Effect of Heat of Reaction and Charring Properties on Heat Release Rate during Combustion

The heat release rate (HRR) of fires can be determined from the relationship between the thermal pyrolysis rate of combustibles and the effective heat of combustion. To accurately determine the thermal pyrolysis rate of combustibles, it is important to understand the heat of reaction of combustibles. However, this parameter is difficult to measure for combustibles, such as wood, that produce charring during combustion because they undergo a multi-step pyrolysis reaction. In this study, the ISO 5660-1 standard method was used to perform cone calorimetry experiments to understand how the HRR is affected by the heat of reaction heat and charring properties of combustibles. To this end, the HRR calculated using FDS computational analysis was compared to the measured value from the ISO 5660-1 cone calorimetry experiments. A dehydrated Douglas-fir, an evergreen tree of the pine family, was used as a combustible material. The cone calorimetry experiment and FDS computational analysis results confirmed that increases in the heat of reaction and charring properties were directly correlated with the decrease in the HRR.

A review of thermal properties of timber and char at elevated temperatures

Timber is one of the most frequently adopted combustible materials in the built environment. The thermal properties are the determining factors for assessing the fire risk in a building. The main thermal properties of timber and their char are reviewed, especially those temperature-dependent and moisture-dependent properties, including kinetic properties, ignition properties, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, effective heat of combustion and thermal diffusivity. The study has collected and summarized various thermal properties data and empirical models of hardwood and softwood with different mass percentages in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, as temperature increases. The average ignition temperature and effective heat of combustion of softwood are about 12.9% and 9.5% higher than those of hardwood, respectively. From most of the previous models, the thermal conductivity of timber char increases as temperature rises. Cellulose with a high density shows a higher thermal conductivity, but its impacts on the specific heat capacity are limited. Models to predict the main thermal properties of the hardwood, softwood and char are recommended. The collected data, together with those empirical models, can provide useful data resources and tools for the related fire risk assessments.

Fire Behavior of Thermally Thin Materials in Cone Calorimeter

In this study, a representative set of thermally thin materials including various lignocellulosic and synthetic fabrics, dense wood, and polypropylene sheets were tested using a cone calorimeter at different heat fluxes. Time-to-ignition, critical heat flux, and peak of heat release rate (pHRR) were the main parameters considered. It appears that the flammability is firstly monitored by the sample weight. Especially, while the burning rate of thermally-thin materials does never reach a steady state in cone calorimeter, their pHRR appears to be mainly driven by the fire load (i.e., the product of sample weight and effective heat of combustion) with no or negligible influence of textile structure. A simple phenomenological model was proposed to calculate the pHRR taking into account only three parameters, namely heat flux, sample weight, and effective heat of combustion. The model allows predicting easily the peak of heat release rate, which is often considered as the main single property informing about the fire hazard. It also allows drawing some conclusions about the flame retardant strategies to reduce the pHRR.

Waterborne Intumescent Coatings Containing Industrial and Bio-Fillers for Fire Protection of Timber Materials

Flammability and combustion of softwood treated with intumescent coatings were studied in the present work. The formulations applied onto wood surfaces contained different ratios of industrial fillers, titanium dioxide TiO2 and aluminium trihydroxide Al(OH)3, and/or bio-fillers, eggshell and rice husk ash. Combustion behaviours of unprotected and protected wood samples have been examined with the aid of cone calorimetry performed under the varied levels of thermal flux ranging from 30 to 50 kW/m². The char residues obtained after the completion of cone calorimetry test at 40 kW/m² were analysed by the Raman spectroscopy. The fire protective properties of the studied coatings were strongly influenced by the nature of the fillers as well as by the intensity of thermal irradiance. The incorporation of bio-based fillers into the water-based intumescent formulations significantly improved fire resistance of wood substrates. For example, at 30 kW/m², the Effective Heat of Combustion was reduced by more than 40%, whilst the average Peak to Heat Release Rate had dropped from 193.2 to 150.3 kW/m² for the wood sample protected with the formulation incorporating two industrial and two bio-fillers. Moreover, an application of the studied coatings resulted in a notable reduction of the back surface temperature of the wood specimens.

