Scale model test to estimate thermal damage by fire in aircraft cargo

Authors

Jian Gao, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess TechnologyFollow
Tsuneyoshi Matsuoka, Toyohashi University of TechnologyFollow
Yuji Nakamura, Toyohashi University of TechnologyFollow

Abstract

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires fire detectors to alarm within one minute of the start of a fire in cargo compartments of airplanes. To determine whether such alarm timing works, investigations of the thermal damage to ceilings and other structures during the early stage of a fire were accomplished to demonstrate compliance with these FAA regulations. The objective was to test the feasibility of predicting convective heat transfer in early stage of a cargo compartment fire by conducting reduced scale (lab scale) experiments. First, the scaling laws was derived and validated. Then, full-scale and half-scale experiments were performed with attention to the heat fluxes from the fires. Similarity between the scaled tests were verified by matching dimensionless fire power profiles. Comparisons between the two-scale results showed good agreement in dimensionless heat fluxes to the ceiling and the rear bulkhead, thereby pointing to the capability of scale modeling as an effective tool for the present purpose.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.13023/psmij.2021.02-02-05

Recommended Citation

Gao, Jian; Matsuoka, Tsuneyoshi; and Nakamura, Yuji (2021) "Scale model test to estimate thermal damage by fire in aircraft cargo," Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13023/psmij.2021.02-02-05
Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psmij/vol2/iss2/5