Problem Statement
Due to EU legislation banning the use of halon gas on aircraft, several problems have arisen in providing new extinguishing systems for aircraft. This thesis shall focus four of these problems:
1) Determining if the ban on halon is justified - The decision to ban halon from aircraft was considered an extremely controversial action and drew widespread criticism Part of this thesis is to determine if the work being done is relevant and important, this will only be the case if the legislation is justified.
2) New composite structures need to be fire safe - Due to economic and environmental drivers, aircraft are being designed to use composite materials as opposed to aluminium The fire risk these composite materials pose needs to be properly understood so that the standard of extinguishing system needed can be determined.
3) New extinguishing systems need to be designed - As old extinguishing systems are being banned new ones need to be designed to replace halon suppressant. These new systems must be able to cope with the unique conditions and hazards presented by a fire on an aircraft.
4) Experimental method needs to be developed - In order to prove that new extinguishing systems are fit for purpose they have to be sufficiently tested. However developing an experimental method which can adequately test these systems provides multiple challenges.
These points shall be investigated through a combination of literal research, numerical analysis, and lab scale experiments.
Although the thesis shall discuss these problems, it is not limited to these problems. Should another relevant problem be realised during the project all efforts will be made to include it in the thesis.
1) Determining if the ban on halon is justified - The decision to ban halon from aircraft was considered an extremely controversial action and drew widespread criticism Part of this thesis is to determine if the work being done is relevant and important, this will only be the case if the legislation is justified.
2) New composite structures need to be fire safe - Due to economic and environmental drivers, aircraft are being designed to use composite materials as opposed to aluminium The fire risk these composite materials pose needs to be properly understood so that the standard of extinguishing system needed can be determined.
3) New extinguishing systems need to be designed - As old extinguishing systems are being banned new ones need to be designed to replace halon suppressant. These new systems must be able to cope with the unique conditions and hazards presented by a fire on an aircraft.
4) Experimental method needs to be developed - In order to prove that new extinguishing systems are fit for purpose they have to be sufficiently tested. However developing an experimental method which can adequately test these systems provides multiple challenges.
These points shall be investigated through a combination of literal research, numerical analysis, and lab scale experiments.
Although the thesis shall discuss these problems, it is not limited to these problems. Should another relevant problem be realised during the project all efforts will be made to include it in the thesis.