FLAMMABILIT Y T ESTING
“ The last thing you
want to have is an
release”
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
048 NOVEMBER 2019
SKANDIA’S FLAMMABILITY
TESTING LABORATORY IN
ILLINOIS, USA IS FAA RECOGNISED
AND APPROVED BY AIRBUS
AND BOEING
aerospace materials, with his doctoral work funded by
if all safety factors are considered. However, he is
concerned that critical safety data may be lost when
some tests are changed or eliminated.
Among other changes, the NPRM suggests
vertical burn testing when the OSU calorimeter data
shows low heat release. It is proposed that these tests
may be redundant.
“I don’t necessarily have a problem with revising
the rules, if we can show that eliminating these
requirements won’t result in a safety risk. But there
are some things that the OSU calorimeter and
these open flame tests don’t capture,” he says.
“There are some things within the OSU calorimeter
test that are not captured well from a fire safety
perspective, which are captured in the 60-second
test, namely dripping of flaming thermoplastic
materials. There is not good consensus
within the FAR 25.853 heat-release testing
about how dripping is to be addressed, and
materials that are ignited in flight or post
crashing which drip while flaming will result in
a decrease in time to escape and an increase in
injuries. Therefore, some sort of clarification to
heat-release testing with regard to flaming dripping
material during a fire event needs to be included in the
regulations if vertical burn testing is to be eliminated.”
Morgan also questions a reliance on the OSU
(Ohio State University) calorimeter, because of known
problems of tests conducted though this instrument
in terms of consistency and reproducibility of results.
“I would encourage the regulators to charter a task
force to see if another calorimeter, namely a cone
calorimeter (ASTM E1354/ISO 5660) which is a more
robust heat-release measuring equipment, would be
appropriate for insertion into FAR 25 in the future to
replace the outdated OSU calorimeter,” he suggests.
Another concern with the NPRM which Morgan
raised in his published comment is the elimination of
smoke release requirements.
“The last thing you want to have is an increase in
smoke release, which slows the ability of people to find
the exits, and causes respiratory issues to those trying to
escape, which may inhibit the elderly and those with
health issues from reaching escape areas in time,” Morgan
says. “Some sort of minimum smoke levels from burning
materials needs to remain, as chemistries exist today
which have very low heat release are very inexpensive, but
have very, very high smoke release, along with the release
of corrosive gases during burning. One should not rely
During her aviation career,
Marisa Garcia, the author of
this piece, often experienced
unexpected dynamics in the lab,
when conducting both vertical
PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE
burn and oil-burn tests on interiors textiles, linings and foams, as well as on
combined assemblies, like dress covers, cushions, and wall panel decor.
“One example was the mysterious case of Continental Airlines’ quilted
wall panels. These decorative dividers combined a foam backing with leather
using an adhesive, which was then stitched into a grid design. While each
component passed its burn tests individually, and the adhesive was waterbased
to prevent increasing heat release, the combined assembly would
not pass 65/65 test requirements for heat release,” she recalls.
“We changed from leather to ultraleather. We tried different waterbased
adhesives and foams. No matter what we changed, each individual
material passed comfortably, and the combined test failed. The lesson was
that materials affect each other in unexpected ways, and their combined
interaction cannot be predicted. If we had relied on the performance of the
individual materials alone, without considering the assembly, we would
have with all confidence considered the assembly safe to fly.”
increase in smoke
the FAA with a focus on fire-safe materials for aircraft.
Morgan believes that the NPRM may be warranted
to streamline the testing process, and might be beneficial,
eliminating the requirement for 12-second and 60-second
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com