- Author
- Bijloos, M. | Lougheed, G. D.
- Title
- Smoldering of a Flexible Polyurethane Foam Sofa.
- Coporate
- National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
- Report
- NRCC-50572, 2009,
- Book or Conf
- Fire and Materials 2009 International Conference. Proceedings. January 26-29, 2009, San Francisco, CA, 1-12 p., 2009
- Keywords
- polyurethane foam | smoldering | flexible foams | couches | FT-IR | spectroscopy | decomposition products | autoignition | mass spectrometry | gas chromatography | room burns | smoke | temperature | flammability limits
- Identifiers
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs); electrical basedborad heater; smoke generation and distribution; chemical composition of the smoke
- Abstract
- A series of room-scale and full-scale experiments were conducted to investigate a fire incident involving a smoldering sofa. The sofa consisted of a 711 mm long by 508 mm high by 406 mm thick block of polyurethane foam covered with a lightweight cotton fabric. In the fire incident, the sofa was in contact with a faulty electrical baseboard heater. During the investigation by firefighters, the sofa was moved and transitioned to a flaming fire resulting in extensive flaming through the exterior window and the doorway to the room within 5-10 s. Experiments were carried out in an ISO 9705 standard room where a block of flexible polyurethane foam, obtained from the sofa manufacturer and covered with standard sofa fabric, was placed against a 700 W electrical baseboard heater. Temperatures were monitored at the foam/electrical baseboard interface and other locations in the room. Time resolved FTIR spectroscopy was used to analyze the decomposition products leading up to fuel depletion or self-ignition. GC-MS measurements were also carried out to help in the identification of compounds in the FTIR spectra. A complex mixture of compounds were identified and quantified. In this paper, the results of the room-scale experiments and the gas analysis are discussed.