Combustion Properties of Construction Lumber Used in Everyday Life

The combustion characteristics of four kinds of wood specimens, such as Japan cedar, spruce, lauan, and red pine, were tested using the standards of Cone calorimeter (ISO 5660-1, 2) and smoke density tester (ASTM E 662). Japan cedar caught fire the quickest but the mean heat release rate was the lowest, 58.52 kW/m 2 . The mean heat release rate of red pine appeared to be the highest, 71.75 kW/m 2 . The lauan and Japan cedar generated relatively large amounts of carbon monoxide while the red pine and the spruce generated relatively large amounts of carbon dioxide. The red pine generated large amounts of smoke and the spruce generated the least amounts of smoke than the other samples. The total smoke release rate in the dynamic method was the highest in red pine and the lowest in spruce. The smoke density of red pine in the static method was highest in the non-flaming and flaming methods. In the non-flaming method, the smoke density of lauan was the second highest, whereas the flaming method was the least. In terms of the heat release rate, the fire risk from red pine was highest among the four test specimens. From the viewpoint of smoke generation, red pine was the most dangerous material in both dynamic and static methods.