An analysis of the burning of polyester and vinylester fibre glass composites

Abstract

An analysis of mass loss and damage depth produced by the combustion of styrenic resins and their fibre glass composites has been undertaken. Mass loss rates at a selected heat flux were found to be linearly related to those at a different heat flux. Given the scatter in the experimental data, these relative rates obeyed the same Arrhenius relationship for both resins and their fibre glass composites. Damage depth in composites was also found to be linearly related to mass loss, and thus may be predicted. It is therefore shown that mass loss and damage depth can be predicted as a function of time at any desired heat flux given that mass loss-time data are available at a specific heat flux. The predictions are limited to consumption of the matrix of about 30% by weight, at which stage the mechanical properties are greatly reduced. Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia 2004. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.