Joe C. Spurgeon, Louise C. Speitel, Ray E. Feher

Seventy-five typical aircraft interior materials were thermally decomposed using a combustion tube furnace. A 250-milligram sample was exposed to a temperature of 600 degree C for 5 minutes while maintaining an airflow rate of 2 liters per minute through the combustion tube. The combustion products were collected in liquid filled fritted bubblers, and the contents were analyzed for hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide, and formaldehyde by differential pulse polarography; nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide by visible spectrophotometry; and hydrogen fluoride by potentiometer titration. Carbon monoxide was collected in plastic sample bags and measured by nondispersive infrared analysis. The yields of the nine gases have been reported in terms of milligrams per gram of material. Parametric studies were also conducted to characterize the effects of experimental parameters on gas yields. These parameters include sample weight (250 and 750 mg), percent oxygen (0, 10.5, and 21 percent), airflow rate (1 to 3 1 pm), and temperature (400, 600 and 800 degree C).

Doug Ingerson

The continued fire endurance of fire-blocked aircraft seat cushions after service wear and tear was evaluated based on in-service examinations performed on commercial aircraft and sample testing of donated cushions per the oil burner test contained in Part 25, Appendix F, Part II of the Federal Aviation Regulations. A total of 176 examinations took place onboard aircraft to evaluate the condition of the in-service seat cushions and the 38 used seat cushions sets that were donated for this project. The comparison indicated that the donated cushion sets were representative of actual in-service conditions. The donated cushion sets were then evaluated for continued fire worthiness with the aircraft cushion oil burner test. Eight pairs were retained in stock condition and the remaining 30 pairs were altered to a "modified" test configuration. The test results included the weight loss profile for each cushion set burnt. The test results indicated that there were no significant fire endurance problems with the fire-blocking materials that were composed of Kevlar, Nomex, and/or polybenzimidazole (PBI) components

Timothy Marker

This report contains a summary of the work performed during the development of a minimum performance standard for lavatory trash receptacle automatic fire extinguishers. The developmental work was performed under the direction of the International Halon Replacement Working Group.

Harry Webster

A British Air tours Boeing 737 experienced an engine failure during takeoff at the Manchester International Airport, in Manchester, England, in 1985 which resulted in 55 fire fatalities. The aircraft's reported initial fuselage bum through time of 15 to 20 seconds was inconsistent with previous accidents and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) large-scale burn through tests. The FAA conducted a fire test using a Convair 880 test aircraft designed for investigating fuselage resistance to burn through when subjected to a wind driven, offset, large fuel fire which incorporated certain elements of the Manchester fire. The test showed that this condition resulted in an initial burn through time of 1 minute 10 seconds and ignition of the, cabin furnishings about 1 minute later. This test also investigated the locations of the initial burn through and the paths in which the interior fire spread to get to the cabin. It was determined that fire penetration was due to melting fuselage skin and not by access through open doors or outflow valves.

Nick J. Povey

Papers presented at the Propulsion and Energetic (PEP) 88th Symposium, held in Dresdon, Germany