- Author
- Ohlemiller, T. J. | Shields, J. R.
- Title
- One- and Two-Sided Burning of Thermally Thin Materials.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
- Fire and Materials, Vol. 17, 103-110, 1993
- Sponsor
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH
- Contract
- NASA-C-32003-R
- Keywords
- heat release rate | experiments | combustion | flammability | composite materials
- Abstract
- The rate of heat release from a thermally thin material burning on both sides will be more than twice the value seen when only one side is burning. Two simplified models demonstrate that this is a consequence of the Arrhenius temperature deptndence of the gasification rate of the solid. Experiments carried out on three composite materials over a range of incident heat fluxes confirm this effect. It is inferred that a further consequence of this heat release enhancement is an increased tendency for concurrent flame spread in the two-sided burning case. Materials whose application could lead to two-sided burning should thus be assessed in this mode to obtain a true picture of their flammability potential.