- Author
- Gilman, J. W. | Kashiwagi, T. | Lomakin, S. M.
- Title
- Environmentally Safe Fire Retardants for Polymeric Materials. Part 1. Silica Gel: Potassium Carbonate Additive.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- Sponsor
- Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
- Contract
- DTFA003-92-Z-0018
- Book or Conf
- Materials and Process Challenges: Aging Systems, Affordability, Alternative Applications. SAMPE Symposium and Exposition, 41st Proceedings. Volume 41. Book 1. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE). March 24-28, 1996, Anaheim, CA, 708-713 p., 1996
- Keywords
- fire retardants | additives | polymers | potassium carbonates | silica | flammability | char | silica gel
- Identifiers
- conbonaceous char; silica gel
- Abstract
- We report here that silica gel combined with potassium carbonate is an effective fire retardant for a wide variety of common polymers such as polypropylene, nylon, polymethyl methacrylate, poly(vinyl alcohol), cellulose, and to a lesser extent for polystyrene and styrene-acrylonitrile. The rate of heat release, RHR, is reduced by up to 68% without increasing the smoke or carbon monoxide levels during the combustion.