- Author
- Tewarson, A.
- Title
- Experimental Evaluation of Flammability Parameters of Polymeric Materials. Final Report.
- Coporate
- Factory Mutual Research Corporation, Norwood, MA
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- PRC-RP-75-1-33A (Renewal); FMRC J.I. 1A6R1.RC; RC79-T-9, February 1979, 100 p.
- Contract
- NBS-GRANT-RP-75-1-331-RENEWAL
- Keywords
- flammability | fire behavior | fuels | ignition | heat release rate | fire suppression | combustion products | transmission | pyrolysis
- Identifiers
- mass loss rate; mass generation (or depletion) rates
- Abstract
- An evaluation of the fire behavior of polymers and liquids over a wide range of experimental conditions is made using a laboratory-scale flammability apparatus devedloped by the author. Results are presented for the following fuel parameters: 1) minimum heat flux (surface temperature), energy and critical mass loss rate required for the piloted ignition of fuel vapor/air mixture and kinetic parameter for fuel vapors; 2) 'effective' heat of gasification of the fuel; 3) flame convective and flame radiative heat flux to the fuel surface; 4) mass generation rates of CO, CO2, gaseous hydrocarbons, and 'pyrolyzate', expressed as fractional theoretical stoichiometric yields (or fractions of carbon in the fuel converted to the products); 5) chemical formula of the fuels based on measured elemental compositions; 6) heat release rates (actual, convective, and radiative) expressed as combustion efficiency of the fuel vapors and convective and radiative fractions of the theoretical stoichiometric heat release rate for the complete combustion of the fuel vapors; 7) net heat of complete combustion and acutal heat of combustion of the fuels; and 8) the ratio of optical density per unit path length to mass concentration of the fuel vapors defined as 'modified mass absorbency index'.