Category: Transient Plane Source
Author(s): G. T. Linteris, R. E. Lyon, S. I. Stoliarov
Keywords: Fire Dynamics Simulator, Fire Protection, gasification, Mass loss, thermal conductivity testing
Abstract: This article studies the accuracy of using models to predict the mass loss of four polymers when they are exposed to fire like conditions. The researchers collected material property data; including density, thermal conductivity, reflectance and absorptance, heat capacity, and decomposition kinetics on each of the polymers. The TPS system is used to measure the initial thermal conductivity of the polymers. These measured values are put into predictive models for the next stage of testing. The mass loss of each polymer was then measured in the National Institute of Standards and Technology gasification device and those results were compared to predicted values from two numerical models for pyrolysis. Results compared favourably for three of the polymers. Parametric analysis was used to determine the influence of each individual property to determine the source of discrepancies between the experimental and predicted results.
Reference: Fire Safety Journal, 60, (2013) 14-24
DOI: 10.1016/j.firesaf.2013.03.018