Studies on the measurement of smoke propensity of UPVC

Abstract

AbstractThe smoke propensity of plastics as measured in the NBS Smoke Chamber method has been rationalized in terms of the influence of specimen thickness and resolved in a relation between mass optical density (MOD) and mass loss, which gives two parameters for characterizing behaviour, a maximum MOD for thin specimens and an asymptotic MOD for thicker ones. Data have been obtained for unplasticized piolyvinylchloride formulations and compared to that obtained by the Arapahoe Smoke Chamber and the Australian Standard method (AS 1530 Part 3). Although correlation coefficients between the methods were generally poor, the same formulations were ranked as the best performers in each method and the improvement over a standard formulation was potentially important in terms of wider acceptance under Australian building regulations.