- Author
- Friedman, R.
- Title
- Fire Safety in the Low-Gravity Spacecraft Environment.
- Coporate
- NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
- Report
- NASA/TM-1999-209285, July 1999, 20 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900. Website: http://www.ntis.gov
- Keywords
- spacecraft environments | fire safety | gravity | microgravity | fire prevention | combustion | ignition source
- Abstract
- Research in microgravity (low-gravity) combustion promises innovations and improvements In fire prevention and response for human-crew spacecraft. Findings indicate that matenal flammability and fire spread In microgravity are significantly affected by atmospheric flow rate, oxygen concentration, and diluent composition. This information can lead to modifications and correlations to standard material-assessment tests for prediction of fire reststance in space. Research on smoke-particle changes in microgravity promises future improvements and increased sensitivity of smoke detectors in spacecraft. Research on fire suppression by extinguishing agents and venting can yield new information on effective control of the rare, but serious fire events in spacecraft.