Tim Marker Laboratory & Full Scale Testing of Non Traditional Lightweight Aircraft Seats FAA Technical Center

Tim Marker

Laboratory & Full Scale Testing ofNon Traditional Lightweight Aircraft Seats

FAA Technical Center

Problem: Next Generation aircraft seats utilizing lighter materials in theirconstruction are unfairly restricted by the FAR-mandated 10% weight loss criteria.

Example: 5 lb seat [(5.0-4.6) / 5.0] x 100 = 8.0% PASS

% Weight Loss = (initial weight – final weight) / (initial weight) x 100

Example: 3 lb seat [(3.0-2.6) / 3.0] x 100 = 13.3% FAIL

Proposed Testing: Evaluate performance of lightweight seat cushions underrealistic conditions.

Testing Proposed by FAATC in June 2002

Supply 18 Sets of Test Cushions to FAATC

Test Cushion Construction per FAR 25.853(c) Appendix F, Part II (or Handbook)

“Each specimen tested must be fabricated using the principal components (i.e., foam core,flotation material, fire blocking material, if used, and dress covering) and assemblyprocesses (representative seams and closures) intended for use in the production articles.If a different material combination is used for the back cushion than the bottom cushion,both material combinations must be tested as complete specimen sets, each set consistingof a back cushion specimen and a bottom cushion specimen.”

Bottom: 18 W x 20 D x 4 T

Back: 18 W x 25 H x 2 T

•FAATC randomly selects 6 sets of cushions to conductlab-scale tests (oil burner)

•Proceed with full-scale evaluation using remaining 12 sets

•Confirm seats exceed 10% weight loss

Testing Proposed by FAATC in June 2002

If Yes

Description of Materials

Baseline Seat 1 (6 tests)

Standard fire retardant foam, 2.75 lb/ft3 density

Standard 90/10 wool/nylon blend dress cover

Baseline Seat 2 (3 tests)

Standard fire retardant foam, 2.75 lb/ft3 density

Standard 90/10 wool/nylon blend dress cover

PBI felt fire blocking fabric, 290 g/m2

PBI felt fire blocking fabric, 290 g/m2

Description of Materials (con’t)

Lightweight Seat A (6 tests)

Fire hardened foam, 0.62 lb/ft3 density, no blocking layer

Lightweight Seat B (6 tests)

Lightweight Seat C (6 tests)

Lightweight Seat D (6 tests)

Fire hardened foam 3.0 lb/ft3 + lightweight foam 0.59 lb/ft3, no blocking layer

Dress Cover: Wool 91% / PA 9% 380 g/m2

Lightweight foam 0.59 lb/ft3, no blocking layer

Dress Cover: Wool 91% / PA 9% 380 g/m2

Fire hardened foam, 2.2 lb/ft3 density, no blocking layer

Dress Cover: Wool 91% / PA 9%, 375 g/m2

Dress Cover: Wool 90% / PA 10%, 380 g/m2

Seat

Initial Weight Bottom Cushion

(lbs)

Initial Weight Bottom Cover (lbs)

Initial Weight Back

Cushion (lbs)

Initial Weight Back Cover (lbs)

Initial Weight Total (lbs)

Final Weight Total (lbs)

Weight Loss (%)

Avg Weight Loss (%)

2.25 0.75 1.48 0.78 5.26 4.94 6.032.25 0.75 1.48 0.78 5.26 4.81 8.542.25 0.75 1.48 0.78 5.26 4.73 10.042.19 0.72 1.47 0.78 5.16 4.75 7.952.19 0.72 2.08 0.78 5.77 5.35 7.282.21 0.80 1.5 0.78 5.29 4.87 7.94

2.21 0.72 1.5 0.78 5.21 4.790 8.062.22 0.74 1.52 0.79 5.27 4.970 5.692.22 0.75 1.56 0.79 5.32 4.990 6.20

0.55 0.71 0.42 0.77 2.45 2.07 15.500.54 0.69 0.41 0.75 2.39 2.01 15.890.54 0.69 0.41 0.75 2.39 1.96 17.990.54 0.70 0.41 0.75 2.40 1.80 25.000.54 0.70 0.41 0.76 2.41 1.98 17.780.54 0.70 0.41 0.75 2.40 2.02 15.86

