ISSN: 1945-7553
CODEN: JTEVAB
Page Count: 6

Test Facilities for Measuring the Thermal Response of Materials to the Fire Environment

Crowley, DP
Group leads, staff scientist, group leader, and manager, Fire and Thermal Protection Applications Department, Avco Systems Division, Lowell, Mass.

Tempesta, FL
Group leads, staff scientist, group leader, and manager, Fire and Thermal Protection Applications Department, Avco Systems Division, Lowell, Mass.

Castle, GK
Group leads, staff scientist, group leader, and manager, Fire and Thermal Protection Applications Department, Avco Systems Division, Lowell, Mass.

Belason, EB
Group leads, staff scientist, group leader, and manager, Fire and Thermal Protection Applications Department, Avco Systems Division, Lowell, Mass.

D'Avanzo, LJ
Lead technician, Avco Thermal Properties and Fire Testing Laboratory, Lowell, Mass.

Abstract

Subscale fire test facilities have been developed for evaluating the thermal response of material test specimens exposed to a variety of fire conditions. One of the facilities was used in an investigation of the feasibility of using subscale fire testing as an aid in predetermining the thermal performance of materials exposed to a full scale E 119 fire environment. Environmental incident heat flux histories were obtained during an Underwriter's Laboratory development safe-column furnace test of a prototype plastic fire resistant material assembly. These same heat flux histories were recreated in the subscale fire test facility. A specimen of the prototype plastic material was tested in the recreated environment. A comparison of the thermal performance of the material tested in the full scale and recreated fire environments showed good agreement. This paper presents a description of the subscale facilities and the results of correlating the E 119 fire test with the subscale fire test.

Keywords:
composite materials, fire tests, thermal performance, testing, furnace tests, heat flux, UL tests, subscale testing, fire resistant materials, fire resistant tests, fire hazard, plastics, calorimetry, radiometry, fire temperatures, fire environment

Paper ID: JTE10034J
DOI: 10.1520/JTE10034J
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