The risk of fire remains an ever-present danger in spaceflight. Most fire safety hazards originate in or eventually involve solid fuels, whether they be cellulosic (e.g., cotton fabric), hydrocarbons (e.g., plastics) or high-energy density electrode materials (e.g., batteries). A key approach to ensuring safety has been to focus on reducing the potential flammability of these materials – achieved by limiting their ignitability, potential for flame spread, and ultimate heat-release potential if ignited [1-3]. This approach has been relatively effective despite several close calls [4]. The limits of our understanding, however, are continually being challenged as future spaceflight missions incorporate partial gravity, enhanced oxygen, new types and classes of materials (e.g., composites), and higher energy-density batteries. This presents both an exciting scientific opportunity to enhance our understanding of solid fuel combustion processes while also posing a dire threat to future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.
Topical: Solid Fuel Combustion in Partial and Micro-Gravity
2021
11 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Micro- and Partial Gravity Atmospheric Flight
AIAA | 2002
|NTIS | 1990
|AIAA-2002-4499 Micro- and Partial Gravity Atmospheric Flight
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2002
|