- Author
-
Einhorn, I. N.
|
Seader, J. D.
- Title
- Intumescence in Polymeric Materials.
- Coporate
- Utah Univ., Salt Lake City
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Book or Conf
- University of Utah. Air Force Materials Symposium. Proceedings. May 18-22, 1970,
Miami Beach, FL,
1-36 p.,
1970
- Keywords
-
intumescence
|
plastics
|
flammability
|
combustible materials
|
thermal degradation
|
combustion
|
Boeing 727 aircraft
- Abstract
- More than 12,000 people die each year in the United States as a result of fire. A series of disasters in recent years has focused considerable attention on the growing list of problems connected with the burning of polymeric materials such as plastics, fibers, coatings, elastomers, and foams. The crash of the United Airlines Boeing 727 at the Salt Lake City airport in November, 1965 was a dramatic incident which illustrated the dangers arising from incense heat, toxic fumes, and dense smoke. This accident took the lives of 41 out of 91 persons aboard. It was one of the rare instances of what the Civil Aeronautics Board termed "survivable" crash with few fatalities on impact. The major question raised was: 'What was the contribution of the materials inside the plane to the development of fumes and smoke?" While it was thought adequate formerly to simply increase flame resistance to an acceptable level, the hazards due to possible increased smoke generation are now at least recognized, if not fully understood. Disasters of the Salt lake City type clearly spell out the need for the use of plastic materials that exhibit both adequate flame resistance, as well as low-smoke generation. The necessity exists, therefore, for the development of plastics with these properties and the more accurate evaluation of such materials to allow prediction of their behavior in emergency situations.