Intumescent Polymer Metal Laminates for Fire Protection.

Laura Geoffroy,Serge Bourbigot,Maude Jimenez,Fabienne Samyn

doi:10.3390/polym10090995

Laura Geoffroy, Serge Bourbigot + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10090995

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Abstract

Intumescent paints are applied on materials to protect them against fire, but the development of novel chemistries has reached some limits. Recently, the concept of “Polymer Metal Laminates,” consisting of alternating thin aluminum foils and thin epoxy resin layers has been proven efficient against fire, due to the delamination between layers during burning. In this paper, both concepts were considered to design “Intumescent Polymer Metal Laminates” (IPML), i.e., successive thin layers of aluminum foils and intumescent coatings. Three different intumescent coatings were selected to prepare ten-plies IPML glued onto steel substrates. The IPMLs were characterized using optical microscopy, and their efficiency towards fire was evaluated using a burn-through test. Thermal profiles obtained were compared to those obtained for a monolayer of intumescent paint. For two of three coatings, the use of IPML revealed a clear improvement at the beginning of the test, with the slopes of the curves being dramatically decreased. Characterizations (expansion measurements, microscopic analyses, in situ temperature, and thermal measurements) were carried out on the different samples. It is suggested that the polymer metal laminates (PML) design, delays the carbonization of the residue. This work highlighted that design is as important as the chemistry of the formulation, to obtain an effective fire barrier.

Highlights

Nowadays, in transportation and building applications, fire safety is crucial, and materials must meet stringent regulations
All Intumescent Polymer Metal Laminates” (IPML) seemed quite homogeneous, with no voids observed between aluminum foils
The mean thickness gap between each aluminum foil was calculated for each IPML and corresponded to 70, 105, and 77 μm, for IPML-A, B, and C, respectively

Summary

Introduction

In transportation and building applications, fire safety is crucial, and materials must meet stringent regulations. Fireproofing solutions have been developed to comply with more demanding standards. Intumescent coatings (IC) are known as an efficient and widely used solution. When these coatings are submitted to a thermal constraint, they swell and form a porous insulating barrier, so-called “char”, protecting the underlying substrate from heat and mass transfers. The formulation of the coating must be optimized in terms of physical and chemical properties, to form an effective protective char. Even though novel chemistries and additives are under investigation to increase coatings efficiency and to reduce thickness and weight, novel designs of intumescent coatings have reached a plateau. The tendency now is to play with fibers or meshes to improve thermal protective properties and mechanical resistance of the char

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