A webbing composed of 60% Kevlar® and 40% polybenzimidazole (PBI) from Sturges Manufacturing Company, Inc. passed flammability testing per NASA-STD-6001B Test 1. The testing was conducted at the White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) to determine the maximum oxygen concentration (MOC) at a pressure of 8.2 psia.
The NASA-STD-6001B MOC test identifies the maximum oxygen concentration at which a minimum of five tested samples pass specified criteria at a fixed pressure.
Material performance and variations
The black version of the Sturges Manufacturing Company, Inc. webbing recorded a Maximum Oxygen Concentration (MOC) of 35% at 8.2 psia. The natural version of the webbing, which is gold colored, had an MOC of 37% at the same pressure.
Maximum Oxygen Concentration for the black version of the webbing at 8.2 psia
Aerospace strategy for elevated oxygen
Elevated oxygen environments are planned for future crewed missions to the Moon and Mars to reduce prebreathe time before extravehicular activities.
Standard meta-aramid or nylon webbings do not meet flammability requirements in these elevated oxygen environments.
To address this, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) developed a strategy to ensure textile materials meeting NASA flammability requirements for elevated oxygen environments are available to the aerospace community.
The Mars Campaign Office and Johnson Space Center are implementing a strategy to provide textile building blocks for softgoods flight hardware, with support from the NESC.