1.86 0.74 1.19 0.78 4.56 4.06 10.961.83 0.74 1.18 0.78 4.54 4.01 11.671.83 0.74 1.15 0.78 4.50 3.98 11.561.86 0.74 1.15 0.78 4.55 3.98 12.531.86 0.74 1.18 0.78 4.58 4.02 12.231.83 0.74 1.17 0.78 4.52 3.90 13.72

1.48 0.56 1.05 0.60 3.68 3.07 16.621.46 0.55 1.06 0.57 3.64 3.23 11.211.46 0.54 1.06 0.60 3.65 3.28 10.101.46 0.54 0.95 0.57 3.52 3.10 11.841.42 0.55 1.05 0.58 3.60 3.21 10.951.44 0.55 1.03 0.58 3.60 3.21 10.95

1.01 0.55 0.80 0.60 2.97 2.57 13.330.98 0.55 0.79 0.58 2.91 2.52 13.410.99 0.54 0.83 0.58 2.94 2.54 13.700.99 0.54 0.83 0.58 2.94 2.54 13.701.00 0.56 0.83 0.57 2.97 2.58 12.990.99 0.55 0.84 0.58 2.97 2.57 13.33

Lightweight D 13.41

Lightweight A 18.00

Lightweight B 12.11

Lightweight C 11.94

Baseline 1 7.96

Baseline 2 6.65

Lab-Scale Test Results

PASS

PASS

FAIL

FAIL

FAIL

FAIL

Lab Scale Test ResultsLightweight A Seat Cushion

-5.0

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

1 2 3 4 5 6

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(%

)

Weight Loss Average = 18.00%

Bottom Cushion

Bottom Dress Cover

Back Cushion

Back Dress Cover

Lab Scale Test ResultsLightweight B Seat Cushion

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Bottom Cushion

Bottom Dress Cover

Back Cushion

Back Dress Cover


Lab Scale Test ResultsLightweight C Seat Cushion

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

1 2 3 4 5 6

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oss

(%

)


Bottom Cushion

Bottom Dress Cover

Back Cushion

Back Dress Cover

Lab Scale Test ResultsLightweight D Seat Cushion

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

50.0

1 2 3 4 5 6

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(%

)


Bottom Cushion

Bottom Dress Cover

Back Cushion

Back Dress Cover

Laboratory Comparison of Lightweight Seats6 Test Average

0

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10

15

20

25

30

35

40

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Lightweight Seat A Lightweight Seat B Lightweight Seat C Lightweight Seat D

Bottom Cushion

Bottom Dress Cover

Back Cushion

Back Dress Cover

Analysis of Laboratory Tests on Lightweight Seats

•Bottom dress cover yields higher % weight loss than bottom cushion in all cases

•Back dress cover yields higher % weight loss than back cushion in A, C, and D

•Ratio of total cushion weight to total dress cover weight ranged from .65 to 2.2

Lightweight Seat A ratio = 0.65

Lightweight Seat B ratio = 1.99

Lightweight Seat C ratio = 2.19

Lightweight Seat D ratio = 1.60

Full-Scale Test Parameters

Interior Materials0.25-Inch thick crushed-core Nomex honeycomb panels, meets 65/65

Aircraft-grade carpet, meets VBB

Test Execution

Test ArticleB707 fuselage, fully fire hardened interior

InstrumentationContinuous gas analysis at 2 locations, 2 heights

Temperature measurement: 3 thermocouple trees + individual seat thermocouples

Smoke measurement: smoke-meters at 2 locations, 3 heights each

4 interior video cameras, 2 external

55 gallon JP8 fuel fire in 8’ by 10’ pan adjacent to fuselage

External fuel fire extinguished following noticeable flashover

Baseline Test

Fire Blocked Urethane Using PBI Felt Material with 90/10 Wool/Nylon Dress

Weight Loss ranged from 6 to 10% in Lab Test

AFFF applied to pan fire @ 5:30

CO2 Extinguishing Agent applied to interior @ 6:30


Fire hardened foam, no blocking layer, with 91/9 Wool/Nylon dress cover


Lightweight Seat A

Lightweight Seat B

Fire hardened foam, no blocking layer, with 90/10 Wool/Nylon dress coverWeight Loss ranged from 11 to 14% in Lab Test






Fire hardened foam, no blocking layer, with 91/9 Wool/Nylon dress cover


Lightweight Seat C

Lightweight Seat D

Fire hardened foam, no blocking layer, with 90/10 Wool/Nylon dress coverWeight Loss ranged from 13 to 14% in Lab Test






