Development of a Firefighting Agent Application Test Protocol for Aircraft Fuselage Composites, Phase I—Carbon Fiber

This project was initiated to develop a live fire test protocol that could determine if the amounts of fire extinguishing agent currently carried on Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicles are sufficient to extinguish fires involving aircraft built with advanced composite material fuselages. Currently two advanced composite materials are used in construction of commercial aircraft fuselages; GLAss-REinforced Fiber Metal Laminate, commonly called GLARE, and carbon fiber composite. The objective of this series of tests was to assess the fire behavior of carbon fiber composites. These tests focused on the following specific fire behaviors: (1) if either self-sustained burning or smoldering exist after fire exposure, (2) the extent of heat propagation through the carbon fiber composite, (3) how long it takes for the carbon fiber composite to naturally cool below 300°F (150°C), and (4) if there are any physical indicators that would help firefighters determine that the carbon fiber composite had cooled sufficiently to prevent reignition. These tests comprise the first phase of a two-phase approach to assess the fire behavior of aircraft fuselage advanced composite materials. The second phase will determine the amount of firefighting agent needed to extinguish and cool the composite.

DOT/FAA/TC-12/6
Author: John C. Hode