Flexural and flammability evaluation of a new bio-based polyurethane foam with alumina trihydrate

Abstract

Flexural and flammability evaluation of a new bio-based polyurethane foam (PUF) with alumina trihydrate (ATH) added as flame retardant were carried out. The PUF was obtained from a blend of vegetable oils. Flexural behavior of the polyurethane with different mass fractions of flame retardant (ATH) was investigated according to ASTM D790-17. Flammability tests were performed according to ASTM D3801-20 and ASTM D635-14 for the vertical and horizontal positions, respectively. The ATH addition influenced the flexural strength of the tested specimens, showing mean values for pure PUF and PUF with 50% of ATH were very close, but the highest value was obtained for PUF with 20% of ATH. Besides, the maximum strain value under flexural load was substantially reduced as the ATH mass increased, which was 11.4% for pure PUF and 3.38% for PUF with 50% of ATH. The flexural modulus increased with ATH incorporation up to 40% mass fraction. The obtained values for pure PUF, PUF with 40% of ATH and PUF with 50% of ATH specimens were 30.63 ± 1.95 MPa, 73.01 ± 2.82 MPa, and 62.16 ± 2.30 MPa, respectively. In addition, flammability test results presented better responses as the amount of ATH increased. PUF with 40% of ATH received V-2 classification, and PUF with 50% of ATH obtained HB classification. Therefore, the results for PUF with the addition of ATH show that the new bio-based material can be designed by using different mass fractions. Thus, this material becomes very useful for many types of applications, such as furniture and automobile industries, as well as sandwich structures and building constructions.

Modelling of the effect of ATH fillers on the rheology, curing kinetics, and flexural properties of the epoxy resin forming the hydraulic turbines' stay vanes extension

“…According to their research, the PUF would suffer if ATH was added to the mixture in amounts greater than 40% due to particle saturation. Unlike [38], the epoxy resin in the current study has shown a saturation of 50% of the ATH and, hence the flexural modulus continuously increases until 50% addition of the ATH to the mixture. 13, and Figure 14 show the effect of the mass fraction and size of ATH loads respectively on the flexural modulus, flexural strength and maximum strain of the epoxy resin mixture, respectively.…”

“…The impact of the ATH fillers on the flexural characteristics of blocks made of polyurethane foam PUF was investigated by Silva et al [38]. They experimented with ATH content ranging from 10% to 50%.…”

Compression and morphological properties of a bio-based polyurethane foam with aluminum hydroxide

“…33 Therefore, more recently, it was investigated the influence of ATH mass fractions on the flexural behavior and flammability of a bio-based PUF, which was obtained from a blend of vegetable oils. 30 In order to complement the previous study, in the present work, it is evaluated the influence of ATH mass fractions on the compression behavior of the same PUF, as well as the morphology of its cell walls. All of that seeking to assure that the incorporation of ATH inside the PUF would not just increase its fire resistance, therefore, saving lives and money, but also improving its compression properties and amplifying its range of application.…”

“…Moreover, ATH-PUF mass fractions over 40% have shown good fire extinguishment properties and slower fire propagation in different flammability tests. 30,31 The PUF combustion process produces a considerable number of toxic materials, such as CO, HCN and smoke, therefore, reducing the flammability of the PUF means preventing the emission of these poisonous materials in the air, which would end up saving several human lives. 32 With the addition of flame retardant inside the PUF matrix, several properties of the foam might be affected.…”

Accelerated Aging on the Compression Properties of a Green Polyurethane Foam: Experimental and Numerical Analysis

“…However, there is a lack of scientific publications regarding the lifespan of PUFs where their mechanical properties are relevant, such as sandwich panels [ 6 ]. Many studies regarding the synthesis, characterizations and applications of bio-based PUFs are being carried out every year due to its pairing characteristics with oil-based foams as well as its relative low cost and eco-friendly origin [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. PUF is a two-phase material composed of a continuous polymer matrix and the gas in the discretely distributed cells.…”