Wind-aided flame spread under oblique forced flow

he wind-aided flame spread process along a solid fuel rod under oblique forced flow is analyzed in absence of gravity or when the forced flow dominates the gravity-induced flow. The transverse velocity is large enough to ensure that mixing of the fuel vapors and air occurs in a thin boundary layer surrounding the fuel rod and we can use the boundary layer approximation to describe the gas-phase chemical reaction and downwind flame spread process. A global, second-order, Arrhenius expression is employed to describe the gas-phase reaction, while the solid surface gasification reaction is modeled in terms of a constant pyrolysis temperature. The solid is heated by the hot gases convected from the flame by the axial component of the velocity in the direction of the flame spread. The solid will be considered thermally thick, assuming the thickness of the heated layer in the solid to be small compared with the rod radius. The analysis determines the flame spread velocity and the flow structure in the flame front region. The analysis also shows that flame spread is not possible at large flow velocities due to finite rate effects, while at low velocities the gas-phase reaction is diffusion-controlled. By including radiation losses from the surface a flame spread limit, at low velocities, is also found in the present analysis. The wind-aided flame spread process along a solid fuel rod under oblique forced flow is analyzed in absence of gravity or when the forced flow dominates the gravity-induced flow. The transverse velocity is large enough to ensure that mixing of the fuel vapors and air occurs in a thin boundary layer surrounding the fuel rod and we can use the boundary layer approximation to describe the gas-phase chemical reaction and downwind flame spread process. A global, second-order, Arrhenius expression is employed to describe the gas-phase reaction, while the solid surface gasification reaction is modeled in terms of a constant pyrolysis temperature. The solid is heated by the hot gases convected from the flame by the axial component of the velocity in the direction of the flame spread. The solid will be considered thermally thick, assuming the thickness of the heated layer in the solid to be small compared with the rod radius. The analysis determines the flame spread velocity and the flow structure in the flame front region. The analysis also shows that flame spread is not possible at large flow velocities due to finite rate effects, while at low velocities the gas-phase reaction is diffusion-controlled. By including radiation losses from the surface a flame spread limit, at low velocities, is also found in the present analysis

Large-scale Spacecraft Fire Safety Tests

An international collaborative program is underway to address open issues in spacecraft fire safety. Because of limited access to long-term low-gravity conditions and the small volume generally allotted for these experiments, there have been relatively few experiments that directly study spacecraft fire safety under low-gravity conditions. Furthermore, none of these experiments have studied sample sizes and environment conditions typical of those expected in a spacecraft fire. The major constraint has been the size of the sample, with prior experiments limited to samples of the order of 10 cm in length and width or smaller. This lack of experimental data forces spacecraft designers to base their designs and safety precautions on 1-g understanding of flame spread, fire detection, and suppression. However, low-gravity combustion research has demonstrated substantial differences in flame behavior in low-gravity. This, combined with the differences caused by the confined spacecraft environment, necessitates practical scale spacecraft fire safety research to mitigate risks for future space missions. To address this issue, a large-scale spacecraft fire experiment is under development by NASA and an international team of investigators. This poster presents the objectives, status, and concept of this collaborative international project (Saffire). The project plan is to conduct fire safety experiments on three sequential flights of an unmanned ISS re-supply spacecraft (the Orbital Cygnus vehicle) after they have completed their delivery of cargo to the ISS and have begun their return journeys to earth. On two flights (Saffire-1 and Saffire-3), the experiment will consist of a flame spread test involving a meter-scale sample ignited in the pressurized volume of the spacecraft and allowed to burn to completion while measurements are made. On one of the flights (Saffire-2), 9 smaller (5 x 30 cm) samples will be tested to evaluate NASAs material flammability screening tests. The first flight (Saffire-1) is scheduled for July 2015 with the other two following at six-month intervals. A computer modeling effort will complement the experimental effort. Although the experiment will need to meet rigorous safety requirements to ensure the carrier vehicle does not sustain damage, the absence of a crew removes the need for strict containment of combustion products. This will facilitate the first examination of fire behavior on a scale that is relevant to spacecraft fire safety and will provide unique data for fire model validation

