Perry Pawn is employed by GH Packaging & Product Testing and Consulting Company in Fairfield, OH. ghTest is a third-party testing laboratory and certification body for our point hazmat packaging testing, and is also an accredited testing laboratory performing package/product testing and evaluation. One of the most recent testing laboratories to conduct fire tests authorized by Boeing is now performing a test specified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for transporting oxygen generators.
Oxygen generators are used in passenger aircraft to depressurize the cabin of the aircraft, at which point the oxygen masks are pulled down and the generator itself ignites to provide the passengers and crew with the oxygen they need. Many people still remember the horrific ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades a few years ago that killed nearly 200 passengers and crew due to improper loading and handling of oxygen containers. The spare oxygen tank caught fire, causing the plane to descend. This accident should have been avoided because it happened that oxygen generators are not allowed to be shipped on passenger planes, only transport planes. But passenger planes carrying spare oxygen generators on cargo planes may need them. The gh test is assisting with research so that the accident in the Florida Everglades never happens again.
The reason for the test is to verify that even if its oxygen generator ignites, Onset an exothermic chemical reaction produces oxygen, the interior of the corrugated box for storage (the oxygen generator) will not catch fire and the exterior of the package will not release temperatures above the prescribed limit. HOBO data loggers from Onset, Massachusetts came in handy, as it is very important that test labs place logging equipment around the pack to monitor temperature levels inside and outside the pack. The importance cannot be overemphasized that the package passed this rigorous test with no unfortunate incidents when these oxygen generators were shipped by Air, FedEx, DHL or any other cargo type aircraft.
Because the gh test needs to monitor the internal and external temperature of the package UX100-023 external temperature and humidity probe logger, Perry uses 7 HOBO temperature/RH data loggers U12-011/UX100-003, UX100-011, put them in Oxygen on all six sides of the pack and inside the generator. The first version of the package fails on fire (see picture). The log placed in the pack had extensive damage with around 75% of the cover melting. The board remains intact in the logger, however, all collected data is retrieved. The other two U12-011/UX100-003, the exterior of the UX100-011 is covered with charred fire. Even though the fire and lumberjack damage test failed results, there is actually no logger U12-011/UX100-003, and the UX100-011 failed the test.
The test time lasts as long as the oxygen generator burns, 10 to 15 minutes. The test sequence involved igniting an oxygen generator inside a package to simulate accidentally being ignited, shutting down the package, and monitoring the program. The exterior of the package cannot have a temperature exceeding the specified temperature regulation ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), International Air Transport Association regulations.
The data collected by these series of tests proved to be self-evident in the importance of the generator for the transport of oxygen through the air and the overall safety factor. Perry and tests determined that fire-resistant coatings should be sprayed on corrugated boxes, and better poly bag packaging was required to contain any possible fire hazards for the generator.
