Cone Calorimetry in Fire-Resistant Materials

Abstract

Polymeric materials are specifically designed by compounding with additives to achieve specific properties that make them suitable for a particular application. Flame retardant materials offer fire-resistant properties to the polymers. The fire behavior of polymeric materials can be investigated with the help of various analytical techniques such as Underwriters Laboratories test standard UL-94, LOI test, Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Cone Calorimetry. Among these tests, Cone Calorimetry is the most suitable test method for predicting the real-scale fire behavior of polymeric materials and is adopted by the International Organization for standardization (ISO 5660-1). It quantifies heat generation, smoke production, mass loss and helps in the selection of polymeric materials for desired applications. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to present an overview of the thermal decomposition of polymers and the action of flame retardants. Different fire testing techniques generally used for investigations of fire characteristics of polymers are summarized.