Development of elastomeric intumescent fire-retardant coating for protection of structures at sub-zero temperature condition

Abstract

The aim of this work is to develop an elastomeric intumescent fire retardant (IFR) coating which can protect the substrates against fire after application and remain stable without any phase separation during storage at sub-zero temperatures. Initially, an elastomeric polymer solution (15 wt%) was prepared using a combination of solvents such as xylene, ethyl acetate and butanol. Thereafter, fire retardant materials along with some fillers such as TiO2 and kaolin were added to the prepared polymeric solution to make an IFR paint. Three different paint compositions were prepared by varying percentages of kaolin and TiO2 using a fixed PVC, and named as TK10, TK73 and TK11. The unpigmented polymeric solution was used as a control during the performance evaluation of the pigmented compositions. The effect of TiO2 and kaolin percentage on the prepared coatings was evaluated in terms of mechanical properties, thermal stability, fire retardancy and char stability characteristics using various analytical instruments. To simulate real conditions, the prepared coatings were also applied over the cotton cloth and fire protection ability was studied in detail. Results revealed that the kaolin and TiO2 combination increased the strength of the char and fire-resistant properties when used in the ratio of 7:3 i.e. TK73.