Publication Date:
2018-06-06
Description:
NASA's current method of material screening determines fire resistance under conditions representing a worst-case for normal gravity flammability - the Upward Flame Propagation Test (Test 1). Its simple pass-fail criteria eliminates materials that burn for more than 12 inches from a standardized ignition source. In addition, if a material drips burning pieces that ignite a flammable fabric below, it fails. The applicability of Test 1 to fires in microgravity and extraterrestrial environments, however, is uncertain because the relationship between this buoyancy-dominated test and actual extraterrestrial fire hazards is not understood. There is compelling evidence that the Test 1 may not be the worst case for spacecraft fires, and we don t have enough information to assess if it is adequate at Lunar or Martian gravity levels.
Keywords:
Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry
Type:
Strategic Research to Enable NASA's Exploration Missions Conference and Workshop: Poster Session, Volume 2; 296-305; NASA/CP-2004-213205/VOL2
Format:
application/pdf
