Toxic Gas and Particle Emissions from the Combustion of Spacecraft Materials and Numerical Analysis of Smoke Transport in Reduced Gravity
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Authors
Bingham, Bjoern B.
Issue Date
2024
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Emission Factors , Fire Safety , Toxic Gases
Alternative Title
Abstract
Fire risk in space travel is greater than in most terrestrial situations as toxic gases and suspended particulate matter can reach dangerous levels. It is imperative that fires are detected early, and proper safety practices are in place. To improve the detection of fires on spacecraft, understanding the emissions from flammable and nonflammable materials is of great importance. This study investigated the pyrolysis of four common spacecraft materials, Kapton, PTFE, Teflon Kapton wire insulation, and Velcro, to identify, evaluate, and quantify their gaseous and particulate emissions. Smoke transport in multiple gravities was simulated by a computational fluid dynamics model. Emission factors were computed for all gases measured using gas monitors and FTIR gas analysis, and particulate using optical measurement. Charge and size distributions and chemical properties of the particulate were also analyzed. Multiple highly toxic gases, such as hydrogen cyanide, carbonyl fluoride, and tetrafluoroethylene were measured, as well as a large amount of ultrafine particulate. Many of the gases and particles measured are not closely monitored for fire detection currently, making the findings of particular interest for the development of future smoke detectors and the protection of the astronauts Using the emission factors collected in the experimental portion for PTFE, smoke transport in a simplified Orion space module is modeled using Fire Dynamics Simulator. Limited studies using computational fluid dynamics simulations have been conducted for the Orion space module, making findings relevant to current NASA mission objectives.