ACP11
Material description
Material ID: ACP11
Material type: Aluminium composite panel with a core consisting of polyethylene (PE) and a fire retardant.
Polymer: Polyethylene (27%)
Additives (fire retardants, fillers or traces of inorganic elements): Alumina Trihydrate (73%), traces of other elements (<1%)
Core thickness: 3.38mm
Thickness of single metal skin: 0.5mm

| Compound | Mass Concentration (%) |
|---|---|
| Polyethylene (PE) | 27 |
| Alumina Trihydrate (Al(OH)3) | 73 |
| Traces of silicon (Si) | <1 |
| Traces of sodium (Na) | <1 |
A. Material composition identification
A.1 Attenuated total reflection – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR)
Table 2. FTIR compound identification.| Identified Compounds |
|---|
| Polyethylene (PE) |
| 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.
| Element | Mass Concentration (%) |
|---|---|
| Al | 22 |
| Si | <1 |
| Na | <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.
| Condition | Fraction of mass residue at 800°C |
|---|---|
| Non-oxidative (nitrogen) | 0.46 |
| Oxidative (air) | 0.48 |
Table 4. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in non-oxidative conditions.
| Peak ID | Temperature peak (°C) | Amplitude of peak (°C-1) |
|---|---|---|
| Peak 1 | 240 | 1.39 x 10-3 |
| Peak 2 | 306 | 3.64 x 10-3 |
| Peak 3 | 489 | 1.067 x 10-2 |
Table 5. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in oxidative conditions.
| Peak ID | Temperature peak (°C) | Amplitude of peak (°C-1) |
|---|---|---|
| Peak 1 | 240 | 1.44 x 10-3 |
| Peak 2 | 316 | 4 x 10-3 |
| Peak 3 | 467 | 3.03 x 10-3 |
| Peak 4 | 503 | 1.8 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.| Trial | ΔHc [kJ g-1] |
|---|---|
| Trial 1 | 13.75 |
| Trial 2 | 13.78 |
| Trial 3 | 13.78 |
| Average | 13.77 |
| Std dev | 0.02 |
D. Ignition parameters
Table 8. Summary of ignition parameters for sample.| Critical heat flux for ignition | Ignition temperature | Total heat transfer coefficient of losses | Apparent thermal inertia |
|---|---|---|---|
| q̇″cr [kW m−2] | Tig [°C] | hr [W m-2 K-1] | kρc [kW2 m-4 K-2 s] |
| 17.50 | 401 | 41.30 | 1.112 |

Figure 6. Time-to-ignition vs incident radiant heat flux for samples.
E. Burning behaviour
Table 9. Summary of key burning behaviour metrics.
| Heat flux | Test | Time to ignition | Fraction of mass residue | Peak heat release rate | Total energy released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| q̇″inc [kW m-2] | tig [s] | mres [-] | q̇″p [kW m-2] | Qt [MJ m-2] | |
| 35 kW m-2 | |||||
| Test 1 | 95 | 0.48 | 216.23 | 59.58 | |
| Test 2 | 113 | 0.47 | 186.51 | 68.51 | |
| Avg | 104 | 0.47 | 201.37 | 64.05 | |
| 50 kW m-2 | |||||
| Test 1 | 70 | 0.45 | 265.44 | 76.92 | |
| Test 2 | 61 | 0.45 | 243.70 | 69.90 | |
| Avg | 66 | 0.45 | 254.57 | 73.41 | |
| 60 kW m-2 | |||||
| Test 1 | 45 | 0.45 | 284.44 | 73.37 | |
| Test 2 | 46 | 0.45 | 288.89 | 71.81 | |
| Avg | 46 | 0.45 | 286.67 | 72.59 | |
| 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.
| Test | ΔHc [kJ g-1] |
|---|---|
| 35 kW m-2 (Test 1) | 25.06 |
| 35 kW m-2 (Test 2) | 28.73 |
| 50 kW m-2 (Test 1) | 30.56 |
| 50 kW m-2 (Test 2) | 27.93 |
| 60 kW m-2 (Test 1) | 29.57 |
| 60 kW m-2 (Test 2) | 28.78 |
| 80 kW m-2 (Test 1) | - |
| 80 kW m-2 (Test 2) | - |
| Average | 28.44 |
| Std dev | 1.88 |
F. Flame Spread
Table 11. Minimum heat flux for flame spread rate and minimum flame spread rate for sample.| Orientation | q̇″min.spread [kW m-2] | Vf.min [mm s-1] |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal | 13.10 | 0.40 |
| Vertical | 11.60 | 0.35 |

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.
| Orientation | Trial | (kρcp⁄Φh2)1⁄2 [m3⁄2 s1⁄2 kW-1] | Φ [kW2 m-3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizontal | 1 | 11.472 | 4.49 |
| Horizontal | 2 | 5.977 | 18.21 |
| Vertical | 1 | 1.242 | 421.65 |
| Vertical | 2 | 2.013 | 160.58 |