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Motor Vehicle Fire Research Institute

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Charlottesville, Virginia 22901, United States
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Fire Testing of Under Hood Insulating Materials

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Download Final Report

Contractor: Biokinetics and Associates Ltd.

Purpose:

Research conducted for the Motor Vehicle Fire Research Institute has identified the use of under hood insulation as a potential fire preventative feature.  The premise is that heat from an under hood fire would melt the mounting hardware supporting the under hood insulation allowing it to descend onto the engine and delay the spread of the fire.

The Automotive Fuel System Inspection database has identified the presence of such insulation in 74 of the 89 inspected vehicles.  However, their fire retardant properties could not be ascertained by visual inspection alone.  This project will conduct fire resistance tests on coupons cut from sample insulating liners be tested to assess their fire retarding properties.  The mounting hardware used to affix the liners to the under side of the hood will also be tested.

The deliverable for the work will include a test report detailing the test set-up and the electronic data from the test results.