Combustion of Solids in Microgravity: Results from the BASS-II Experiment

The Burning and Suppression of Solids-II (BASS-II) experiment was performed on the International Space Station. Microgravity combustion tests burned thin and thick flat samples, acrylic slabs, spheres, and cylinders. The samples were mounted inside a small wind tunnel which could impose air flow speeds up to 53 cms. The wind tunnel was installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox which supplied power, imaging, and a level of containment. The effects of air flow speed, fuel thickness, fuel preheating, and oxygen concentration on flame appearance, growth, spread rate, and extinction were examined in both the opposed and concurrent flow configuration. The flames are quite sensitive to air flow speed in the range 0 to 5 cms. They can be sustained at very low flow speeds of less than 1 cms, when they become dim blue and stable. In this state they are not particularly dangerous from a fire safety perspective, but they can flare up quickly with a sudden increase in air flow speed. Including earlier BASS-I results, well over one hundred tests have been conducted of the various samples in the different geometries, flow speeds, and oxygen concentrations. There are several important implications related to fundamental combustion research as well as spacecraft fire safety. This work was supported by the NASA Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications Division (SLPSRA)

Development of Large-Scale Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments

The status is presented of a spacecraft fire safety research project that is being developed to reduce the uncertainty and risk in the design of spacecraft fire safety systems by testing at nearly full scale in low-gravity. Future crewed missions are expected to be longer in duration than previous exploration missions outside of low-earth orbit and accordingly, more complex in terms of operations, logistics, and safety. This will increase the challenge of ensuring a fire-safe environment for the crew throughout the mission. Based on our fundamental uncertainty of the behavior of fires in low-gravity, the need for realistic scale testing at reduced gravity has been demonstrated. To address this knowledge gap, the NASA Advanced Exploration Systems Program Office in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate has established a project with the goal of substantially advancing our understanding of the spacecraft fire safety risk. The activity of this project is supported by an international topical team of fire experts from other space agencies who conduct research that is integrated into the overall experiment design. The large-scale space flight experiment will be conducted in an Orbital Sciences Corporation Cygnus vehicle after it has deberthed from the ISS. Although the experiment will need to meet rigorous safety requirements to ensure the carrier vehicle does not sustain damage, the absence of a crew removes the need for strict containment of combustion products. The tests will be fully automated with the data downlinked at the conclusion of the test before the Cygnus vehicle reenters the atmosphere. Several computer modeling and ground-based experiment efforts will complement the flight experiment effort. The international topical team is collaborating with the NASA team in the definition of the experiment requirements and performing supporting analysis, experimentation and technology development. The status of the overall experiment and the associated international technology development efforts are summarized

Unmanned Vehicle Material Flammability Test

Microgravity fire behaviour remains poorly understood and a significant risk for spaceflight An experiment is under development that will provide the first real opportunity to examine this issue focussing on two objectives: a) Flame Spread. b) Material Flammability. This experiment has been shown to be feasible on both ESA's ATV and Orbital Science's Cygnus vehicles with the Cygnus as the current base-line carrier. An international topical team has been formed to develop concepts for that experiment and support its implementation: a) Pressure Rise prediction. b) Sample Material Selection. This experiment would be a landmark for spacecraft fire safety with the data and subsequent analysis providing much needed verification of spacecraft fire safety protocols for the crews of future exploration vehicles and habitats

We are BRAVE: Expanding Reproductive Justice Discourse through Embodied Rhetoric and Civic Practice

In this article, we share the example of our recent community-based performance project on reproductive justice, We are BRAVE, to serve as a model of how community-based performance can be an embodied strategy for social change. We draw from the work of scholars of feminist rhetoric, community-based performance, and reproductive justice. In sharing the example of We are BRAVE, we show how using communitycentered, performative storytelling as embodied rhetoric can be an effective mode of public and political persuasion