Development of High Throughput Methods for Polymer Flammability Property Characterization

Published

February 19, 2017

Author(s)

Jeffrey W. Gilman, Rick D. Davis, John R. Shields, D Wentz, L D. Brassell, A B. Morgan, R Lyon, J E. Zanetto

Abstract

Recently we have developed several new high throughput (HT) methods to quantitatively evaluate the flammability of flame retarded (FR) polymers. The most recent results are due to the efforts of the High Throughput Methods for Materials Flammability Research Consortium. We report here on a comparison of these new HT methods to the conventional flammability characterization methods. The HT flammability measurement methods employed include a gradient flux method, which allows characterization of ignition properties and flame spread at a range of fluxes, and the micro-calorimeter, which measures the heat release capacity (HRC). The conventional flammability characterization methods used for comparison were the limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL94 V test for electronic equipment, and the ASTM E84 tunnel test. Polyamide-6 (PA6) containing non-halogenated (melamine cyanurate, magnesium hydroxide) and halogenated (organo-bromine / antimony oxide) flame retardants, along with rigid polyisocyanurate foam with two different FR loadings were evaluated. The results show that the minimum flux for flame spread (MFFS) and the HRC produce the expected trends within a given PA-6 flame retardant system for the standard FR formulations examined. In some cases, a correlation can be seen between the UL94 V rating and the MFFS. A correspondence was also found between the MFFS and the E-84 tunnel test performance for the rigid polyisocyanurate foams and HRC appears to be useful in predicting the LOI behavior.

Citation

International Symposium of SAMPE

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

consortium, E84 tunnel, flammability, heat release capacity, high throughput, LOI, UL94

Citation

Gilman, J. , Davis, R. , Shields, J. , Wentz, D. , Brassell, L. , Morgan, A. , Lyon, R. and Zanetto, J. (2017), Development of High Throughput Methods for Polymer Flammability Property Characterization, International Symposium of SAMPE (Accessed October 7, 2025)