- Author
- Morgan, A. B. | Bundy, M.
- Title
- Cone Calorimeter Analysis of UL-94 V-Rated Plastics.
- Coporate
- Dayton Research Institute Univ., OH National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
- Fire and Materials, Vol. 31, No. 4, 257-283, June/July 2007
- Keywords
- plastics | cone calorimeters | UL 94 | flame retardants | flammability | thermoplastics | heat release rate | tests | heat flux | statistical analysis | fire behavior
- Identifiers
- High-Impact Polystyrene (HIPS); list of materials used in bench-scale tests; summary of results from UL 94 testing; summary cone calorimeter data; statistical analysis of cone calorimeter data by UL-94V rating; Spearman correlation model data
- Abstract
- Cone calorimeter analysis was conducted on 18 thermoplastics with different UL-94 vertical burn test (V) ratings. Ratings varied from V-0 to no rating (NR), and the types of thermoplastics included were polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), PC/ABS blends, high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), polypropylene (PP), and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Our analysis of the cone calorimeter data found that there were correlations between UL-94V rating and some cone calorimeter measurements (peak heat release rate (HRR) average and HRR at 60 s) and no relationship for other measurements (time to ignition and total heat release). However, no precise correlation was found due to significant differences in flame retardant mechanism and polymer fuel energy values. In this paper, we seek to explain further why a broad quantitative relationship between UL-94V and cone calorimeter remains elusive, and also to show how the cone calorimeter can be used to understand why a material passes or fails a particular UL-94V rating.