Protecting the structural integrity of composites in fire: Intumescent coatings in the intermediate scale

Abstract

The fire behaviour of light-weight material used in structural applications is regarded as the main challenge to be solved for mass transportation. The task is to perform realistic experiments, including a mechanical test scenario under fully developed fires, to improve the material’s reliability in structural applications. Our approach utilises an intermediate-scale test set-up (specimen size 500 × 500 mm) to apply realistic compressive loads and fully developed fires directly to one side of a carbon-fibre-reinforced sandwich composite. Three different intumescent coatings were applied to sandwich structures and compared to a bench-scale study. The results emphasise intumescent coatings as a promising method to sustain fire resistance, multiplying the time to failure. Nevertheless, the realistic intermediate-scale test using severe direct flame application underlines the extremely short failure times when the actual composite components are tested without any additional insulation

Neue Wege: Reaktive Brandschutzbeschichtungen für Extrembedingungen

“…Durch den hohen anorganischen Anteil in diesen Beschichtungen sind jene auch für extreme Brandszenarien geeignet und zeichnen sich durch eine höhere Stabilität des Rückstands nach dem Brandtest aus. Ein weiterer Trend im Brandschutz ist die Verwendung von keramisierenden Beschichtungen für Stahl . Während direkter Beflammung des Probekörpers werden auf der Oberfläche Temperaturen erreicht, die das Versintern von Beschichtungsbestandteilen zur Folge haben.…”

Size is not all that matters: Residue thickness and protection performance of intumescent coatings made from different binders

“…They are light, paintable, and preserve the desired architectural impression. But the application of intumescent coatings is not limited to steel protection in buildings, 4 it is also used for the protection of ships, 5 wood constructions, 6 composites, 7 and more. The fire protection of intumescent coatings is based on the phenomenon of intumescence, which means the rapid expansion of a residual protective layer under heat exposure.…”

Fiber optic sensors for high-temperature measurements on composite tanks in fire

“…Although such fiber-reinforced composites have much lower thermal conductivity than metallic materials [1] used in the manufacture of traditional transport tanks, the fire resistance is directly limited by the viscous softening of the resin matrix [1,2]. Hence, exposure to fire can result in thermal failure of composites at around 300-400 °C [3] by microbuckling and delamination between layers [4][5][6].…”

“…In the case of steel structures exposed to a fully developed fire, commercially available intumescent coatings [7,8] increase the fire resistance from a few minutes to even 90 min [3]. In this paper we report about fire tests on real glass-fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) transport tanks to Danilo Skoczowsky is the member of BAM till December 2017.…”