There has been considerable recent interest in the flammability hazards of aircraft wire and cable. This study evaluates the fire hazards associated with of eight commercial electrical wires used in the aerospace industry. Heat release, flammability, smoke, current overload, and toxicity are evaluated using standard and modified procedures. The results are compared to current regulations (1998)...

The flammability of plant leaves influences the spread of fire through vegetation. Exotic plants invading native vegetation may increase the spread of bushfires if their leaves are more flammable than native leaves. We compared fresh-leaf and dry-leaf flammability (time to ignition) between 52 native and 27 exotic plant species inhabiting dry sclerophyll forest. We found that mean time to ignit...

A computational study is performed to investigate the effects of mixture composition oscillations on a strained premixed methane/air flame. The problem is of practical relevance in direct-injection spark-ignition (DISI) engines and gas-turbines, in which premixed flames propagate through temporally and spatially stratified mixture field. The primary focus of the study is to identify the dynamic...

As a fundamental study in the application to direct-injection spark-ignition engines or gas turbines, in which mixture stratification and partial quenching are of serious concerns, unsteady premixed methane/ air flames subjected to time-varying composition fluctuations are investigated computationally. The code OPUS employs an unsteady opposed-flow combustion configuration, including detailed c...

Heat loss can affect experimental flammability limits, and it becomes indispensable to quantify flammability limits when apparatus quenching effect becomes significant. In this research, the lower flammability limits of binary hydrocarbon mixtures are predicted using calculated flame temperature (CFT) modeling, which is based on the principle of energy conservation. Specifically, the hydrocarbo...

Assessment of the flammability of ornamental vegetation (particularly hedges) planted around houses is necessary in light of the increasing urbanization of the wildland-urban interfaces (WUIs) and the high fire occurrence in such areas. The structure and flammability of seven of the species most frequently planted as hedges in Provence (southeastern France) were studied at particle level. Spati...

A study of the different mechanisms controlling the initial stages of a fire in a micro-gravity environment is presented. Three different processes are deemed important for evaluation of material flammability, piloted ignition, co-current and counter-current flame spread. The three processes are evaluated in terms of thermal theory and the different material properties controlling these combust...

The motivation for this project is to develop a hydrocarbon-based (ER12) refrigerant that has a lower flammability limit in excess of 5% refrigerant in air. Optimisation of the hydrocarbon content in the mixture, favourable refrigeration properties, minimal toxicity and benign environmental impact form additional constraints. A variety of compounds were considered as potential flammability redu...

Introduction Regardless of how horrible and devastating wildland fires are portrayed by the media, they are a natural disturbance that many native ecosystems depend on for regeneration. As the population of the United States increases, more individuals are building their homes in wildlands rather than urban landscapes. Homes built in undeveloped wildland vegetation create areas often referred t...