Solid inflammability boundary at low speed (SIBAL)

The effect of low speed flow on the spreading and extinction processes of flames over solid fuels was studied giving particular attention to flame propagation in concurrent flow, flammability boundary, and the near-limit behavior of the flames in a microgravity environment. Initial experiments gave useful informations, but failed to give conclusive results. To further analyze flame and fuel behaviors, a flammability test device was developed and tested in low-gravity aircraft trials. The device allowed a systematic investigation of the model-predicted flammability boundary and critical low-oxygen limit.