Generation of Buoyant Plume of Artificial Smoke for Airplane Tests

Details

• Creators:
  Eklund, Thor I.
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. Technical Center
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Smoke
  • Evacuation
  • Fire
  • Helium
  • Buoyant
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/CT-90/9
• 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:
  A buoyant artificial smoke generator was developed for airplane test applications. In the device, theatrical smoke is mixed with a mixture of helium and air. The total gas flow, the helium to air ratio, and the theatrical smoke, particulate generation rate can all be varied in the device. A gas mixture of 50 percent each of helium and air has the buoyancy properties of air, alone, heated to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. The device was used in cabin smoke evacuation tests in a modified Boeing 757 aircraft. Generation of the buoyant smoke in an aircraft resulted in dramatically different behavior from that previously observed with nonbuoyant theatrical smoke. The buoyant smoke spread further through the aircraft in a manner that was not predicted by an analytical model on cabin smoke spread. Besides being used to assess s airplane cabin smoke evacuation capability, the buoyant smoke generator has been used to evaluate smoke detector performance and optimal location in Air Force jet aircraft.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93173/dot_93173_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.46 MB]
• Collection(s):
  FAA Fire Safety
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:926a401da64e7a0ec8f5cd40caf0b65adc5d49e839ed13f46a7dc3f9da12aca938e7f66fea85fc47b9e0e88efe56bfd69d7caabb6caf85c98bc29435996614d1