School of Civil Engineering

INS12

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Material description

Material ID: INS12

Material type: Polyurethane flexible foam (PU) - organic foam insulation

Polymer: Polyurethane (82%)

Additives (fire retardants, fillers or traces of inorganic elements): Chlorine (17%), Phosphorus (1%), traces of other elements (<1%)

Core thickness: 51.71mm

Thickness of single metal skin: 1.5-2.0mm

 

Table 1. Estimated mass concentration of compounds.
CompoundMass Concentration (%)
Polyurethane (PU)82
Chlorine (Cl)17
Phosphorus (P)1
Traces of sulfur (S)<1
Traces of silicon (Si)<1
Traces of sodium (Na)<1
Traces of potassium (K)<1
Traces of aluminium (Al)<1
Additional information:

Metal skin is 1.5mm on one side and 2.0mm on the other.

A. Material composition identification

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

Table 2. FTIR compound identification.
Identified Compounds
Rigid polyurethane foam (PU)
...
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 (%)
Cl17
P1
S<1
Si<1
Na<1
K<1
Al<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)0.20
Oxidative (air)0.03
Table 4. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in non-oxidative conditions.
Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 13389.24 x 10-3
Peak 24931.24 x 10-3
Table 5. Temperature and amplitude of main peaks in oxidative conditions.
Peak IDTemperature peak (°C)Amplitude of peak (°C-1)
Peak 13246.17 x 10-3
Peak 25813.49 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 126.88
Trial 226.74
Trial 326.49
Average26.70
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]
12.5033635.600.084
...
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 15-169.6423.18
Test 240.19175.4126.15
Avg40.10172.5324.66
50 kW m-2
Test 140.14213.4826.43
Test 230.09214.7622.27
Avg40.12214.1224.35
60 kW m-2
Test 120.06236.4824.36
Test 230.15246.6927.87
Avg20.11241.5926.11
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)18.11
35 kW m-2 (Test 2)23.48
50 kW m-2 (Test 1)22.10
50 kW m-2 (Test 2)21.34
60 kW m-2 (Test 1)20.14
60 kW m-2 (Test 2)23.03
80 kW m-2 (Test 1)-
80 kW m-2 (Test 2)-
Average21.37
Std dev2

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]
Horizontal3.80-
Vertical5.20-
...
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.
OrientationTrial(kρcp⁄Φh2)1⁄2 [m3⁄2 s1⁄2 kW-1]Φ [kW2 m-3]
Horizontal12.32112.31
Horizontal22.2513.10
Vertical10.1881000
Vertical20.2991000