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Testing the Structural Integrity of the Air Force's Emergency Passenger Oxygen System at Altitude
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2000-02-01
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[PDF-413.96 KB]
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Edition:Final Report
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Abstract:The chemical bond attaching the elastic neck seal to the body of the protective breathing equipment (PBE) procured by the U.S. Air Force as an emergency passenger oxygen System (EPOS) was alleged to be inadequate to allow the PBE to perform as intended at altitude. To test this possibility, EPOS units were collected from Air Force Bases and systematically tested at altitude. The Civil Aerospace Medical Institute was requested to participate in the testing through the FAA Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Air Force's Office of Special Investigations due to the Institute's longstanding expertise in the area of PBE. Eighty-four of the EPOS units collected were divided into four groups of 21. Since the PBE in question were of relatively recent manufacture, three of the four groups were artificially aged. Altitude testing was conducted in a hypobaric chamber at a simulated altitude of 40,000 feet above sea level. An EPOS unit from each of the ""aged"" groups was placed on one of the four mannequin heads that were instrumented for monitoring pressure, temperature, and atmospheric gas concentrations. The EPOS units were activated at altitude with the primary data collection continuing for a minimum of five minutes after activation. The neck seal/hood interface did not fail on any of the 84 devices during altitude exposure. A destructive test series conducted on an additional 16 EPOS units indicated that an internal pressure approximately six times that observed at altitude was required to result in structural failure of the EPOS units. Based on the data collected in the performance of these tests, the neck seal/hood body interface bond utilized in the construction of these devices is sufficient to allow the PBE to perform as intended at altitude.
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