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Opposed-Flow Flame Spread and Extinction in Electric Wires: The Effects of Gravity, External Radiant Heat Flux, and Wire Characteristics on Wire Flammability

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Abstract

Combustion of electric wires is the most probable cause of fire in human space activities. Therefore, the fire performance of electric wires in microgravity conditions must be thoroughly analyzed. This study investigates the opposed-flow flame spread and its limits in electric wires preheated by external radiation, under both normal gravity and microgravity, to understand their fire performance when exposed to external heat sources in such gravity conditions. The experiments were performed on low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-insulated copper (Cu) wires having an outer diameter of 4 mm and differing in core diameter (2.5 and 0.7 mm, corresponding to insulation thicknesses of 0.75 and 1.65 mm, respectively). Both standard and black LDPE insulations were used to study the effect of radiation absorption on the wire preheating and subsequent flame spread. The comparison of the flame spread limits revealed that the wire with the thicker Cu core was less flammable under both normal gravity and microgravity; in particular, its flammability further decreased in the case of microgravity, in contrast with thinner electric wires (~ 1 mm outer diameter), which exhibited higher flammability in the same gravity condition. These results suggest that different mechanisms, for thicker and thinner wires, determining the critical conditions to sustain flame spread under microgravity. This study provides valuable information about the fire performance of electric wires in space gravity.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by JAXA as a candidate experiment for the third stage use of JEM/ISS titled “Evaluation of gravity impact on combustion phenomenon of solid material toward higher fire safety” (called as “FLARE”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Mechanical and Space Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido, 060-8628, Japan

    Yusuke Konno, Nozomu Hashimoto & Osamu Fujita

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu City, 501-1193, Japan

    Yoshinari Kobayashi

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Carlos Fernandez-Pello

  4. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan

    Shinji Nakaya & Mitsuhiro Tsue

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  1. Yusuke Konno
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  2. Yoshinari Kobayashi
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  4. Nozomu Hashimoto
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Correspondence to Osamu Fujita.

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Konno, Y., Kobayashi, Y., Fernandez-Pello, C. et al. Opposed-Flow Flame Spread and Extinction in Electric Wires: The Effects of Gravity, External Radiant Heat Flux, and Wire Characteristics on Wire Flammability. Fire Technol 56, 131–148 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-019-00935-4

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