Material description

Material ID: ACP22

Material type: Aluminium composite panel with a core consisting of polyethylene (PE) with ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer, a fire retardant, and an inorganic filler.

Polymer: Polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate copolymer (33%)

Additives (fire retardants, fillers or traces of inorganic elements): Magnesium Hydroxide (64%), Silicon (1%), Sodium (1%), Calcium (1%), traces of other elements (<1%)

Core thickness: 3.17mm

Thickness of single metal skin: 0.5mm

 

Table 1. Estimated mass concentration of compounds.

CompoundMass Concentration (%)
Polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate copolymer (-)33
Magnesium Hydroxide (Mg(OH)2)64
Silicon (Si)1
Sodium (Na)1
Calcium (Ca)1
Traces of zinc (Zn)<1
Traces of iron (Fe)<1
Traces of potassium (K)<1
Traces of aluminium (Al)<1

A. Material composition identification

A.1 Attenuated total reflection – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR)

Table 2. FTIR compound identification.
Identified Compounds
Polyethylene and ethyl vinyl acetate copolymer (-)
Magnesium Hydroxide (Mg(OH)2)

Figure 1 . FTIR spectra: Absorbance percentage versus wavenumber from the sample.

Figure 2. FTIR spectra: Absorbance percentage versus wavenumber from the sample and the identified compounds.

 

A.2 Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF)

Table 2. Inorganic elements and their mass concentration identified with EDXRF.

ElementMass Concentration (%)
Mg22
Si1
Ca1
Zn1
Fe1
K<1
Al<1
K<1

Figure 3. EDXRF spectra. Counts vs energy. Identified elements are shown as vertical lines.

 

B. Thermogravimetric analysis

Table 3. Mass fraction of residue after thermal decomposition.

ConditionFraction of mass residue at 800°C
Non-oxidative (nitrogen)0.43
Oxidative (air)0.44

Table 4. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in non-oxidative conditions.

Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 13603.68 x 10-3
Peak 24828.24 x 10-3
Peak 36752.4 x 10-4

Table 5. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in oxidative conditions.

Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 13643.5 x 10-3
Peak 24727.7 x 10-3
Peak 36692.4 x 10-4

Figure 4. Normalised mass (solid line) and derivative of the normalised mass (dashed line) in 150 ml min-1 of nitrogen and a heating rate of 20°C min-1.

Figure 5. Normalised mass (solid line) and derivative of the normalised mass (dashed line) in 150 ml min-1 of air and a heating rate of 20°C min-1 .

 

C. Gross Heat of Combustion

Table 7. Gross Heat of Combustion individual results for sample.
TrialΔHc [kJ g-1]
Trial 115.93
Trial 215.99
Trial 315.88
Average15.93
Std dev0.06

D. Ignition parameters

Table 8. Summary of ignition parameters for sample.
Critical heat flux for ignitionIgnition temperatureTotal heat transfer coefficient of lossesApparent thermal inertia
q̇″cr [kW m−2]Tig [°C]hr [W m-2 K-1]kρc [kW2 m-4 K-2 s]
1537138.501.878

Figure 6. Time-to-ignition vs incident radiant heat flux for samples.

 

E. Burning behaviour

Table 9. Summary of key burning behaviour metrics.

Heat fluxTestTime to ignitionFraction of mass residuePeak heat release rateTotal energy released
q̇″inc [kW m-2] tig [s]mres [-]q̇″p [kW m-2]Qt [MJ m-2]
35 kW m-2
Test 11660.46120.4972.57
Test 21520.44110.1372.03
Avg1590.45115.3172.30
50 kW m-2
Test 1870.46141.7678.99
Test 2940.46131.6882.73
Avg900.46136.7280.86
60 kW m-2
Test 1650.43161.5575.53
Test 2650.42183.9175.51
Avg650.42172.7375.52
80 kW m-2
Test 1----
Test 2----
Avg----

Figure 7. Normalised mass loss over time for samples tested with 35, 50, 60 and 80 kW m-2.

Figure 8. Heat release rate per unit area over time for samples tested with 35, 50, 60 and 80 kW m-2.

 

Table 10. Effective Heat of Combustion individual results for sample.
TestΔHc [kJ g-1]
35 kW m-2 (Test 1)30.18
35 kW m-2 (Test 2)28.33
50 kW m-2 (Test 1)29.09
50 kW m-2 (Test 2)29.85
60 kW m-2 (Test 1)29.61
60 kW m-2 (Test 2)28.82
80 kW m-2 (Test 1)-
80 kW m-2 (Test 2)-
Average29.31
Std dev0.69

F. Flame Spread

Table 11. Minimum heat flux for flame spread rate and minimum flame spread rate for sample.
Orientationq̇″min.spread [kW m-2]Vf.min [mm s-1]
Horizontal13.30-
Vertical9.90-

Figure 9. Lateral flame spread rate versus heat flux.

Figure 10. Vertical flame spread rate versus heat flux.

Figure 11. Vf-1/2 as function of q̇″ext in horizontal configuration.

Figure 12. Vf-1/2 as function of q̇″ext in vertical configuration.

Table 12. Flame spread parameter results for sample.

OrientationTrial(kρcpΦh2)12 [m32 s12 kW-1]Φ [kW2 m-3]
Horizontal119.8643.21
Horizontal213.8236.63
Vertical14.4756.38
Vertical23.95181.15