Astronauts face many dangers during spaceflight, such as microgravity and radiation. Microgravity can reduce bone strength, and radiation can cause cancer. However, those are chronic effects.
The greatest danger to astronauts is fire, as escape would be difficult on a long journey to Mars or anywhere beyond Low Earth Orbit. Scientists are researching how fire works in spaceships so that scientists can be protected.
Scientists from the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen are investigating the dangers of fire in space.
They published a new study in the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute titled “Effect of oxygen concentration, pressure, and flow velocity on flame resistance spread along thin PMMA sheets.” The main author is Hans-Christoph Ries.
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Dr. Florian Meyer, head of the Combustion Technology research group SARM, said: “A fire on board a space plane is one of the most dangerous situations in space missions.
“There are absolutely no ways to get to safety or escape from the spacecraft. So it’s important to understand the fire behavior under these special conditions.”
Since 2016, ZARM has been researching how fire behaves and spreads in microgravity conditions like that of the ISS.
Those conditions also include Earth-like oxygen levels, forced air circulation, and Earth-like atmospheric pressure. NASA has been conducting similar experiments, and now we know that fire behaves differently in microgravity than on Earth.
At first, the fire will burn with a small flame and take a long time to spread. This is in favor of the fire as it will not be noticed quickly.
Fire also burns in microgravity, meaning that some materials that might not burn under normal conditions on Earth can burn in space, creating toxic chemicals in the atmosphere. of the plane.
The spacecraft for Mars missions will have different environments than the ISS. Ambient air pressure will be lower, which offers two benefits: it makes the spacecraft lighter and allows astronauts to prepare for outdoor missions more quickly.
However, low atmospheric pressure introduces another important change in the atmospheric environment. Oxygen levels must be high to meet the breathing needs of the magicians.
In these latest tests, the ZARM team conducted fire tests in these improved conditions.
PMMA stands for polymethyl methacrylate and is often referred to as acrylic. It is a common material used in place of glass because it is light and does not break. The ISS is not in use, but is being developed for use in future flights. The Orion capsule uses acrylic mixed with other materials for windows, and future spacecraft will use the same material.
In their experiments, the researchers ignited acrylic glass panes in a fire with three different environmental factors: environmental pressure, oxygen content and flow rate.
They used the Bremen Drop Tower to simulate microgravity.
Tests have shown that low atmospheric pressure reduces fire. However, high oxygen has a stronger effect. The oxygen level of the ISS is 21%, as it is on Earth.
Future low-pressure aircraft will have oxygen levels of up to 35%. That translates into a significant increase in the number of dangerous astronauts facing fire. The results show that fires can spread three times faster than under Earth conditions.
“Our results highlight important factors to consider when developing fire safety protocols for interstellar space missions.” Dr. Florian Meyer, Combustion Technology ZARM research group
We all know that more air spreads the fire faster; that’s why we feed a small flame to make a bigger fire. Increased air flow provides more oxygen, burning increases, so increased air flow in a high oxygen atmosphere creates a dangerous situation for astronomers.
“Our results highlight important factors to consider when developing fire safety protocols for space travel,” said Dr. Florian Meyer.
“By understanding how flames spread under different atmospheric conditions, we can reduce the risk of fire and improve worker safety.”
This article was published by Universe Today. Read the first article.
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