Space-Cabin Atmospheres: Part II - Fire and Blast Hazards. A Literature Review

The rapid evolution of aircraft and, lately, space vehicles has brought with it the ever-increasing difficulty of designing for prevention of fires and explosions. The present-day sealed cabin with its limited work space, unusual atmospheric constituents, and lack of flexibility in emergency situations has brought new and ill-defined hazards into the picture. In the past, numerous data have been compiled on the fire and explosion characteristics of all things combustible. Unfortunately, much of the material is not pertinent to the actual operational problems in space. The confusion and controversy arising from attempts to evaluate the space-cabin fire problem appear to stem from past failure to compile the scattered data and to expose it to critical review and selection. In the compilation that follows, an attempt has been made to review the best available data that was deemed actually pertinent to the present problem. The effects of unusual atmospheres have been emphasized, but, as will soon be evident, other physical parameters also play a major role in determining the nature of the problem. Chapter 1 contains a discussion of pertinent definitions and theory. This is detailed only to the point of anticipating some of the problems of interpretation that may arise in other chapters of the report. Included in this chapter is speculation on the impact of unusual environmental conditions such as aerodynamic heating, reduced gravitational acceleration, and low ambient pressures. Chapter 2 covers flammable fabrics and carbonaceous solids; Chapter 3, specific fire hazards involving flammable liquids, vapors, and gases; and Chapter 4, electrical fires. Chapter 5 covers the fire, blast, and flash hazards from meteoroid penetration; and Chapter 6, the problems of fire prevention and extinguishment in space cabins. Chapter 7 reviews the factors of fire and blast hazards in selection of a space-cabin atmosphere.