Full-Scale Test Apparatus

Seat Identification & Thermocouple Location

Full-Scale Test Configuration in 707



View Into Fire Door in 707

Thermocouple Placement on Seats

Close-up of Seat Thermocouple

Typical Cabin Fire @ 1:00



Typical Post Event

Full-Scale Weight Loss Results

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Baseline Seat Weight Loss (%)

Seat 1Seat 2Seat 3

Seat 4

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Lightweight Seat A Weight Loss (%)

Seat 1

Seat 2

Seat 3

Seat 4

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Lightweight Seat B Weight Loss (%)

Seat 1

Seat 2

Seat 3

Seat 4

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Lightweight Seat C Weight Loss (%)

Seat 1

Seat 2

Seat 3

Seat 4

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

Lightweight Seat D Weight Loss (%)

Seat 1

Seat 2

Seat 3

Seat 4

Analysis of Full-Scale Weight % Loss Data

•All tests resulted in high percentage weight loss of seats near fire door

•Percentage weight loss of seat 4 a good indicator of fire crossing aisle

•Percentage weight loss during full-scale tests largely dependent on lengthof test/suppression of the external fire, and not a good indicator of overallcushion performance.

Temperature, Fire Gas, and Smoke Levels

Seat 1 Temperatures

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

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1000

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Tem

per

atu

re (

oF

)

Baseline Seat 1 Avg

Lightweight A Seat 1 Avg

Lightweight C Seat 1 Avg

Lightweight D Seat 1 Avg

Seat 2 Temperatures

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Tem

per

atu

re (

oF

)

Baseline Seat 2 Avg




Seat 3 Temperatures

0

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400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (seconds)

Tem

per

atu

re (

oF

)

Baseline Seat 3 Avg




Seat 4 Temperatures

0

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300

400

500

600

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Tem

per

atu

re (

oF

)

Baseline Seat 4 Avg




Mid Cabin Temperatures

0

50

100

150

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250

300

350

400

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Tem

per

atu

re (

oF

)

Baseline MID Tree Avg

Lightweight A MID Tree Avg

Lightweight C MID Tree Avg

Lightweight D MID Tree Avg

Forward Cabin Temperatures

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Tem

per

atu

re (

oF

) Baseline FWD Tree Avg

Lightweight A FWD Tree Avg

Lightweight C FWD Tree Avg

Lightweight D FWD Tree Avg

Aft Cabin Temperatures

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Tem

per

atu

re (

oF

)

Baseline AFT Tree Avg

Lightweight A AFT Tree Avg

Lightweight C AFT Tree Avg

Lightweight D AFT Tree Avg

Cabin Area Heat Flux Level

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Hea

t F

lux

(Btu

/ft2 s

ec)

Baseline Calorimeter Avg

Lightweight A Calorimeter Avg

Lightweight C Calorimeter Avg

Lightweight D Calorimeter Avg

Mid Cabin Smoke Level

0

10

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50

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70

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100

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Lig

ht

Tran

smis

sio

n (

%)

Baseline MID Smokemeter Avg

Lightweight A MID Smokemeter Avg

Lightweight C MID Smokemeter Avg

Lightweight D MID Smokemeter Avg

Forward Cabin Smoke Level

0

10

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30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Lig

ht

Tran

smis

sio

n (

%)

Baseline FWD Smokemeter Avg

Lightweight A FWD Smokemeter Avg

Lightweight C FWD Smokemeter Avg

Lightweight D FWD Smokemeter Avg

Carbon Monoxide Level

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Car

bo

n M

on

oxi

de

(%)

Baseline Carbon Monoxide AvgLightweight A Carbon Monoxide AvgLightweight C Carbon Monoxide AvgLightweight D Carbon Monoxide Avg

Carbon Dioxide Level

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Car

bo

n D

ioxi

de

(%)

Baseline Carbon Dioxide AvgLightweight A Carbon Dioxide AvgLightweight C Carbon Dioxide AvgLightweight D Carbon Dioxide Avg

Oxygen Level

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Time (Seconds)

Oxy

gen

(%

)

Baseline Oxygen AvgLightweight A Oxygen AvgLightweight C Oxygen AvgLightweight D Oxygen Avg

Full-Scale Test Analysis

•Baseline test using traditional fire-blocked seats resulted in a flashover condition at approximately 5:00 minutes.

•Lightweight seats A, C, and D resulted in a more subtle flashover condition, occurring slightly later, approximately 5:00 to 5:30 minutes.

