Flammability and Fire Rating of Wood-Plastic Composites

FLAMMABILITY AND FIRE RATING OF WOOD-PLASTIC COMPOSITES 

Acceptance criteria for deck boards and components of railing systems (ICC-ES AC 174, effective July 2006) are based on ASTM D 7032 and specify the flame spread rating to be not greater than 200 when tested in accordance with ASTM E 84. 

This chapter explains the meaning of the above statements. It describes flammability and smoke/toxic gases evolntion at burning of wood compared to wood-plastic composite (WPC) materials and products of different compositions and profiles. It also explains flammability and fire ratings and indexes as quantitative measures for fire hazard and fire safety, and fire performance characteristics in general of wood and composites. 

Wood-Plastic Composites, by Anatole A. Klyosov Copyright 2007 John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

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