AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Relation between active and passive Fire Protection Means by the example of Aircraft Lavatories THE FOURTH AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Lisbon, Portugal November Presented by Dr. André Freiling Fire Protection Systems Airbus GmbH Bremen / Germany Tel.: +49 (0) 421 – Fax: +49 (0) 421 –

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 2 Fire Protection Means in Lavatories Active Fire Protection Means: Smoke Detector Automatic receptacle fire extinguisher Passive Fire Protection Means Materials, linings

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 3 Criticality assumptions Is an undetected Lavatory Fire to be regarded to have a HAZARDOUS allowed probability p=10E-7/FH –> passenger injuries or CATASTROPHIC allowed probability p=10E-9/FH –> fatalities / loss of aircraft shall not result from a single failure impact on the aircraft? System Layout of the Fire / Smoke Detection system depends on the risk to be protected

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 4 Design requirements Top Level Requirements for Lavatory Design The Materials used shall have high burnthrough resistance A fire shall be contained within the lavatory compartment Small amounts of Smoke may be leaking out of the lavatory, so that the Crew / Pax get aware of the situation

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 5 Assumptions Assumptions for criticality determination Worst case conditions:  The waste bin fire extinguisher and the smoke detector are out of function  The waste bin is the fire source  The flap is open (Newspaper stuck inside)  A fire in the waste bin ignites also the towel dispenser (Newspaper could act as fire bridge).

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 6 Test setup The receptacle was filled with paper towels according to MPS „Lavatory Disposal Receptacle Built-In Extinguisher Minimum Performance Standard“ An A320 lavatory was used for the test The layout of the lavatory was such that the dispenser was located directly above the receptacle (worst case) The flap of the receptacle was opened and fixed by means of a metal device to assure that it would not close during the test The towel dispensers were totally filled A Newspaper was arranged in a way that it dealt as fire bridge between the waste bin and the dispenser Test setup

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 7 Test setup Filled receptacle Fire Bridge

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 8 Data Recording 2 b/w video cameras inside the lavatory 1 b/w video camera outside the lavatory 1 infrared thermal imaging camera outside the lavatory (monitoring of waste bin area)

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 9 Screenshot / Video Smoke Generation inside the lavatory Receptacle is getting hot

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 10 Screenshot / Video Camera above the receptacle broken Open fire inside the lavatory Dispenser has caught fire

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 11 Screenshot / Video...after the test The outside wall temperature exceeded 274°C (max thermal imaging camera temperature range)

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 12 Events during the test TimeEvent 0minTest Start 5min40secOn the image of the Thermal Camera, the position where the receptacle is located becomes visible on the outer wall (Temperature slightly above room temperature) 8minFirst smoke becomes visible (inside the lavatory) 13minSmoke emerges visibly out of the lavatory door 14min30secOpen flames from the receptacle 25minThe main fire scenario is over, some Elastomers from the dispenser are still burning with a small flame on the basin 30minThe fire has extinguished itself

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 13 Test results  Floor: No obvious damages (Dispense fell off the wall)  Walls: No burnthrough occurred. On the outside, a small color damage was noted (30x30cm)  Ceiling: No severe damage, just burn marks occurred.  Receptacle: The flap showed burn marks but did not start to melt.  Installations: The mirror broke due to thermal stress. The basin area had some burn marks but did not start to melt.  Air extraction duct (intake): The thermoplast of the air intake grid was deformed, but the outlet opening was partially still intact, so that air extraction was assured until the end of the test. Test Results

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 14 Conclusions The test was performed with inoperative extinguishing and fire/smoke detection system Lavatory integrity was still given after the fire test due to properties of the lining materials If the lavatory lining materials and layout assure that an undetected fire has a HAZARDOUS impact, the fire/smoke detection system design can be simplified compared to fulfilment of requirements for CATASTROPHIC failure conditions (e.g. no redundancy necessary). Conclusions

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 15 Questions Thank you.

© AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. All rights reserved. Confidential and proprietary document. November 2004 AIRCRAFT FIRE AND CABIN SAFETY RESEARCH CONFERENCE Dr. A. Freiling - Ref. X26PR Issue 1 Page 16 This document and all information contained herein is the sole property of AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. No intellectual property rights are granted by the delivery of this document or the disclosure of its content. This document shall not be reproduced or disclosed to a third party without the express written consent of AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH. This document and its content shall not be used for any purpose other than that for which it is supplied. The statements made herein do not constitute an offer. They are based on the mentioned assumptions and are expressed in good faith. Where the supporting grounds for these statements are not shown, AIRBUS DEUTSCHLAND GmbH will be pleased to explain the basis thereof.