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A Comparative Study of the Fire Performance of Halogenated and Non‐Halogenated Materials for Cable Applications. Part I Tests on Materials and Insulated Wires
Author(s) -
Barnes Michael A.,
Briggs Peter J.,
Hirschler Marcelo M.,
Matheson Alister F.,
O'Neill Thomas J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
fire and materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-1018
pISSN - 0308-0501
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1018(199601)20:1<1::aid-fam553>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - flammability , smoke , materials science , fire performance , composite material , halogen , forensic engineering , material properties , waste management , fire resistance , chemistry , engineering , organic chemistry , alkyl
Abstract This paper, the first of a series of three, describes the results of an extensive study of the mechanical physical, electrical and fire properties of polymeric materials, both halogenated and non‐halogenated, intended for cable applications. The objective of this study was to provide, by means of generally recognized standard tests, data, which should make possible a dispassionate fire hazard analysis of the relative merits of materials. Excellent materials were found with different chemical compositions. The results indicate the following: (1) Materials can be suitable for wire and cable applications irrespective of their chemical composition. (2) Halogen‐containing materials, as a group, tend to outperform non‐halogen materials in terms of the major fire properties: •Heat release •Ignitability •Flammability (3)Most commercial materials tend to have adequate mechanical and physical properties, but halogenated materials are, as a rule, slightly more satisfactory. (4)Compared to fire retarded non‐halogenated materials, halogen‐containing materials tend to have better performance in terms of some of the more important electrical properties, particularly dielectric breakdown voltage. (5)The resistance to ageing of non‐halogenated materials is somewhat suspect, particularly with respect to attack by oils. (6)The smoke obscuration per unit mass of non‐halogenated (polyolefin‐based) materials is superior to that of vinyl‐based materials, but differences are significantly reduced when considering the expected smoke obscuration in actual full‐scale fires, due to the overall lower tendency of halogenated materials to burn; the smoke obscuration resulting from fluorinated materials is also low. (7)Smoke corrosivity is the single property where non‐halogenated materials clearly outperform halogenated materials.