Intumescence as method for providing fire resistance to structural composites: application to poly(ethylene terephtalate) foam sandwich–structured composite

Abstract

Intumescence is a method for providing fire resistance to composite materials. In this paper, the fire resistance of intumescent coatings protecting structural composites (polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam sandwich–structured composite) is evaluated at both the small and large scales according to the fire scenario described by the Steiner tunnel (ASTM E84). Results show acceptable correlations between the two scales and the approach developed at the small scale permits the fast screening of intumescent paints to predict their fire behavior at the large scale. It has been shown that intumescent paints protect efficiently the PET foam structured sandwich–structured composite used in the ceiling of railway station against fire.

Keywords:

• intumescence
• resistance to fire
• Steiner tunnel
• structural composite