Modeling and experimental studies of thermal degradation of glass fiber reinforced polymer composites

    Authors

    M. Tsoi; J. F. Zhuge; R. H. Chen;J. H. Gou

    Comments

    Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Fire Mater.

    Keywords

    glass fiber; fire retardation; thermal degradation; composite; FIRE; CHARS; HEAT; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

    Abstract

    This study developed a numerical model that simulated the degradation rate and temperature profiles of a glass fiber reinforced polyester resin composite exposed to a constant heat flux in a cone calorimeter. By considering the thermal properties of the composite structure consisting of alternating layers of pure polymer and polymer-infused glass fiber mat, the numerical model seeks to reproduce the experimental data from the cone calorimeter test. The final results are achieved through adding a simulated heat flux from the pilot ignition of the degraded gas of the polyester resin. The good agreement between the predicted and experimental results suggests that such models are cost-saving tools over the process of designing and manufacturing of composites for meeting fire safety requirements, without having to fabricate many samples for testing and final selection. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

    Journal Title

    Fire and Materials

    Volume

    38

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2014

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    247

    Last Page

    263

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000331439100010

    ISSN

    0308-0501

    Share

    COinS