Electrical Arc Ignition Testing for Common Handheld Electrical Devices in Oxygen-Enriched Atmosphere

摘要

Electrical arc ignition is a concern for materials used in low pressure oxygen-enriched environments such as inside spacecraft. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center requested that the NASA White Sands Test Facility conduct arc ignition tests to evaluate the hazard of electrical arc ignition of materials that could be in close proximity to batteries for the Constellation Program. Wire-break electrical arc tests were performed to determine the current threshold for ignition of generic cotton with a fixed voltage of 3.7 V, a common voltage for handheld electrical devices. These tests were performed in 34 % oxygen at varying pressures.