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Demonstration of the effect of softening and fire resistance of materials on burning characteristics
Author(s) -
Paul K. T.
Publication year - 1980
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/fam.810040206
Subject(s) - softening , fire hazard , materials science , softening point , composite material , radiant heat , flame spread , fire test , fire resistance , forensic engineering , poison control , environmental science , engineering , chemistry , combustion , medicine , environmental protection , environmental health , organic chemistry
An important observation during full‐scale fires was that burning behaviour is often determined by softening characteristics as well as ignitability, flame spread, etc. Examples include stacking chairs where thermoplastics give a rapid rate of fire growth and suspended ceilings where thermoplastics reduce fire hazard. A test rig has been progressively developed at RAPRA to reproduce the mechanisms and fire growth rates of stacked chairs and to evaluate the role of softening in fire growth. Although the ignitability of fire‐retarded materials is less than that of non‐fire‐retarded grades, the fire growth rate in stacks is similar and may be related to the softening behaviour determined by exposing sheets of material to radiant heat. The rate of fire growth in stacks may be significantly reduced by modifying the softening behaviour of materials, e.g. by using asbestos‐reinforced thermoplastics which can form an integral, non‐melting felt or by using non‐melting materials such as SMC or wood.