Development of Improved Flammability Criteria for Aircraft Thermal Acoustic Insulation

摘要

A large number of small-, intermediate-, and full-scale flame propagation tests representative of an in-flight fire were conducted on various thermal acoustic insulation blanket materials. Results indicated that the current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) vertical Bunsen burner test requirement could not adequately discriminate between poorly performing materials and materials that performed well under realistic fire scenarios. A radiant panel laboratory test was shown to be an effective method for evaluating the in-flight fire resistance qualities of thermal acoustic insulation. In addition, a new laboratory test was developed for evaluating the postcrash fire burnthrough resistance of thermal acoustic insulation. The test method was based on full-scale tests in which a fuselage structure was subjected to jet fuel fires. Approximately 60 burnthrough tests were conducted on a variety of insulation materials. Insulation materials compliant with the new burnthrough test method will provide a minimum of 4 minutes of protection against a postcrash fuel fire.