Material description

Material ID: INS02

Material type: Phenolic foam - organic foam insulation

Polymer: Phenol resin (83%)

Additives (fire retardants, fillers or traces of inorganic elements): Sulfur (8%), Chlorine (6%), Calcium (2%), Potassium (1%), traces of other elements (<1%)

Core thickness: 79.48mm

Table 1. Estimated mass concentration of compounds.
CompoundMass Concentration (%)
Phenol resin (PF)83
Sulfur (S)8
Chlorine (Cl)6
Calcium (Ca)2
Potassium (K)1
Traces of silicon (Si)<1
Traces of phosphorus (P)<1

A. Material composition identification

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

Table 2. FTIR compound identification.
Identified Compounds
Phenol resin (PF)

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 (%)
S8
Cl6
Ca2
K1
Si<1
P<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)0.48
Oxidative (air)0.05

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

Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 12336.4 x 10-4
Peak 23161.28 x 10-3
Peak 34722.14 x 10-3

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

Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 12036.6 x 10-4
Peak 23171.08 x 10-3
Peak 35007.19 x 10-3
Peak 45156.6 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 127.31
Trial 225.72
Trial 326.34
Average26.46
Std dev0.80

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]
18.9041742.900.08

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 1130.8553.187.16
Test 240.7871.8012.35
Avg80.8162.499.76
50 kW m-2
Test 160.3772.6936.81
Test 240.8077.9310.77
Avg50.5975.3123.79
60 kW m-2
Test 140.2089.1552.31
Test 230.2987.9243.47
Avg40.2588.5447.89
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)14.79
35 kW m-2 (Test 2)18.76
50 kW m-2 (Test 1)17.69
50 kW m-2 (Test 2)16.58
60 kW m-2 (Test 1)19.97
60 kW m-2 (Test 2)19.60
80 kW m-2 (Test 1)-
80 kW m-2 (Test 2)-
Average17.90
Std dev1.97

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]
Horizontal15.301000
Vertical16.301000
Table 12. Flame spread parameter results for sample.
OrientationTrial(kρcpΦh2)12 [m32 s12 kW-1]Φ [kW2 m-3]
Horizontal1-1000
Horizontal2-1000
Vertical1-1000
Vertical2-1000

Additional information:
Spread occurred near instantaneously and flaming lasted approximately 1–3 seconds before extinguishing.