Calorimetric Combustion Assessment of Polyurethane Flexible Foam and Fabric Composites

This paper summarizes the second part of a study over a two year period carried out at the Laboratory for Fuel Technology and Heat Transfer of the University of Gent in cooperation with Dow Benelux N.V. The first part of the study, focusing on the effects of cone calorimeter test variables as well as polyurethane (PU) flexible foam variables on the foam combustion characteristics, has been published recently ⁽¹⁾ . In the second part of the study, the relative contributions of foams and fabrics on important fire hazard parameters such as ignition performance, peak rate of heat, smoke and carbon monoxide release and time to peak rate of heat release, were measured with the cone calorimeter and the Nordtest NT 032 calorimeter and compared. The study was carried out on sixteen different composites of main commercial fabrics and PU flexible foams. The same trends were found with both test methods: post-ignition composite performance is mainly determined by the fabric whereas ignition is influenced by foam and fabric to about the same extent. However, it was not possible to draw precise quantitative correlations, and to predict large-scale Nordtest NT 032 performance on the basis of cone calorimetry results.