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Author
deRis, J.
Title
Flammability Testing: State-of-the-Art.
Coporate
Factory Mutual Research Corp., Norwood, MA
Journal
Fire and Materials, Vol. 9, No. 2, 75-80, June 1985
Report
FMRC J.I. 0H0J2.BU; NBSIR 85-3118, June 1983, 19 p.
Distribution
Available from National Technical Information Service
Book or Conf
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Asilomar Conference on Fire and Blast Effects of Nuclear Weapons, 17th. May 30-June 3, 1983. Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA. pages 99-111 AND National Bureau of Standards. 7th Joint Panel Meeting of the UJNR Panel on Fire Research and Safety. October 24-28, 1983. Gaithersburg, MD. pages 585-609. 1985., 99-111 p., ['1983', '1985']
Keywords
flammability testing
Abstract
Traditional material flammability tests are discussed in terms of their empirical foundation and oversimplified interpretation of fire phenomena. More recent rate-of-heat-release tests overcome some of these problems by measuring a material's response to different levels of fire exposure. However, no existing small-scale tests are sensitive to the radiant emission from the material's own flames. This radiant emission controls large-scale fire hazards. As a result, existing flammability tests cannot be expected to adequately characterize large-scale hazards. Some new approaches to this problem are discussed and a specific bench-scale test method is suggested which may overcome the identified problems of existing test methods.