Polymer nanocomposites flammability fundamentals

The current state of polymer nanocomposite flammability research should by now be obvious, but some summary and review is needed to put this information into perspective. To date, we understand the following to be fundamentally important to polymer nanocomposite flammability ... 

The final need is to understand the degree to which a nanocomposite reduces flammability and its relevance to actual fire risk scenarios. This subject is covered extensively in Chapter 5, but it is worth revisiting here. To some extent it can be argued successfully that cone calorimeter results for a polymer nanocomposite are not relevant to a final fire risk scenario at all, yet cone calorimeter does yield fundamental flammability performance data for a material. It is necessary to put... 

This book focuses on polymer nanocomposites for flammability applications and includes supporting information important to this subject. The information is divided into sections for specific topic searching, and the book is divided into three parts to help those new to the fields of materials flammability research and polymer nanocomposites theory and fundamentals, specific flame retardant systems, and current applications and future work. 

On the subject of theory and fundamentals, there are five chapters flammability fundamentals, nanocomposite fundamentals, the impact of nanocomposite formation on flammability, modeling of thermal degradation by fire, and the flammability of specific polymers. 

Polymer clay nanocomposites are already used in many applications to enhance existing properties of a particular material, and development should be focused on the true multifunctional materials. Certainly, clay nanocomposites will continue to be used for enhanced mechanical, flammability, and gas barrier properties, but fundamental limits in clay chemistry prevent them from being used easily in applications requiring electrical/ thermal conductivity or optical properties. Similarly, combinations of... 

This chapter is organized in the following way. First, we present some common techniques for characterizing the dispersion of nanoclays in polymer blends. The dispersion level has been shown to have a fundamental effect on the fire performance of polymer-clay nanocomposites (PCNs), as an exfoliated or intercalated polymer-clay system seems to enjoy reduced flammability. Second, the effects of nanoclays on the viscosity of polymer blends are discussed. With increased temperature in the condensed phase during combustion, most polymers (and hence polymer blends) have sufficiently low viscosity to flow under their own weight. This is highly undesirable, especially when the final products will be used in vertical orientation, because the melt can drip, having the potential to form a pool fire, which can increase fire spread. The results on thermal stability are presented next, followed by those for the cone calorimeter. The quantitative effects of nanoclays on the... 

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