Characterization of smoke particles generated in terrestrial and microgravity environments

An Experimental Study of Smoke Movement Under Reduced Gravity Conditions in a Simple Enclosure

“…Research in the area of smoke in reduced gravity environments has concentrated mainly on the production of the smoke and on the differing size of the particles. Paul et al conducted experiments on the burning of fluorinated wire insulation in reduced gravity and found that the smoke particle sizes were approximately twice the size of those produced in normal gravity [4]. It is noted that the combustion by-products of this insulation (such as fluorine) present significant threats to the astronauts and the equipment used.…”

“…I didn't expect it to spread so quickly' [3]. Fire onboard spacecraft are a real issue and, as Paul et al note, 'unlike industrial events in a terrestrial environment, the humans may not be easily evacuated [4].…”

Ground-Based Study on Distribution of Fire Parameters and Installation of Fire Detectors in Space-Confined Microgravity

“…The design of the fire detector used in microgravity was studied by many scholars. In consideration of the very weak natural convection in the space-confined microgravity, the heat and mass transfer is different from that in normal gravity [4][5][6][7]. So, the distribution of fire parameters, such as smoke density and temperature in microgravity is largely different from that in normal gravity.…”

Flame spread behaviour of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes in 1 g and µg environments

“…A reduction in gravity has been shown to result in the increased mean size of soot particles two-fold compared to normal gravity [39,40]. Likewise, the agglomerate sizes have been reported to increase three-fold, which is attributed to thermophoretic forces and long residence times in microgravity [39,43].…”