Abstract
Flame retardant cables were investigated using thermo-gravimetric analysis to measure the reference temperature and reference rate required for a fire spread simulation using a Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). Sensitivity analysis was also performed to understand the effects of the reference temperature and rate on the pyrolysis reactions. A two-step pyrolysis reaction was typically observed regardless of the cable type, and each pyrolysis reaction could be attributed to single or multiple components depending on the cable type and reaction order. Although the structures, compositions, and insulation performances of the cables differed considerably, the reference temperatures of the two-step pyrolysis reaction were extremely similar regardless of the cable type. Conversely, the reference rates of the different types of cables varied significantly. The sensitivity analysis results indicate that the mean values of the reference temperature and rate are sufficient to simulate the pyrolysis reactions of flame retardant cables. The results obtained herein also suggest that the heat transfer and pyrolysis reaction path associated with the multi-layered cable structure may be more important for accurately determining the ignition and fire spread characteristics, which are attributable to differences in cable structure, composition, and insulation performance.
Highlights
Fire spread rate prediction is critical for fire risk assessment and fire safety design, and numerous studies have been conducted on the spread of fire in buildings over the last few decades [1]
The pyrolysis properties required for flame retardant cables composed of multiple materials, i.e., the reference temperature and reference rate, were obtained by Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA)
Based on this analysis approach, the dominant reference temperatures and rates of the pyrolysis reactions of flame retardant cables composed of multiple materials were determined
Summary
Fire spread rate prediction is critical for fire risk assessment and fire safety design, and numerous studies have been conducted on the spread of fire in buildings over the last few decades [1]. The electrical cables used for various elements in housing and industrial environments pose a constant risk of electrical fires, which account for the largest portion of fires, and the cables themselves can act as ignition sources, inducing large-scale fire or secondary combustibility [2]. As an applied example of electric-cable-induced fire, research on ignition and fire spread due to cable malfunction has been conducted under special conditions such as the microgravity environment of a space station [3,4]. To prevent fire spread via cable trays installed for power transmission, communication, and measurement in long tunnels, classification and certification tests of cables according to various standards, such as fire spread experiments using cable trays and an experiment with various cable lifetimes, have been conducted [5,6,7].
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