Modeling of Hidden Fire in Aircraft Overhead Area

Details

• Creators:
  Guo, Haiqing ; Oztekin, Ezgi S. ; Crowley, Sean ; Scrofani, Paul ; Lyon, Richard E.
• Corporate Creators:
  C-FAR Services, LLC ; Diakon Solutions, LLC ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center ; Galaxy Scientific Corporation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Fire
  • Aircraft
  • Fluid dynamics
  • Aircraft cabins
  • Temperature
  • Hidden fire
  • Aircraft overhead
  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • Ceiling jet
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/TC-18/14
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center
• Abstract:
  Hidden fire in the aircraft cabin has been characterized as a hazardous phenomenon to in-flight safety and could lead to catastrophic disaster. Detecting hidden fire at the earliest stage is required and can be achieved only through an improved understanding of the transport of hot gases and smoke due to a possible hidden fire. This research uses the computation fluid dynamics tool to simulate the heat and mass transport in situations of hidden fire in the overhead area of the aircraft cabin. The modeled temperatures are compared with the full-scale test results, and reasonable agreements are observed. The simulation also presents comprehensive hot gas transport information. Further investigations are performed to examine the effect of ambient pressure and the fire source location. It is found that at cruise altitude with reduced ambient pressure, ceiling temperature increases as a result of increased flame height and decreased air entrainment. The ceiling temperature is sensitive to the fire source location. Hot gases tend to migrate to the highest ceiling location. Obstruction thicker than the ceiling jet boundary layer at the ceiling level can result in extra hot spots.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/57750/dot_57750_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.23 MB]
• Collection(s):
  FAA Fire Safety ; FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f0076e9f68740283b578146d72baf51e2e7fb0370c5f85d93930053cbfd6913aedc6bcc5c4a4ee840824cd0a29604e34872805320588e3fed7a3f3d68dfdcd2e