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

Abstract

With the recent construction of the International Space Station the movement of smoke in an enclosed environment, with limited gravity, has increased relevance. The previous work related to reduced gravity fire science is concentrated on flame shape and size, material combustion, smoke particle production, and smoke detection. This project uses a drop tower facility to examine a simple case of smoke distribution in an enclosure, determining the variation in smoke movement for Earth gravity and the reduced gravity conditions, and proves the suitability of such a test case for further investigations.