Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Heat Flux on the Fire Behavior of Engineered Wood Samples

Abstract

This paper presents the experimental study results on the effect of heat flux emitted by a standard source on the charring and ignition characteristics of wood construction materials (plywood, chipboard, and oriented strand board) using infrared thermography (IRT) in the narrow spectral ranges of infrared wavelength. The time to ignition (TTI), charring rate and depth were obtained for the samples. In addition, the effect of several fire retardants on the charring rate and depth of the samples and TTI was analyzed. All fire retardants contribute to an increase in TTI, which confirms their main function—fire protection. However, the effect of fire retardants differs noticeably depending on the material. A new experimental technique is suggested, with the infrared imaging of the temperature distribution along the end of a sample under the heat flux effect on its frontal surface. The uniqueness of this approach consists in the registration of the entire process of ignition and combustion of the presented materials, which occurs in real time without contact with high spatial and temporal resolution. Using the infrared camera of the research class, it becomes possible to record the entire process from the occurrence of the temperature exposure region to the deep carbonized crater in the body of the material. The results can serve as additional recommendations in the development of fire hazard testing methods for construction materials and fire retardants.

Non-Isothermal Thermogravimetry of Selected Tropical Woods and Their Degradation under Fire Using Cone Calorimetry

“…Comparison of the combustibility of woods of different origin can be complicated due to differences in density, and therefore different initial masses of samples at uniform dimensions; this disparity may affect the time to ignition. There are also the different admixtures of both organic and inorganic nature with the result that unambiguous ordering of combustibility may be more complex [14][15][16][17][18]. This contribution, a continuation of previous research [19] is an attempt to characterize the thermal stability of 5 tropical woods, three of South American origin (Cumaru, Garapa, Ipe) and two of Southeast Asian origin (Kempas and Merbau), by non-isothermal thermogravimetry in air and oxygen.…”

“…Comparison of the combustibility of woods of different origin can be complicated due to differences in density, and therefore different initial masses of samples at uniform dimensions; this disparity may affect the time to ignition. There are also the different admixtures of both organic and inorganic nature with the result that unambiguous ordering of combustibility may be more complex [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Near-infrared optical nanothermometry via upconversion of Ho3+-sensitized nanoparticles

“…Thus, temperature measurements are widely used in medicine, including early tumor detection, monitoring of brain activity, or in vivo inflammation detection 1 – 5 . In addition, temperature sensors are also relevant in other areas, e.g., for diagnostics of constructions, electrical installations, or even food production 6 – 9 .…”

Determination of the fire hazard of forest plantations depending on surface fuels under laboratory combustion conditions using thermophysical parameters

“…A comprehensive review of data on the forest fire hazard caused by the type of forest plantation and weather conditions, as well as the occurrence and development of forest fires depending on the class of fire hazard, measures to prevent the occurrence of forest fires, fire detection and plans for operational control are given in [2,3]. Studies of the bases of ignition and combustion of plant materials are presented in the works [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”