MVFRI > Current Projects Motor Vehicle Fire Research Institute |
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Microcalometer Combustion Measurements
of Automotive Materials
Contractors: Galaxy Scientific and TRACE Technology, LLC. Purpose: Earlier
testing sponsored by NHTSA and GM conducted fire resistance testing of a
variety of automotive materials using several test methods.
This research project would subject samples of some of the same
materials to tests that use a Microscale Combustion Calorimeter.
The contractor has data on representative aircraft interior
materials that have been subjected to the same test.
These tests will provide a comparison between the Microscale
Combustion Calorimeter test results and other test methods.
It will also provide a comparison between the fire resistance of
automotive and aircraft materials. The Microscale Combustion Calorimeter operates by the process of
pyrolysis-combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC). In PCFC physical properties
of the material do not influence the heat release results generated in the
test. Materials are tested by thermally decomposing a sample and
combusting the off-gases. The amount of oxygen consumed is measured and is
proportional to the amount of heat released in a fire. Data is presented
as one or more heat release rate peaks versus a temperature axis. The
values measured are the peak heat release rate, total heat release, and char yield. The peak heat release rate is used to calculate a
value called the heat release capacity, which is a material property. The
total heat release is the amount of heat that is released throughout the
decomposition and is a measure of the total fuel generated. A char yield
that is proportional to that which is produced in a real fire is obtained
from the residual weight of the sample after the test. The temperature at
which these events occur can also be obtained.
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