A Review on Self-Cleaning Coatings for Tunnels

Self-cleaning coatings for tunnels can effectively remove dust and stains accumulated over the surface of tunnel linings and their appurtenances due to the closed environment and poor ventilation. This paper systematically introduces the current research status of self-cleaning coatings for tunnels, focusing on the development of super-hydrophobic self-cleaning coatings, superamphiphobic self-cleaning coatings, exhaust gas degradation coatings, fire retardant coatings, and tunnel de-icing coatings. The advantages and disadvantages of the five functional coatings are then briefly described, and the problems of self-cleaning coatings for tunnels at the present stage are pointed out. Finally, the development direction of self-cleaning coatings for tunnels is proposed to provide a reference for the research and application of self-cleaning coatings for tunnels.

ПОРІВНЯННЯ ПОЛІОЛІВ ЯК КАРБОНІЗУЮЧИХ АГЕНТІВ ВОГНЕЗАХИСНИХ КОМПОЗИЦІЙ ІНТУМЕСЦЕНТНОГО ТИПУ

Purpose. To study the influence of the carbonizing agent structure on the formation of thermal insulating char layer of intumescent system acid donor/polyol and on the fire protection efficiency of the system at high temperatures. Methodology. A fire retardant mixture of an acid donor (phosphates ammonium, urea, melamine)/ polyol was chosen as a model intumescent system. Dispersion of vinyl acetate copolymer with ethylene was used as a polymeric component. The study applied the characteristics of the char layer of the intumescent composition at a certain temperature. The volumetric intumescent coefficient (K, cm3/g), mass of char residue (m, %), structure and density of the char layer are proposed as the main estimated parameters of flame retardant effect. IR spectroscopy was used to identify products of thermolysis of intumescent systems. Determination of fire protection efficiency of intumescent coatings was carried out in a mini-oven under standard fire conditions. Findings. The influence of polyol structure on the formation of thermal insulating char layer of intumescent acid donor/polyol system and the prediction of fire protection efficiency of this system under high temperature conditions has been investigated. It has been shown that under conditions of thermal shock the fire protection efficiency is more dependent on the nucleophilic reactivity of the polyol towards the unsaturated phosphorus atom of the acid donor than on its thermal stability. It has been found that pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol, starch, dextrin, xylitol and sorbitol are the most effective carbonizing agents, regardless of the structure of the acid donor. It has been proved by infrared spectroscopy that at high temperatures as a result of the decomposition of pentaerythritol one of the reaction products is the aldehydes interacting with pentaerythritol with the formation of oligomeric compounds with a simple ether bond C-O-C. At the same time, pentaerythritol can be considered as a universal source of carbon framework for intumescent flame retardants regardless of the phosphate structure used. Originality. It has been shown that an important factor to increase the fire protection efficiency of intumescent systems is the use of polyols with an increased nucleophilicity in the esterification between polyol and phosphoric acid.Practical value. The optimal polyols as carbonizing agents for formulation of intumescent coatings with enhanced fire protection properties have been determined.

Synergistic Effect of APP and TBC Fire-Retardants on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Strandboard

This study explored the feasibility of fabricating fire-retardant strandboard with low mechanical properties deterioration to the physico-mechanical properties. A hybrid fire-retardant system of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and 1,3,5-tris(2,3-dibromopropyl)-1,3,5-triazinane-2,4,6-trione (TBC) was investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis results show that both APP and TBC enhance the thermal stability and incombustibility of wood strands. An infrared spectrum was applied to investigate the effect of flame retardants on the curing behaviors of polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate (PMDI) resin. Based on the results of limiting oxygen index (LOI) and Cone calorimetry (CONE), APP and TBC both lead to a higher fire retardancy to strandboard. It is worth mentioning that the two flame retardants lead to evidently differential influences on the modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), internal bond (IB), and water-soaking thickness swelling (TS) properties of strandboard. Hence, a hybrid flame retardant is prominent in manufacturing strandboard with both good fire retardant and satisfying physico-mechanical properties.

Reducing the Fire Hazard of Wooden Structures

Increasing the fire resistance of wooden structures is relevant because of their increased flammability. The article describes an experimental study using NEOMID flame retardant paint and silica powder as a flame retardant for wooden structures. According to the results of the experiment, a group of fire-retardant effectiveness of the tested fire-retardant composition was established with different methods of its use.

Wearable screen-printed SERS array sensor on fire-retardant fibre gloves for on-site environmental emergency monitoring

Glove-based wearable sensors can offer the potential ability to fast and on-site environmental threat assessment, which is crucial for timely and informed incident management. In this work, an on-demand surface-enhanced...

