- Author
-
Kashiwagi, K.
|
Omori, A.
|
Cleary, T. G.
- Title
- Effects of Material Characteristics on Flammability Properties.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Goodrich (B. F.) Co., Avon Lake, OH
General Electric Co.
- Book or Conf
- Business Communications Co., Inc. (BCC). Recent Advances in Flame Retardancy of Polymeric Materials: Materials, Applications, Industry Developments, Markets. Volume 3. May 19-21, 1992,
Business Communications Co., Inc., Norwalk, CT,
Stamford, CT,
Lewin, M., Editors,
30-52 p.,
1992
- Keywords
-
flame retardants
|
flammability
|
piliot ignition
|
flame spread
|
thermal stability
|
ignition
|
ignition delay
|
surface temperature
|
polycarbonates
|
polymethyl methacrylate
|
lateral ignition
- Identifiers
- LIFT (Lateral Ignition and Flame Spread Test)
- Abstract
- The effects of material characteristics on piloted ignition, horizontal flame spread and gasification rate were studied by using two different polystyrene, PS, samples and two different poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, samples. The differences between the two PS samples was melt viscosity due to two different initial molecular weights and that between the two PMMA samples was thermal stability and melt viscosity. A comparison of results between the two PS samples and between the two PMMA samples was made. The comparison indicates that the transport process of indepth degradation products through the molten polymer layer to the sample surface has negligible effectson piloted ignition and gasification rate at low external radiant flux. The PS sample with high molecular weight does not form molten polymer near the flame front and the flame spreads steadily across a horizontal surface. However, the PS sample with low initial molecular weight forms molten polymer near the flame front and the opposed slow fluid motion of molten polymer along the inclined vaporizing surface in a direction opposite that of the traveling flame significantly affects flame spread behavior and its rate. Thermal stability of the material has significant effects on piloted ignition delay time, surface temperature at ignition and also gasification rate. The effects of a flame retardant additive on flammability properties of polycarbonate were measured in bench scale tests. Flame spread behavior on a vertical polycarbonate wall surface with the flame retardant additive is calculated using a fire growth model and the results show that heat release rate is significantly reduced but soot generation rate is slightly increased for the polycarbonate sample with the additives, compared to the results for the sample without the additive.