Oxygen index test method

Three test apparatuses and methods have been developed to determine the fire properties associated with flame propagation (1) the ASTM D 2863 oxygen index test method for downward flame propagation for small samples [14] (2) the ASTM E 1321-90 lateral ignition and flame spread (LIFT) test method for horizontal and lateral flame propagation... 

ISO 4589 [14, 15], the oxygen index test, gives good repeatability and is useful for quality control purposes. It does not purport to predict performance of a material in real fire conditions and indeed must not be used for this purpose, nor docs it necessarily indicate relative merits of, say, flame-retardant additives in a polymer under conditions other than those specified in the test method see Fig. 4. 

In this section, flammability of the electrolyte is discussed. The flammability is determined by using several methods, i.e., burning test with UL94HB method, flash point test with ASTM D56 and ASTM D93 method, and limiting oxygen index test with JIS K 7,201 method. These test procedures sometimes are arranged with these requirements. 

Ashley and Rothon used X-ray methods to analyse the ash from the oxygen index tests performed on MCS filled polymers, and found virtually complete decomposition to magnesium oxide [8]. However, when the ash was continuously removed during the test they found that the oxygen index fell markedly. Thus it would seem that the relatively stable MCS is given time to decompose under oxygen index conditions. 

The Limiting Oxygen Index Test. The LOI test is a typical example of a method that is used to control the production of materials, products, and assemblies and in research to develop new products. This test is standardized in North America as ASTM D2863, Standard Test Method for Measuring the Minimum... 

The oxygen index method was used to demonstrate synergy. This method measures ease of ignition, that is the facility with which a material or it s pyrolysis products can be ignited under given conditions of temperature and oxygen concentration. This test is indicative of the intrinsic flamability of a material but... 

Since the publication of the third edition, additional data have been critically reviewed. New or additional data included in this edition are bioconcentration factors, aquatic mammalian toxicity values, degradation rates, corresponding half-lives in various environmental compartments, ionization potentials, aqueous solubility of miscellaneous compounds, Henry s law constants, biological, chemical, and theoretical oxygen demand values for various organic compounds. Five additional tables have been added Test Method Number Index, Dielectric Values of Earth Materials and Fluids, Lowest Odor Threshold Concentrations of Organic Compoimds in Water, and Lowest Threshold Concentrations of Organic Compounds in Water. 

Table II shows the correlation of wt% of polyol containing phosphorous in PU with 20 wt% of lignin with oxygen indices which were obtained according to the procedure of JIS method. In this method, the inflammability of a sample is tested in a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen under a constant flow rate of the mixture. The oxygen index is the minimum concentration of oxygen in which a sample is inflammable. The oxygen index for PU without phosphorous and those for PU s with phosphorous are 19.3 and 24.6, respectively. That is, qualitatively, PU s with phosphorous were not inflammable in air and PU without phosphorous was inflammable. This indicates that PU becomes less inflammable by the addition of 3 wt% of polyol containing phosphorous.

ASTM-D2863-06a Standard Test Method for Measuring the Minimum Oxygen Concentration to Support Candle-Like Combustion of Plastics (Oxygen Index), American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, 2003. 

ASTM D 2863 Test Method For Measuring The Minimum Oxygen Concentration To Support Candle-Like Combustion Of Plastics (Oxygen Index), ASTM, West Conshohocken, PA 2006. 

Flame retardance is another important property and is defined by different test methods. Some of the small-scale methods include horizontal flame spread (FMVSS 302, ASTM D-1692) vertical flammability (ASTM D-3014, so-called Butler Chimney Test), limiting oxygen index (ASTM D-2863), and smoke density (ASTM D-2840). 

Combustion properties of interest in cellular plastics and elastomers include ease of ignition (ignitibility), support of combustion (oxygen index), relative extent and time of burning, surface flammability, flame read, smoke evolution properties, and rate of beat release. The following test methods are either concerned solely with cellular plastics, m are used for both cellular and solid plastics. 

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