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Cone calorimeter evaluation of wood products

Informally Refereed

Abstract

The Forest Products Laboratory uses the cone calorimeter for the initial evaluation of the flammability of untreated and fire retardant treated wood products. The results of various studies are reviewed using a model presented at the 12th Annual BBC Conference on Flame Retardancy. The model uses data from the cone calorimeter to provide measures of fire growth propensity based on material bulk properties and surface fire growth propensity and to provide an estimate of the ASTM E 84 flame spread index. In a study on the fire performance of treated wood exposed to elevated temperature, wood treated with borax/boric acid did not maintain fire retardancy after being exposed to 66°C (150°F) for 1 to 3 months.

Keywords

Cone calorimetry, flammability, fire retardants

Citation

White, Robert H.; Dietenberger, Mark A. 2004. Cone calorimeter evaluation of wood products. Proceedings of the Conference on Recent Advances in Flame Retardancy of Polymeric Materials : held in Stamford, CT, June 6-9, 2004. Volume XV, Applications, research and industrial development, markets. Norwalk, CT : Business Communications Company, Inc., c2004: Pages 331-342
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/8450