Test Methods for Fire Retardancy

ASTM D 1360 Standard Test Method for Fire Retardancy of Paints (Cabinet Method)... 

Fire-Retardant Coatings on Acoustical Surfaces and Test Methods for Their Evaluation... 

Studies are currently being conducted on smoke development and heat release rate from treated and untreated wood and wood products (52,56). An evaluation of the available treatment systems for wood shingles and shakes was completed using artificial weathering (11). A further development from this work was a new ASTM Standard Method D2898 (67,68) for testing durability of fire-retardant treatment of wood. 

Karlsson B. Performance-based test methods for material flammability. In Fire Retardant Materials. Horrocks AR, Price D, Eds. Woodhead Publishing Limited Cambridge, U.K., 2001 chap. 12, pp. 355-377. 

Babrauskas V. Fire test methods for evaluation of fire-retardant efficacy in polymeric materials. In Fire Retardancy of Polymeric Materials. Grand AF, Wilkie CA, Eds. Marcel Dekker Inc. New York, 2000 chap. 3, pp. 81-113. 

NFPA 701 Standard Methods of Fire Tests for Flame Propagation of Textiles and Films NFPA 703 Standard for Fire Retardant Impregnated Wood and Fire Retardant Coatings for Building Materials... 

Hame resistance has become a legal requirement for commercial utilization of polymers and their blends in many apphcations. Innumerable test methods for flammabUity have been developed in different countries and several books and handbooks are exclusively dealing with this subject. Discussion of the test methods that are en vogue in various countries is beyond the scope of this chapter, thus only the most popular test methods are discussed. The fire retardant chemicals and their suppliers are tabulated in Appendix 1. 

This standard is for polymers, blends of polymers, copolymers, terpolymers and alloys. It considers plastic parts that have been produced under a material identity control system. Molders/fabricators are required not to employ such additives/flame retardants that would adversely affect critical material properties. A detailed discussion on national and international fire protection regulations and test methods for plastics is presented by Troitzsch [1983]. 

Flame retardancy effectiveness and the comparison of the exposure to catch fire of the PE-HD/MDH composites were rated in terms of accuracy and repeatability by the test method for measuring the limiting oxygen index (LOI) according to PN-EN ISO 4589-2 2006. 

One problem associated with discussing flame retardants is the lack of a clear, uniform definition of flammabiHty. Hence, no clear, uniform definition of decreased flammabiHty exists. The latest American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) compilation of fire tests Hsts over one hundred methods for assessing the flammabiHty of materials (2). These range in severity from small-scale measures of the ignitabiHty of a material to actual testing in a full-scale fire. Several of the most common tests used on plastics are summarized in Table 1. 

Numerous tests covering flame retardancy and related matters are available. The requirements most often specified for fire resistance of a textile materials are that it must pass either Federal Specification Method 5903 or NFPA 701. 

The Fire Tests for Flame Resistant Textiles and Films, issued by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) ia 1989, is the method most used by iadustrial fire-retardant finishers (ca 1993) (50). It has been approved by the American National Standards Institute. 

Fire retardant treatment, for wood, 26 348 Fire science, 11 450 Fire test methods, 11 449—450 Fire test terminology, 19 588 Fire-tube furnaces, 12 319—320, 327 Firing, of ferrites, 11 73 Firming agents, 12 32 as food additives, 12 57 First aid and rescue, 21 858 First aid, for nitric acid exposure, 17 192 First failure, time to, 26 987 First falling rate period, 23 67 First-generation ionic liquids, 26 837-838, 841, 865... 

---