Large‐scale Experimental Study on the Effects of Flooring Materials on Combustion Behavior of Thermoplastics

Abstract

The effects of flooring materials on the combustion behavior of thermoplastics is investigated. Based on the ISO 9705 fire test setup, an experimental rig was designed. Full‐scale experiments of PP combustion were carried out using five flooring boards, namely gypsum, steel, wood, ceramic tile and PVC. The experimental results indicate that the flooring boards play an important role in the heat release rates of typical thermoplastics combustion. Specifically, the time for the sharp increase of heat release rate is generally later for the flooring boards with larger thermal conductivity, except for the case of PVC. Preliminary analyses suggest that the reason for the exception of PVC is the expansion and carbonization of PVC at high temperature. In addition, experimental results also show that the corresponding peak heat release rate of thermoplastics combustion would be generally smaller for the flooring board with a larger thermal mass, except for the case of gypsum. The primary cause for the exception of gypsum may be the heat absorption by the crystal water released from the gypsum during the burning of hot pool oil.