Time-Dependent Mass Loss rate Behavior of Wall Materials Under External Radiation.
Time-Dependent Mass Loss rate Behavior of Wall Materials
Under External Radiation.
(543 K)
Brehob, E. G.; Kulkarni, A. K.
Fire and Materials, Vol. 17, No. 5, 249-254,
September/October 1993.
Sponsor:
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD
Keywords:
walls; mass loss; data analysis; enclosures;
flammability
Abstract:
External radiation in enclosure fires can significantly
enhance flame spread and fire growth. One of the
effects of external radiation is to increase the mass
loss rate of the fuel, which in turn produces larger
flames. In this work, a measurement of mass loss with
and without applied radiation was made as a function of
time for three types of materials: a plastic
(polymethylmethacrylate), wood-based products (particle
board and hardboard), and a paper-based product
(cardboard). The levels of applied radiation ranged
from 0 to nearly 12 kW m-2. The purpose of the
investigation was to (1) quantitatively determine the
effect of external radiation on the mass loss of various
materials, (2) measure various parameters which may be
used to characterize the mass loss rate history of the
materials and (3) determine a method for expressing the
mass loss rate as a function of time for input into
numerical models. Higher levels of external radiation
resulted in higher peak mass loss rates and quicker
consumption of the material. Quantities which are
useful for ranking the flammability of materials have
been measured for the samples tested and are tabulated.
