Rationale

Recent tests conducted at UDRI and NIST identified a limitation in the current testing setup. Thin samples that emit significant combustible volatiles (such as smoldering materials) from the bottom can experience ignition when these pyrolyzates reach the top of the specimen. This ignition can lead to a flame traveling back down to the bottom of the specimen, potentially causing ignition there, which might be mistaken for burn-through. To mitigate this issue, modifications are being made to the sample holder to incorporate a flame stopper. Simultaneously, slight adjustments are being implemented to streamline manufacturing processes without compromising critical parameters that influence the test's fire performance. Additionally, it is proposed to incorporate a video camera to record tests. This addition will help in observing and verifying that the aforementioned phenomenon does not occur during testing.