FIRE SUPPRESSANTS FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS

NEW AND PLANNED AEROSPACE AIRCRAFT ARE BEING CONSTRUCTED ON COMPOSITE MATERIALS WHICH UNDERGO UNCOMMON REACTIONS IN FIRE INCIDENTS. THEIR DECOMPOSITION PRESENTS POTENTIAL DAMAGE CAPABILITY TO ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS BEING EXPOSED AND A POTENTIAL HEALTH DANGER TO HUMANS IN THE VICINITY OF THE COMPOSITE MATERIALS DECOMPOSITION. IGNITION AND COMBUSTION OF THESE COMPOSITE MATERIALS CAN RESULT IN INCREASED FIRE HAZARD TO AEROSPACE AIRCRAFT FUELS, PROPELLANTS AND MUNITIONS. BURNING CHARACTERISTICS AND FIRE SUPPRESSION TECHNIQUES MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN THOSE OF KNOWN MATERIALS. THE PROPOSED EFFORT WILL IDENTIFY THE DECOMPOSITION AND BURNING CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS, EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRENT FIRE SUPPRESSANTS IN SUPPRESSING FIRES INVOLVING COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND DEVELOP NEW OR MODIFIED FIRE SUPPRESSANTS TO EFFECTIVELY CONTROL AND EXTINGUISH THIS TYPE OF FIRE AND ITS POTENTIAL COLLATERAL DAMAGE.