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Author
McCaffrey, B. J. | Tu, K. M. | Rinkinen, W. J. | Eklund, T. I.
Title
Model Study of the Aircraft Cabin Environment Resulting From In-Flight Fires. Final Report.
Coporate
Maryland Univ., College Park National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD Federal Aviation Administration, Atlantic City International Airport, NJ
Sponsor
Federal Aviation Administration, Atlantic City International Airport, NJ
Report
DOT/FAA/CT-90/22
November 1992
126 p.
Distribution
Available from National Technical Information Service
Keywords
aircraft compartments | in-flight fires | heat transfer | scale models | simulation | ventilation
Identifiers
counterflow
Abstract
A series of tests were conducted to examine the effect of the ventilation on the environment in an aircraft passenger cabin during an in-flight fire. These tests were run in a reduced scale mockup of an aircraft passenger cabin. A propane burner operating at 10 or 30 kilowatts served as the fire source. The simulated seats and the cabin lining material were both noncombustible. The vertical temperature and gas concentration profiles in the cabin were measured as a function of time. Reversing the normal ventilation flow direction by introducing the forced air at the floor level and exhausting it at the ceiling significantly reduced the measured temperatures and gas concentrations. Opening two 152- by 305-millimeter hatches in the end walls at the ceiling level to the outside air resulted in a significant reduction in the measured gas concentrations.