Synergistic Fire Retardancy of Bis(1-methoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-4-yl)sebacate and Tris(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine/Sb2O3 in HIPS

Bis(1-methoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-4-yl)sebacate (NORSM) was found to perform an exceptional synergistic effect with tris(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TTBPC)/Sb2O3 in HIPS. The LOI of fire retardant HIPS (FR-HIPS) with 16 wt% of TTBPC/Sb2O3 increased from 23.8% to 25.2%, the flame retardant rating of FR-HIPS was improved from UL 94 V-2 to UL 94 V-0, and various heat release parameters such as peak heat release rate, total heat release, and mean effective heat of combustion were greatly lowered by combining NORSM of 0.50 wt%. The Py-GC/MS results revealed that NORSM induced the role of synergistic effect; the main mechanisms were as follows: the active radicals such as methoxy radicals and aminyl radicals produced by the pyrolysis of NORSM promote the release of bromine radicals from TTBPC and the formation of HBr and CO2, which improves the flame retardancy of TTBPC/Sb2O3; the above active radicals, together with HBr, quench active free radicals, such as the hydroxyl radical (OH), and decompose the free radical source, which interrupts the chain reaction during combustion and results in a more efficient flame retardant effect in gaseous phase.

Synthesis and Characterization of Aluminum 2-Carboxyethyl-Phenyl-Phosphinate and Its Flame-Retardant Application in Polyester

A flame retardant aluminum 2-carboxyethyl-phenyl-phosphinate (CPA-Al) was synthesized through the salification reaction. The molecular structure of CPA-Al and thermal stability were characterized by solid nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Subsequently, CPA-Al mixed in polyurethane was coated on polyester textile to obtain flame-retardant samples. The addition of 14.7 wt.% CPA-Al in textile sample can bring a limited oxygen index (LOI) value of 24.5%, 0 s after flame time, and the vertical burning B1 rating. Meanwhile, the incorporated CPA-Al reduced the peak heat release rate, total heat release, average effective heat of combustion, and increased the charring capacity of polyester textiles in contrast to the samples without CPA-Al. CPA-Al exerted not only its flame inhibition effect in gas phase, but also the charring and barrier effect in the condensed phase. Besides, with an increasing CPA-Al ratio in polyester textile, the contact angle gradually decreased from 123.6° to 75.6°, indicating that the surficial property of coating from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, thereby increasing the moisture permeability of polyester textile.

Impact of Water Content on Energy Potential and Combustion Characteristics of Methanol and Ethanol Fuels

Methanol and ethanol are among the most important biofuels and raw materials used to produce biorenewable fuels. These fuels are used with varying water contents. Nevertheless, the exact impact of the water content of these fuels on the energy potential and combustion characteristics is still unknown. Besides that, there are two noticeable risks (environmental impact of combustion and fire risk) associated with their production, processing, and utilization. Likewise, impact of the water content of these fuels on fire risk and the impact of their combustion on the environment is also unknown. The best indicator of energy potential is the effective heat of combustion, and the best combustion characteristic and indicator of the impact of the combustion of alcohols on the environment is the carbon monoxide (CO) yield, whereas the fire risk of liquid fuels is quantified by the flash point and maximum heat release rate (mHRR). The dependency of flash point on the water content was determined via the Pensky-Martens apparatus and the dependencies of the effective heat of combustion, CO yield, and mHRR on the water content were determined via the cone calorimeter. With increased water content, the flash points of both methanol and ethanol exponentially increased and the both effective heat of combustion and mHRR almost linearly decreased. In the range of water content from 0 to 60%, the CO yield of both methanol and ethanol was practically independent of the water content.