Synthesis and characterization of fat-liquor from waste tallow

The fat-liquoring is an important step in leather making before dying to improve the glossiness, appearance, physical and chemical qualities of the leather. Synthetic sulphonated or sulphited oils are generally used to fill fibrous leather & to give it soft, elastic and loose characteristics. Natural fat-liquors (vegetable and animal-based) and synthetic fat-liquors are the two types of emulsions. The emulsion’s charge can be anionic, cationic, or nonionic. In this study, fat-liquor has been made from a bio-waste, namely tallow, which is obtained from a slaughterhouse as a byproduct of the animal hides and skin processing for leather. Triglycerides, a combination of oleic, stearic, and palmitic fatty acids, and glycerol make up the majority of this animal fat. Fat-liquor is made through a series of three reactions, namely, amidation, esterification, and sulphitation. Amidation helps to increase the hydroxyl groups. To react with fat, alkanol amine with a wide emulsifying characteristic isutilised. Anhydrides derived from di-carboxylic acids were then esterified with amidated fat in the next phase. By altering the process recipe, the stability of the emulsion product has been examined, and required raw materials are optimized. Finally, aqueous hydrolyzed sodium metabisulphite is used to sulphite the product, yielding bisulphite and hydroxide ions. The saponification and acid values are computed. The end product has a distinct advantage (anti-foaming & fire-retardant) over traditional fat-liquoring techniques. Material balance is performed once the process flow sheet was created. The process has been scaled up with the help of a preliminary reactor design. The degree of fat-liquoring and the process’ performance are revealed by FTIR spectrum. NMR was used to determine the final product’s structure.

Defining patterns of heat transfer through the fire-protected fabric to wood

Under the thermal action on wood when applying a protective screen made from fire-retardant fabric, the process of temperature transfer is natural. It has been proven that depending on the thermal properties of the coating of fire-proof fabric, this could lead to varying degrees of heat transfer. Therefore, it becomes necessary to study the conditions for establishing low thermal conductivity and establishing a mechanism that inhibits heat transfer to wood. Given this, a mathematical model has been built of the process of heat transfer to wood when it is protected by a screen made of fire-proof fabric. According to the experimental data on determining the temperature on the non-heated surface of the fabric and the resulting dependences, the density of the heat flow transmitted to wood through fire-proof fabric was determined. Thus, with an increase in the temperature, the density of the heat flow to the surface of the wood through a protective screen made of fire-proof protected coating based on "Firewall-Attic" increases to a value above 16 kW/m2, which is not sufficient for ignition of wood. Instead, the density of the heat flow through the protective screen of fire-proof fabric protected by the "Firewall-Wood"-based coating did not exceed 14 kW/m2. This makes it possible to argue about the compliance of the detected mechanism of formation of heat-insulating properties in the protection of wood and the practical attractiveness of the proposed technological solutions. Thus, the peculiarities of inhibition of the process of heat transfer to wood through a protective screen made of fire-proof fabric under the action of a radiation panel imply the formation of a heat-insulating layer of coked cellular material when decomposing the coating. Thus, on the surface of the fire-proof fabric, a temperature above 280 °C was achieved and, on an untreated surface of the fabric, it did not exceed 220 °C, which is insufficient for the ignition of wood.

EVALUATION OF FIRE RESISTANCE OF FIRE PROTECTED STEEL STRUCTURES BY CALCULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

Based on the developed geometric, physical, computer and finite element model, the fire resistance of fire-resistant steel structures was evaluated by calculation and experimental method. The adequacy of the developed computational-experimental method for assessing the fire resistance of fire-resistant steel structures in assessing the fire resistance of a fire-resistant I-beam steel column was verified. The results of tests for fire resistance of steel columns with fire-retardant coating at standard temperature of the fire without the load applied to them (temperature in the furnace, temperature in certain places on the surface of fire-retardant steel columns, the behavior of the investigated fire-retardant coating). The analysis of tests on fire resistance of fire-resistant steel columns exposed to fire at standard temperature (temperature in the furnace, temperature in places of measurement of temperature on a surface of columns, behavior of a fire-retardant covering) is carried out. A computer model of the «steel column – reactive flame retardant coating» system has been built for numerical simulation of non-stationary heating of such a system. Simulation of non-stationary heating of the system «steel column – fire-retardant coating» in the software package FRIEND with the specified parameters (geometric model, thermal effects, initial and boundary conditions, properties of system materials). The reliability of the results of numerical modeling with real experimental data on the duration of fire exposure at the standard temperature of the fire to reach the critical temperature of steel. Based on the comparison of experimental results and numerical simulations, a conclusion is made about the adequacy of the developed model to the real processes that occur when heating fire-retardant steel columns without applying a load under fire conditions at standard fire temperature. The efficiency of the proposed calculation and experimental method for assessing the fire resistance of fire-resistant steel structures has been confirmed.