INS03
Material description
Material ID: INS03
Material type: Poly(ethylene terephthalate) - organic fibrous material
Polymer: Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (98%)
Additives (fire retardants, fillers or traces of inorganic elements): Titanium (1%), Calcium (1%), traces of other elements (<1%)
Core thickness: 53.32mm

| Compound | Mass Concentration (%) |
|---|---|
| Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) | 98 |
| Titanium (Ti) | 1 |
| Calcium (Ca) | 1 |
| Traces of sulfur (S) | <1 |
| Traces of silicon (Si) | <1 |
| Traces of iron (Fe) | <1 |
A. Material composition identification
A.1 Attenuated total reflection – Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR)
Table 2. FTIR compound identification.| Identified Compounds |
|---|
| Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) |

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 (%) |
|---|---|
| Ti | 1 |
| Ca | 1 |
| S | <1 |
| Si | <1 |
| Fe | <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) | 0.19 |
| Oxidative (air) | 0.06 |
Table 4. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in non-oxidative conditions.
| Peak ID | Temperature peak (°C) | Amplitude of peak (°C-1) |
|---|---|---|
| Peak 1 | 446 | 1.759 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 | 444 | 1.616 x 10-2 |
| Peak 2 | 552 | 3.06 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 | 22.09 |
| Trial 2 | 19.02 |
| Trial 3 | 23.19 |
| Average | 21.43 |
| Std dev | 2.16 |
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] |
| 31.50 | 530 | 55.60 | 0.733 |

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 | 164 | 0.03 | 326.85 | 19.48 | |
| Test 2 | 162 | 0.10 | 308.12 | 18.41 | |
| Avg | 163 | 0.07 | 317.49 | 18.95 | |
| 50 kW m-2 | |||||
| Test 1 | 78 | 0.08 | 282.79 | 17.91 | |
| Test 2 | 84 | 0.09 | 327.34 | 19.60 | |
| Avg | 81 | 0.08 | 305.07 | 18.76 | |
| 60 kW m-2 | |||||
| Test 1 | - | - | - | - | |
| Test 2 | - | - | - | - | |
| Avg | - | - | - | - | |
| 80 kW m-2 | |||||
| Test 1 | 27 | 0.04 | 374.52 | 13.19 | |
| Test 2 | 28 | 0.03 | 424.19 | 17.20 | |
| Avg | 27.50 | 0.04 | 399.36 | 15.19 |

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) | 16.09 |
| 35 kW m-2 (Test 2) | 18.04 |
| 50 kW m-2 (Test 1) | 16.89 |
| 50 kW m-2 (Test 2) | 17.50 |
| 60 kW m-2 (Test 1) | - |
| 60 kW m-2 (Test 2) | - |
| 80 kW m-2 (Test 1) | 13.33 |
| 80 kW m-2 (Test 2) | 16.11 |
| Average | 16.32 |
| Std dev | 1.66 |
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 | - | - |
| Vertical | - | - |
| Orientation | Trial | (kρcp⁄Φh2)1⁄2 [m3⁄2 s1⁄2 kW-1] | Φ [kW2 m-3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizontal | 1 | - | - |
| Horizontal | 2 | - | - |
| Vertical | 1 | - | - |
| Vertical | 2 | - | - |
1. No ignition or sustained flame spread due to surface regression.
2. Melting and dripping of material during test.
3. Test method not suitable for evaluating flame spread for this material.