Fire Degradation of an Intumescent Flame Retardant Polypropylene Using the Cone Calorimeter

Abstract

This work studies the fire degradation of an intumescent for mulation Polypropylene (PP)-Ammonium Polyphosphate (APP)/Pentaerythri tol (PER) using the cone calorimeter. An intumescence model is described which introduces the notion of degradation front. From the weight loss data recorded by the cone calorimeter and the results of the invariant kinetic pa rameters method (given in appendix) applied to the PP and to the PP-APP/PER system, the respective temperatures of the degradation fronts are measured. A stability zone is shown where the protection is effective. The intumescent coating degrades then by forming a carbonaceous residue which reduces the heat flux evolved.