- Author
-
Vigliotta, J. J.
|
Dineen, J. M.
|
Volpe, A. A.
|
Magee, R. S.
- Title
- Flammability Studies of Cellular Plastics.
- Coporate
- Stevens Inst. of Tech., Hoboken, NJ
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Contract
- NBS-GRANT-ENV-76-07136
- Keywords
-
cellular plastics
|
flammability
|
combustion
|
thermogravimetric analysis
|
decomposition products
|
gas chromatography
|
turbulent burning
|
tunnel tests
- Identifiers
- physiochemical characteristics; elemental analysis; KBr pellet infrared analysis; chemical ionization mass spectormetry; electrical radiant heaters
- Abstract
- An indepth polymer characterization study is performed to determine the physicochemical characteristics of five cellular plastics. The burning intensity of these materials under a controlled fire environment is investigated experimentally. The results from these studies are compared to the performance of these materials in standard flammability tests. Chemical analytical procedures used included solubility tests, elemental analysis, KBr pellet infrared analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and analysis of TGA decomposition products by gas chromatography and, to a small extent, chemical ionization mass spectrometry. In the burning intensity study, single slabs of five different cellular plastics are subjected to turbulent burning as a vertical wall. Electrical radiant heaters, directed at the burning surface, are employed to enhance the burning rate of the plastic, thus simulating real fire conditions. Parameters measured include: the minimum radiant flux to cause initial decomposition, the minimum radiant flux to cause self-ignition, and the mass loss versus time. The mass loss curves are differentiated to yield burning rate versus time curves. A major finding of this study is that the maximum burning rate of these specimens can be correlated with their performance in the ASTM E-84 tunnel test. Thus, this approach offers a simple and inexpensive method for assessing the fire hazard potential from a particular material. While it will not eliminate the need for "real geometry" large scale fire tests, it can greatly reduce the number of full-scale tests required to insure an acceptable level of fire safety. Test results from TGA carried out in helium were also encouraging as was the correlation of concentrations of effluents from chromatograms with burning test results.