Introduction. The development of modern technologies and the elaboration of new materials facilitates the wide use of epoxy resins for instance in industries. Particular attention deserves the various fire retardant coatings making. These coatings are increasingly used to increase fire resistance of details and designs made of metals, plastics, wood in various industrial and civil constructions, and in transport. The very perspective mode producing the effective fire retardant coatings is the direct introduction into the polymeric matrix of epoxy resins of reactive fire retardant agents. Purpose. The aim of this work is to study the effect of the elaborated fire retardant on the ability of epoxy-amine composites modified with copper(II) carbonate to resist the spread of the flame, as well as the effects of water and chemicals. Metods. The flame propagation rate on the surface of horizontally located experimental samples was determined according to all-State Standard 28157-89. Water and chemical resistance were evaluated by a gravimetric method on the polymer mass film change after exposure to distilled water and corrosive media for a certain period of time. Results. The results of experimental studies have shown that samples of the epoxy-amine composites containing 20, 40 and 80 mass parts of CuCO3 per 100 mass part of the binding agent do not propagate the flame horizontally at all. At that, duration of free combustion of these polymer samples did not exceed 2 min. It has been found too that the penetrability of water and chemicals through films based on epoxy-amine composites modified with CuCO3 is reduced due to the formation of chemical bonds between copper(II) carbonate and polyethylenepolyamine. The lowest level of the equilibrium absorption in water and 10% aqueous solutions of H2SO4 and NaOH was watched for samples of those composites that contained 20 mass parts of CuCO3 per 100 mass parts of binder. Conclusion. When studying the effect of copper(II) carbonate on the flame propagation rate, it was found that the epoxy-amine composites containing >20 mass parts of CuCO3 per 100 mass parts of the binding agent, do not propagate the flame and so these are self-extinguishing. The copper(II) carbonate addition to epoxy polymers reduces their sorption capacity in water and solutions of alkalis and acids. These data are the basis to future develop the chemically resistant fire retarding coatings based on epoxy-amine composites modified with copper(II) carbonate. Keywords
Modeling the effect of the curing conversion on the dynamic viscosity of epoxy resins cured by an anhydride curing agent