•Lightweight B resulted in a quicker flashover condition, approximately 3:30 from start.

•Lightweight C produced more smoke and higher gas levels than all others.

•Lightweight D resulted in lowest temperatures, smoke, heat flux, and gas levels.

$$$$ What is Lightweight? $$$

Possible Acceptance Criteria

Total Seat Weight (lbs)

Average Ratio of Cushion Weight to Cover Weight

Corrected Allowable Weight

Loss (%)

Corrected Allowable Burn Length (Inches)

Less than 3 1.8 to 2.0 12 161.5 to 1.79 14 151.1 to 1.49 16 14.60 to 1.09 18 13

0 to .59 20 12

Seat

Initial Weight Bottom Cushion

(lbs)

Initial Weight Bottom

Cover (lbs)

Initial Weight Back

Cushion (lbs)

Initial Weight Back

Cover (lbs)

Initial Weight

Total (lbs)Final Total

(lbs)Weight

Loss (%)

Avg Weight Loss (%)

Ratio Cushion

Weight to Cover Weight

Average Ratio

Corrected Allowable Weight

Loss (%) Pass/Fail

2.25 0.75 1.48 0.78 5.26 4.94 6.03 2.442.25 0.75 1.48 0.78 5.26 4.81 8.54 2.442.25 0.75 1.48 0.78 5.26 4.73 10.04 2.442.19 0.72 1.47 0.78 5.16 4.75 7.95 2.442.19 0.72 2.08 0.78 5.77 5.35 7.28 2.852.21 0.80 1.5 0.78 5.29 4.87 7.94 2.35

2.21 0.72 1.5 0.78 5.21 4.790 8.06 2.472.22 0.74 1.52 0.79 5.27 4.970 5.69 2.442.22 0.75 1.56 0.79 5.32 4.990 6.20 2.45

1.86 0.74 1.19 0.78 4.56 4.06 10.96 2.011.83 0.74 1.18 0.78 4.54 4.01 11.67 1.981.83 0.74 1.15 0.78 4.50 3.98 11.56 1.961.86 0.74 1.15 0.78 4.55 3.98 12.53 1.981.86 0.74 1.18 0.78 4.58 4.02 12.23 2.001.83 0.74 1.17 0.78 4.52 3.90 13.72 1.97

1.48 0.56 1.05 0.60 3.68 3.07 16.62 2.181.46 0.55 1.06 0.57 3.64 3.23 11.21 2.241.46 0.54 1.06 0.60 3.65 3.28 10.10 2.211.46 0.54 0.95 0.57 3.52 3.10 11.84 2.161.42 0.55 1.05 0.58 3.60 3.21 10.95 2.171.44 0.55 1.03 0.58 3.60 3.21 10.95 2.17

1.01 0.55 0.80 0.60 2.97 2.57 13.33 1.590.98 0.55 0.79 0.58 2.91 2.52 13.41 1.560.99 0.54 0.83 0.58 2.94 2.54 13.70 1.620.99 0.54 0.83 0.58 2.94 2.54 13.70 1.621.00 0.56 0.83 0.57 2.97 2.58 12.99 1.610.99 0.55 0.84 0.58 2.97 2.57 13.33 1.61

0.55 0.71 0.42 0.77 2.45 2.07 15.50 0.650.54 0.69 0.41 0.75 2.39 2.01 15.89 0.650.54 0.69 0.41 0.75 2.39 1.96 17.99 0.650.54 0.70 0.41 0.75 2.40 1.80 25.00 0.650.54 0.70 0.41 0.76 2.41 1.98 17.78 0.650.54 0.70 0.41 0.75 2.40 2.02 15.86 0.65

10 Pass2.497.96

6.65 2.46 10 Pass

12.11 1.99 10 Fail

11.94 2.19 10 Fail

13.41 1.60 14 Pass

18.00 0.65 18 Pass

Lightweight D

Lightweight A

Baseline 1

Baseline 2

Lightweight B

Lightweight C

Cushion/Cover Ratio Vs. Weight Loss and Burn Length

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 to .59 .6 to 1.09 1.1 to 1.49 1.5 to 1.79 1.8 to 2.0

Cushion to Cover Weight Ratio

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(%

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

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th (

Inch

es)

Adjusted Allowable Weight Loss

Adjusted Allowable Burn Length

Documents

Tim Marker Laboratory & Full Scale Testing of Non Traditional Lightweight Aircraft Seats FAA Technical Center