Combination of Transient Plane Source and Slug Calorimeter Measurements to Estimate the Thermal Properties of Fire Resistive Materials.
Combination of Transient Plane Source and Slug
Calorimeter Measurements to Estimate the Thermal
Properties of Fire Resistive Materials.
(214 K)
Bentz, D. P.
Journal of Testing and Evaluation, Vol. 3532, No. 3,
May 2007.
Keywords:
fire resistive materials; calorimeters; thermal
properties; building technology; heat capacity; thermal
conductivity; thermophysical properties; equations;
temperature
Abstract:
The thermal properties of fire resistive materials
(FRMs) as a function of temperature critically influence
their ability to protect a (steel) structure during a
fire exposure. Measurement of these properties is
complicated by the microstructural heterogeneity of
typical FRMs, the need to measure properties over a wide
temperature range from room temperature to 1000DGC and
higher, and the reactions, phase changes, and volumetric
changes that the materials may undergo during exposure
to elevated temperatures. This paper presents an
integrated approach for determining thermal properties
via a combination of two experimental techniques, namely
the transient plane source and the slug calorimeter
methods. The former is utilized to provide an estimate
of the volumetric heat capacity and a room temperature
thermal conductivity value for the FRM under study,
while the latter is employed to estimate the variation
in effective thermal conductivity with temperature,
including the influences of reactions and mass transport
during multiple heating/cooling cycles. The combination
of the two techniques is demonstrated for four different
inorganic-based FRMs. Their extension to organic
(intumescent) systems is also discussed.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899