Abstract
A sustained upsurge in the use of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials has occurred over the last forty years. The use of polymer composites has grown at a phenomenal rate since the 1960s, and these materials now have an impressive and diverse range of applications in aircraft, spacecraft, boats, ships, automobiles, civil infrastructure, sporting goods and consumer products. The use of composites will continue to grow in coming years with emerging applications in large bridge structures, offshore platforms, engine machinery, computer hardware and biomedical devices. Figure 1.1 shows the growth in the use of composite materials by various industry sectors in the United States since 1960. Over this period consumption has increased about 30 times, and the growth rate is expected to continue. The greatest increases are occurring in the transport and construction markets, although the use of composites is also substantial in the corrosion protection (eg. piping), marine, and electrical/electronic markets as shown in Fig. 1.2.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
V. Babrauskas and R.D. Peacock. Heat release rate: the single most important variable in fire hazard. Fire Safety Journal, 1992; 18:255–272.
V. Babrauskas. Why was the fire so big? HHR: The role of heat release rate in described fires. Fire & Arson Investigator, 1997; 47:54–57.
M.M. Hirschler, ‘Smoke and heat release and ignitability as measures of fire hazard from burning of carpet tiles’, Fire Safety Journal, 1997; 18:305–324.
D. Drysdale, An Introduction to Fire Dynamics, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1985.
W.D. Walton and P.H. Thomas, ‘Estimating temperatures in compartment fires’, in SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, ed. P.J. DiNenno et al., 1995, pp. 3-134 to 3-147.
B. Karlsson, and J.G. Quintiere, Enclosure Fire Dynamics, CRC Press, Washington, DC, 1999.
J.G. Quintiere, Principles of Fire Behavior. Delmar Publishers, Albany NY, 1998.
H. Ingason, Two dimensional rack storage fires’, Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, 1994, pp. 1209–1220.
K.S. Mudan and P.A. Croce, ‘Fire hazard calculations for large open hydrocarbon fires’, in SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, ed. P.J. DiNenno et al., 1995, pp. 2–13.
H. Inganson and J. de Ris, ‘Flame heat transfer in storage geometries’, Journal of Fire Safety, 1997.
R.E. Lyon, ‘Fire-safe aircraft cabin materials’, in Fire & Polymers, ACS Symposium Series No. 599, ed. G.L. Nelson, American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 1995, pp. 618–638.
C.P. Sarkos, R.G. Hill and W.D. Howell, ‘The development and application of a full-scale wide body test article to study the behaviour of interior materials during a postcrash fuel fire’, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development (AGARD) Lecture Series No 123 — Aircraft Fire Safety, Washington DC, 15–16 June 1982.
C.P. Sarkos and R.G. Hill, ‘Effectiveness of seat cushion blocking layer materials against cabin fires’, SAE Technical Paper 821484, Aerospace Congress and Exposition, Anahiem, CA, 25–28 October 1992.
R.E. Lyon, “Federal aviation administration research in fire safe materials for aircraft interiors”, In: Proceedings of the International SAMPE Symposium, 41, (1996), Anaheim, CA, pp. 344–350.
D.R. Ventriglio, ‘Fire safe materials for navy ships’, Naval Engineers Journal, Oct 1982, 65–74.
K.J. Fisher, ‘Is fire a barrier to shipboard composites?’, Advanced Composites, May/June 1993, pp. 20–26.
U. Sorathia, R. Lyon, R. Gann and L. Gritzo, ‘Materials and fire threat’, SAMPE Journal, 1996; 32: 8–15.
E. Greene. Marine Composites. www.marinecomposites.com.
D.W. Chalmers, R.J. Osburn and A. Bunney, ‘Hull construction of MCMVs in the United Kingdom’, Proceedings of the International Symposium on Mine Warfare Vessels and Systems, 12–15 June 1984, London, Paper 2.
A.W.G. Daniel, R.S. Trask, D.M. Elliot and P.W. Lay, ‘Repair of HMS Cattistock’s GRO structure using resin infusion’, Proceedings of Royal Institute of Naval Architects Conference on ‘Lightweight Construction: Latest Developments, 24 February 2000, London.
R. Lyon, Presentation titled’ solid State Thermochemistry of Flaming Combustion’.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
(2006). Introduction. In: Fire Properties of Polymer Composite Materials. Solid Mechanics and Its Applications, vol 143. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5356-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5356-6_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5355-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5356-6
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)