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Ignition and Charring of PVC-Based Electric Cables

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Abstract

The ignition of four different PVC-based electric cables was studied using cone calorimeter and the influence of the charring phenomenon on ignition was investigated. The thermophysical and optical properties of the sheaths before decomposition were measured. The kinetics of charring was studied by photogrammetry. It was shown that charring occurs for three cables before ignition at heat flux lower than 45 kW/m2. The lower is the heat flux, the higher is the char amount at ignition. In spite of the char formation, it was observed that the time-to-ignition of the cables can be properly calculated using the well-known Quintiere’s equation, considering an apparent temperature of ignition. This apparent temperature at ignition was found in the range 312°C to 349°C for the four electric cables.

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Abbreviations

c:

Specific heat (J/(kg.K))

CHF:

Critical heat flux (kW/m2)

D:

Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)

h:

Heat exchange coefficient (W/(m2 K))

HF:

External heat flux (W/m2)

I:

Spectral emittance (W m−2 m−1)

k:

Thermal conductivity (W/(m K))

L:

Sample thickness (m)

R:

Reflectance (-)

\(T_{0}\) :

Initial temperature (K)

Tig :

Surface temperature at ignition (K)

Tp :

Temperature of the first peak of mass loss rate (K)

TTI:

Time-to-ignition (s)

t:

Time (s)

tchar :

Time for char appearance (s)

TRP:

Thermal Response Parameter (kW s1/2 m−2)

Vchar :

Char volume (cm3)

XLPE:

Crosslinked polyethylene

\(\alpha\) :

Absorbance (-)

\(\varepsilon\) :

Emissivity (-)

\(\lambda\) :

Wavelength (m)

\(\sigma\) :

Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67 × 10−8 Wm−2 K−4)

\(\rho\) :

Density (kg/m3)

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Acknowledgments

Dominique Lafon-Pham and Robert Lorquet are acknowledged for their help in performing photogrammetry analysis. Gilles Parent from LEMTA (University of Lorraine) is acknowledged for the emissivity measurements. Electricité de France (EdF) sponsored this work through a bilateral partnership with IRSN and Abdenour Amokrane is fully acknowledged for his fruitful discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymers Composites and Hybrids (PCH), IMT Mines Ales, 30319, Ales, France

    Romain Meinier, Mahdi Fellah, Rodolphe Sonnier & Laurent Ferry

  2. Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), PSN-RES, SA2I, LEF, Cadarache, 13115, St Paul-Lez-Durance Cedex, France

    Romain Meinier, Mahdi Fellah, Pascal Zavaleta & Sylvain Suard

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  1. Romain Meinier
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  2. Mahdi Fellah
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  3. Rodolphe Sonnier
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  4. Pascal Zavaleta
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  5. Sylvain Suard
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  6. Laurent Ferry
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Correspondence to Rodolphe Sonnier.

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Meinier, R., Fellah, M., Sonnier, R. et al. Ignition and Charring of PVC-Based Electric Cables. Fire Technol 58, 689–707 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-021-01168-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-021-01168-0

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