Deliberately incorporated into the design was interchangeability provided by the concept of using up to 25 modular fuel canisters within a containment vessel, which permits both integration into the existing low-gravity in-space combustion experiments on either the Shuttle now or Freedom later and simultaneous testing of separate experiments to conserve utilities and time.