Material description

Material ID: ACP01

Material type: Aluminium composite panel with a predominantly inorganic core.

Polymer: Ethylene-vinyl acetate (7%)

Additives (fire retardants, fillers or traces of inorganic elements): Calcium Carbonate (51%), Alumina Trihydrate (20%), Magnesium Hydroxide (13%), Silicon Oxide (8%), Sulfur (1%), traces of other elements (<1%)

Core thickness: 2.81mm

Thickness of single metal skin: 0.82mm

 

Table 1. Estimated mass concentration of compounds.
CompoundMass Concentration (%)
Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)7
Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)51
Alumina Trihydrate (Al(OH)3)20
Magnesium Hydroxide (Mg(OH)2)13
Silicon Oxide (SiO2)8
Sulfur (S)1
Traces of sodium (Na)<1
Traces of potassium (K)<1
Traces of iron (Fe)<1
Traces of scandium (Sc)<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)
Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)
Alumina Trihydrate (Al(OH)3)
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 (%)
Ca38
Al8
Mg6
Si5
S1
Fe<1
K<1
Na<1
Sc<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)0.73
Oxidative (air)0.72
Table 4. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in non-oxidative conditions.
Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 12901.55 x 10-3
Peak 23242.15 x 10-3
Peak 37441.43 x 10-3
Table 5. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in oxidative conditions.
Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 12891.8 x 10-3
Peak 23161.7 x 10-3
Peak 37421.32 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 12.60
Trial 22.23
Trial 32.28
Average2.37
Std dev0.20

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]
32.7053956.701.348
...
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 12290.7453.877.19
Test 22750.8046.4218.49
Avg2520.7750.1512.84
50 kW m-2
Test 11270.79120.3210.61
Test 21430.7898.9611.09
Avg1350.79109.6410.85
60 kW m-2
Test 11060.79110.4611.59
Test 21050.80129.4810.68
Avg1060.79119.9711.14
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)5.36
35 kW m-2 (Test 2)16.40
50 kW m-2 (Test 1)9.31
50 kW m-2 (Test 2)9.40
60 kW m-2 (Test 1)9.97
60 kW m-2 (Test 2)8.83
80 kW m-2 (Test 1)-
80 kW m-2 (Test 2)-
Average9.88
Std dev3.59

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(kρcpΦh2)12 [m32 s12 kW-1]Φ [kW2 m-3]
Horizontal1100-
Horizontal2100-
Vertical1100-
Vertical2100-
Additional information:

Localised ignition occurs but there is no spread of flame on the surface below the critical heat flux for ignition.