ANINVESTIGATIONOFTHEUL‐94VPLASTICSFLAMMABILITYTEST

J.G.Quin=ere1*,BrianP.Downey1,2andRichardE.Lyon3

1DepartmentofFireProtec=onEngineering,UniversityofMaryland,CollegePark,MD20742

2CurrentlywithSAIC,Fairfax,VA3AirportandAircraZSafetyDivision,WilliamJ.HughesTechnicalCenter,FederalAvia=on

Administra=on,Atlan=cCity,NJ

Presenta(onOutline

•  WhatisUL94V?•  Howcanitbemodeled?

•  Experimentalresultsformodeling

•  Rela(onshipbetweenra(ngandmodel

•  SummaryandConclusions

2

Mo(va(on

•  ResearchsupportfromtheFederalAvia(onAdministra(on(FAA)

•  ThisstudywillfocusonUL‐94V:Ver(calBurningTest•  ABunsenburnertestthatdominatesuseofplas(cs•  LimitedstudieshaveexaminedUL‐94Vwithoutsufficientresolu(onregardingitsbasis

•  Cannotcon(nuetohavetestswithoutmeaningorwithoutphenomenologicalexplana(on

3

PEIandPVC

Specimens

UL‐94VTestSetup

UL‐94V:Ver(calBurningTest

4

UL‐94V:Ra(ngProcess

5

1stFlameApplica(on

SampleIgnites

NoIgni(on

Sampleburnsuptoclamp

SampleSelf‐Ex(nguishes

2ndFlameApplica(on

SampleIgnites

NoIgni(on

NoRa(ng‐UL‐94HBTest

V‐0

Sampleburnsuptoclamp

SampleSelf‐Ex(nguishes

NoRa(ng‐UL‐94HBTest

V‐0,V‐1ORV‐2

UL‐94VRa(ng&FirePhenomena

6

Needtoknowheatflux,andmaterialproper(estopredict.

ModelingProcess

•  Measureheatfluxduringburnerigni(on

•  Determineheatfluxbyflameinburningandinspread

•  Determinerela(onshipforthelaminarflameheight•  Iden(fybodyofdataonproper(esandUL94Vra(ng•  Determinecondi(onsforsustainedigni(on,burningandflamespread

7

MeasureHeatFluxbyBurner

•  HeatFluxGauge–  Diameterof1/8thin.

– Water‐cooled

–  HF(kW/m2)=10.8*ΔV(mV)

•  TirrillBurner–  PremixedFlameBurnerASTMD‐5025

–  20mmflame,10mmbelow

8

BurnerResults(ver(cal)

9

Samplethickness3612mm

Posi(on 5 10 15mmFrom Bofom

BurnerResults(45degrees)

10

Samplethickness3612mm

Posi(on 5 10 15mmFrom Bofom NominalValue~60kW/m2forigni=on

Burning&FlameSpreadFlameHeight&FlameHeatFlux

•  MeasureFlameHeightvsHeatReleaseRate

– MethaneLineBurner– WefedSamples

•  Plot

11

FlameHeight

12

x f =HRR300

xp

Flamelength/Burnlength=[kW/m2]/300

FlameHeatFlux

13

~60kW/m2

HeatF

lux

x/xf

Theory:Igni(on

14

60

Cri(calHHRforIgni(on

15

Foraheightof10mmcorrespondingtoigni(onandini(alburning,theconvec(vecoefficientisfoundas63W/m2‐K.

HRRig=80kW/m2

BurningRate

16

60

Cri(calValue:

250+/‐75kW/m2

FlameSpreadtotopattheclamp12.5cm

17

kf=1 HRRf=300kW/m2

DatafromBundyetal&Lyon

1850materials

GeneralResults

19

HRR<200kW/m2containmostlyV0

HRRig<80KW/m2 noigni(onHRRb<~250KW/m2 nosustainedburning

200<HRR<300kW/m2mixtureofV0,V1,andV2

HRRf>300KW/m2 con(nuousspread

HRR>300kW/m2mostlymaterialsthatfail.

20

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

6-P

C/A

BS

-NF

RP

TF

E1

7-P

VC

-NF

RE

CT

FE

1-P

C-N

HC

PV

CP

AI

15-P

P-N

HP

PS

19-A

BS

-NH

PV

C(r

igid

)5

-PC

-BF

R8-P

C/A

BS

-PF

R4

-PC

-NF

R10-P

C-B

FR

PX

18-H

IPS

-NH

12-P

P-N

HP

EE

K7-A

BS

-BF

RA

BS

-FR

UP

T-F

RP

EN

2-H

IPS

-BF

RP

VC

(fle

x)

9-H

IPS

-BF

RH

IPS

-FR

ET

FE

SIR

PB

T-F

RP

OM

3-H

IPS

-NF

R11-P

P-B

FR

UP

TP

CP

C/A

BS

EP

PE

TA

BS

HIP

SP

MM

AP

BT

13-P

P-B

FR

14-P

P-B

FR

PA

66

PS

PE

PA

6P

P

HRR kW/m2 Rating

HR

R k

W/m

2

Ra

tin

g

Materials:

no ignition, HRR < 80

no burn, HRR < 250

3, Fails

no spread, HRR < 300 kW/m2

ProbabilityofFailingUL94V8binsand[Ra(ngsexceptV0/AllRa(ngs]

21

<80

,noigni(o

n

<30

0,nospread

Conclusions

•  UL94Vra(ngcanbeexplainedintermsoffiretheoryandproper(es

•  Variablesintestarepoorlycontrolled– Handheldigniter– Humanobserva(onssubjec(ve

– Drippingmaterialsproblema(c

•  Whynotuseproper(es:TRP,HRP,CHF?

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TheEnd

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