GRC NEWS RELEASE 02-069



02-069
For Release: September 30, 2002



Katherine K. Martin
Media Relations Office
216/433-2406
katherine.martin@grc.nasa.gov



Lori J. Rachul
Media Relations Office
216/433-8806
lori.j.rachul@grc.nasa.gov


Studies Aim to Reduce Airplane Fuel Flammability 

NASA is developing technology to help prevent airliner fuel tank fires 
with the help of four contracts awarded by NASA's Glenn Research 
Center, Cleveland.



The four contracts, totaling approximately $400,000, have been awarded 
to Creare Engineering, Inc., Hanover, N.H.; Essex Cryogenics Inc., 
St. Louis; Honeywell Environmental Controls Systems, Torrance, 
Calif.; and Valcor Engineering, Springfield, N.J.



"The companies will study how to reduce flammability in fuel tanks by 
replacing oxygen with a gas that won't support combustion," said 
Clarence Chang, manager of the Fire Prevention Element of Glenn's 
Accident Mitigation Project. "The purpose is to prevent the kind of 
explosion that in recent years brought down TWA 800 and destroyed two 
other airliners at overseas locations."



Phase I of the contracts, lasting five months, is a study and 
feasibility determination of improved On-Board Inert Gas Generation 
System and On-Board Oxygen Generation System (OBIGGS/OBOGS) methods 
and the design of demonstration systems. Actual hardware fabrication 
and testing of the hardware is the ultimate goal of the program, 
which would occur during Phase II, if success is achieved in Phase I.



Specifically, OBIGGS/OBOGS is in response to the National Safety 
Transportation Safety Board's recommendations, resulting from recent 
fatal center wing fuel tank explosions. The technology developed is 
intended to reduce the flammability and chance for explosion of an 
airplane's center wing tank, which is located under the passenger 
cabin inside the wings.



The Accident Mitigation Project is part of NASA's Aviation Safety 
Program, managed by NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. This 
project is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to 
develop technologies that will increase aviation safety. Those 
technologies include on-board equipment for use during ground and 
flight operations to lower the flammability of center wing fuel tank 
vapors.



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