Unique Fibrous Flame Arrestor Materials for Explosion Protection

A flame arrestor serves to prevent the propagation of a flame throughout a flammable media while allowing free passage of the media. Organic foams now being utilized in aircraft fuel cells as arrestors exhibit two serious limitations. These limitations are hydrolytic and thermal instability while in the fuel tank environment. A need therefore exists for new arrestor materials which are more compatible with the currently operational fuel tank environment. In addition, it is desirable that such materials provide potential compatability with more severe environments which might exist in advanced flight vehicle fuel tanks. During this feasibility study, eighteen different combinations of materials and geometries were fabricated and examined for such properties as air flow and density, and compared to baseline polyure-thane foam. Promising arrestors were identified by screening in the Hough Laboratory flame tube facility. Some of these arrestors show considerable promise with respect to low density, low cost, extreme resistance to degradation, and effectiveness as a flame arrestor. (Author-PL)