Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

An algorithm is developed to predict the thermal response of aircraft ceiling materials during a post-crash fire scenario. The scenario involves an aircraft's emergency exit doorway which opens onto the flames of a fuel-spill fire which engulfs the fuselage. Data of near-ceiling temperatures acquired during full-scale, post-crash test simulations provide indirect validation of the algorithm. The post-crash time-to-ceiling-ignition is proposed as a measure of cabin fire safety. This measure would be used as a surrogate for the post-crash time available for passengers to safely evacuate the cabin. In this sense, the algorithm is exercised in an example evaluation of the fire safety of a candidate honeycomb ceiling material used together in cabin systems involving polyurethane cushion seating.