Aircraft Flammability Testing
Fire retardant material regulations and testing are widely utilised today to ensure the safety of all passengers, crew members, and of the aircraft itself. For fire retardant materials to be certified for use in an aircraft, they need to be thoroughly tested to ensure that the materials don’t decrease the existing levels of safety. This is done through the use of the following flammability testing methods that we’ll cover in this article.
Testing can be used to simulate the effects of a real fire and to measure the ability of items to continue to function, to quickly self-extinguish, and ensure re-ignition cannot occur.
Certifying interior materials and components to established regulatory flammability requirements are critical to aviation safety. The development of testing standards, and vigilant compliance with those standards, has undoubtedly saved lives and reduced passenger and crew injuries in aircraft accidents.
However, the process of certification can be confusing to those trying to introduce new materials into aircraft cabin designs. If their compositions have not been previously tested, these can react in unexpected ways when exposed to flame.
