School of Civil Engineering

ACP02

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Material description

Material ID: ACP02

Material type: Aluminium composite panel with a core consisting of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and a fire retardant.

Polymer: Ethylene-vinyl acetate (28%)

Additives (fire retardants, fillers or traces of inorganic elements): Alumina Trihydrate (72%), Magnesium (1%), traces of other elements (<1%)

Core thickness: 2.9mm

Thickness of single metal skin: 0.5mm

 

Table 1. Estimated mass concentration of compounds.
CompoundMass Concentration (%)
Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)28
Alumina Trihydrate (Al(OH)3)72
Magnesium (Mg)1
Traces of sodium (Na)<1
Traces of silicon (Si)<1

A. Material composition identification

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

Table 2. FTIR compound identification.
Identified Compounds
Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)
Alumina Trihydrate (Al(OH)3)
...
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 (%)
Al22
Mg<1
Si<1
Ca<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)0.47
Oxidative (air)0.46
Table 4. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in non-oxidative conditions.
Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 12461.06 x 10-3
Peak 23154.14 x 10-3
Peak 34837.24 x 10-3
Table 5. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in oxidative conditions.
Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 12471.23 x 10-3
Peak 23165.55 x 10-3
Peak 33841.8 x 10-3
Peak 45111.2 x 10-3
...
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 112.99
Trial 212.94
Trial 313.29
Average13.07
Std dev0.19

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]
15.6037839.201.643
...
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 11380.73119.9544
Test 21500.45113.5525.35
Avg1440.59116.7534.68
50 kW m-2
Test 1750.46145.2058.01
Test 2750.43145.4055.78
Avg750.45145.3056.90
60 kW m-2
Test 1660.42184.4657.30
Test 2620.41202.4963.95
Avg640.41193.4860.63
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)34.45
35 kW m-2 (Test 2)9.45
50 kW m-2 (Test 1)21.31
50 kW m-2 (Test 2)20.59
60 kW m-2 (Test 1)20.69
60 kW m-2 (Test 2)23.63
80 kW m-2 (Test 1)-
80 kW m-2 (Test 2)-
Average21.68
Std dev7.98

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]
Horizontal100-
Vertical100-
Table 12. Flame spread parameter results for sample.
OrientationTrial(kρcp⁄Φh2)1⁄2 [m3⁄2 s1⁄2 kW-1]Φ [kW2 m-3]
Horizontal1100-
Horizontal2100-
Vertical1100-
Vertical2100-
Additional information:

Sample ignites but fails to establish a uniform flame front and does not spread below the critical heat flux for ignition.