Determination of Fire Risk of Selected Alcohols

The aim of the research was to determine the fire risk of selected flammable liquids (alcohols). Four alcohols, methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol, were chosen for the research. Flammable liquids were examined in a cone calorimeter at 0 and 5 kW.m−2 heat fluxes. Both, the cone calorimeter and test procedure, were in accordance with ISO 5660-1:2015. The fire risk was evaluated mainly on the basis of heat release rate, effective heat of combustion and carbon monoxide yield. Comparison of the achieved parameters of selected alcohols shows that the fire risk of the investigated alcohols increases with increasing the molar mass of alcohol and applied heat flow.

Heat of Combustion as the Key Fire Characteristics of Electrical Cables

This scientific study deals with investigation of the heat of combustion and effective heat of combustion of selected electrical cables. Two different electrical cables for rated voltage of 0.6/1 kV were investigated. Both cables were power three-core with cross-section area of each core of 1.5 mm2. The cores of both cables were made of a bar cooper wire. Insulations of conductors of both cables were made of silane cross-linked polyethylene without any inorganic filler, while the bedding and outer sheath were made of polyethylene-based copolymer (the beddings were filled with two fillers - aluminium hydroxide and calcium carbonate, while the outer sheath were filled only with aluminium hydroxide). Reaction to fire class of both cables was B2ca, s1, d0, a1. The main difference in the investigated cables was that the core of one of them was wrapped in a glass mica tape (this cable showed circuit integrity maintenance under fire conditions during 180 minutes). The heat of combustion and effective heat of combustion were determined by the oxygen bomb calorimeter according to the ISO 1716:2018 standard. The highest effective heat of combustion showed the insulation of wires (for both cables 42.47 ± 0.03 MJ/kg), lower value showed outer sheath (interval form13.61 to 15.26 MJ/kg) and the lowest value was determined for bedding (interval from 4.69 to 6.39 MJ/kg). The effective heath of combustion per unit of length of both investigated cables lies in the interval from 1.37 to 1.38 MJ/m. Therefore, there is no significant difference in effective heats of combustion of the electrical cables investigated.

Evaluation of the Thermal Conditions and Smoke Obscuration of Live Fire Training Fuel Packages

Firefighters routinely conduct live fire training in an effort to prepare themselves for the challenges of the fire ground. While conducting realistic live fire training is important, it also carries inherent risks. This is highlighted by several live fire training incidents in which an inappropriate fuel load contributed to the death of participants. NFPA 1403: Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions was first established in response to a live fire training incident in which several firefighters died. Among the stipulations in NFPA 1403 is that the fuel load shall be composed of wood-based fuels. The challenge of balancing safety with fidelity has led instructors to explore a variety of different methods to create more realistic training conditions. A series of experiments was conducted in order to characterize common training fuels, compare these training fuels to furnishings, and examine the performance of these training fuels in a metal container prop. Heat release rate (HRR) characterization of training fuels indicated that wood-based training fuels had a constant effective heat of combustion. Depending on the method used, this value was between 13.6 and 13.9 MJ/kg. This indicates that, even in engineered wood products, wood is the primary material responsible for combustion. In order to further explore the conclusions from the HRR testing, additional experiments were conducted in an L-shaped metal training prop. The results of these experiments highlighted a number of considerations for firefighter training. Thermal conditions consistent with “realistic fires” could be produced using NFPA 1403 compliant fuels, and in fact the thermal conditions produced by larger wood-based fuel packages were more severe than those produced by fuel packages with a small amount of synthetic fuel. The fuel package used in training evolutions should reflect the training prop or building being used, the available ventilation, and the intended lesson. Fuel load weight and orientation are both important considerations when designing a fuel package. The training considerations drawn from this report will help to increase firefighters’ understanding of fire dynamics, and help instructors better understand fuel packages and the fire dynamics that they produce.