Experimental Study on Ignition and Combustion Characteristics of Fibre-Reinforced Phenolic Composite

Abstract

The ignition and combustion characteristics of the fibre-reinforced phenolic composite were studied experimentally employing cone calorimeter. Various parameters, including the ignition time, the mass loss and mass loss rate (MLR), the heat release rate (HRR) and the concentration of the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide were measured and presented. Linear correlations of the transformed ignition time (1/tig)0.55 and 1/tig, the first and second peak MLR, the average MLR and the peak HRR with the heat flux were demonstrated. Based upon the correlations and theoretical analyses, flammability properties including the critical heat flux (CHF) and the minimum heat flux, the ignition temperature, the heat of gasification and the heat of combustion were calculated. The specimen with the thickness of 3 mm was prone to be thermally thin material. The peak concentration of the carbon dioxide increased with the heat flux. However, the peak concentration of the carbon monoxide declined with an increase in the applied heat flux.