ISSN: 1546-962X
CODEN: JAIOAD
Published Online: 22 February 2006
Page Count: 11

Ignition of Combustion Modified Polyurethane Foam

Putzeys, OM
Graduate Student Researcher, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Carlos Fernandez-Pello, A
Professor, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Urban, DL
Chief, Combustion and Reacting Systems, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH

(Received 21 October 2005; accepted 19 December 2005)

Abstract

Results are presented from an experimental study on the ignition of the combustion modified (fire retarded) polyurethane foam Pyrell® (35.3 kg/m³ and 64.0 kg/m³) in elevated oxygen concentrations, ranging from 30 % to 60 %. The samples are exposed to an external flow and variable radiant heat flux on one face, and insulated on the other faces. The experiments show that Pyrell® undergoes a weak smoldering reaction that requires significant assistance in the form of external heat input in order to propagate. The results also show that given sufficient oxygen and radiant heat flux, the smoldering reaction can produce enough volatile fuel and heat to trigger a gas-phase ignition, i.e. a transition from smoldering to flaming, in pores in the char region. The experiments also indicate that high-density Pyrell® is more ignitable than low-density Pyrell®, which could be explained by the greater solid surface area for smoldering reactions to take place.

Keywords:
combustion modified, fire retarded, polyurethane foam, oxygen enriched, smoldering, transition to flaming, ignition, spacecraft, fire

Paper ID: JAI13558
DOI: 10.1520/JAI13558
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