- Author
- Evans, D. D. | Davis, S.
- Title
- Technical Support for the Consumer Product Safety Commission 1979 Interim Standards for Cellulose Insulation.
- Coporate
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, MD
- Report
- NBSIR 81-2213, March 1981, 51 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
- cellulose | insulation | flame spread | radiant panel test method | fire tests | smoldering
- Abstract
- The floor radiant panel test (AFRPT) and smoldering combustion test are two fire performance tests required by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) as part of a mandatory standard for loose fill cellulosic home insulation. In providing technical support to CPSC, the sensitivity to variations in parameters of each test method were studied. Specimen density was found to have no effect on critical radiant flux vaues when measured with the AFRPT for two paper-based cellulosic insulations tested at densities below 48 kg/m(3). A low flux exposure profile, ranging from 0.04 to 0.35 w/cm(2), was developed to extend the range of the AFRPT about the region of greatest interest. The critical radiant flux meaured using the low flux profile as found to be sensitive to changes in preheat time from the precribed two minute specimen preheat. Large-scale attic fire test verified the predicitve ability of AFRPT measurements. Result from the smoldering combution test were shown to be sensitive to test room hunidity conditions over the range of 39 to 84 percent RH.