Assessing the Flammability of Composite Materials

Ohlemiller, Thomas J.; Cleary, Thomas G.; Brown, James E.; Shields, John R.

doi:10.1177/073490419301100403

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Past studies such as Sobczak et al (2012) on natural fibres have shown that they possess comparable specific mechanical properties to synthetic alternatives, indicating reinforcement potential. However, natural fibres represent an additional fuel source for combustion (Ohlemiller et al 1993;Chai et al 2012), and therefore, natural fibre composites have been known to perform poorly in flammability testing. In order to satisfy flammability requirements, a potential solution is the incorporation of flame retardants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of flame retardance additives on the mechanical and fire performance of natural fibre composites

Lim¹,

Reeves²,

Somashekar³

et al. 2015

Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Performance-Based and Life-Cycle Structural Engineering (PLSE 2015)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The incorporation of sustainability is becoming increasingly important in manufacturing practices worldwide. This includes the development of natural fibre composites with mechanical and flammability characteristics suitable for structural interiors. Composites manufactured from kenaf fibres and polypropylene (PP) were investigated as to their suitability as materials for the interiors of buildings, aircraft and such-like. Natural fibres like kenaf act as fuel sources during combustion, and hence, flame retardants are added to the mix. In the present study, the ammonium polyphosphate (APP)-based flame retardant Budit® 3167 was used to address this issue. Limited studies exist on how the inclusion of APP influences the composites' mechanical properties. Hence the main objective of this research project was to evaluate the effect of adding Budit 3167 on both mechanical and flammability properties of kenaf-PP composites. Kenaf-PP composites were manufactured with various fibre weight percentages, with and without Budit 3167. The composites were subjected to different experiments to assess their mechanical and flammability behaviour. It was found that Budit 3167 not only improved the flammability properties of the composites, but also the tensile and flexural moduli due to the flame retardant behaving like a particle reinforcement. However, weak interfacial bonds arising from the addition of Budit 3167 led to a decrease in mechanical strength, providing a basis for further investigation. It was concluded that kenaf-PP composites with Budit 3167 show good potential as a sustainable alternative for structural interiors.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%