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The study of smoke, heat release and fire spread characteristics of expanded polystyrene under low oxygen condition

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Abstract

Expanded polystyrene (XPS) is an important building exterior wall insulation material at present, and the investigation of fire behavior characteristics is an important way to solve the fire safety problem of XPS. In this study, the influence of low oxygen conditions and external radiation source on smoke and heat release characteristics of XPS are compared and investigated, and the fire spread characteristics of XPS under low oxygen conditions are also studied by investigating the characteristic parameters such as flame height, width, flame spread index and spread rate. The results indicate that the pyrolysis combustion of XPS is inhibited with the decreased oxygen concentration in the environment, resulting in reduced the ignition time and increased Smoke Produce Rate (SPR) peak. Moreover, the low oxygen condition has little effect on the heat release peak and total heat release of normal ignited materials due to the stable heat radiation source, but the heat release peak and total heat release is reduced greatly in the fire spread experiment. At the same time, there is a positive correlation between the heat release rate and the flame propagation index (FPI) under low oxygen conditions. This paper provides important data and theoretical support for the design and fire theory research of XPS.

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Acknowledgements

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52074247, 52274232); National Key Research and Development Program (Grant No. 2020JBKY02); Fundamental Research Funds for China Academy of Safety Science and Technology (Grant No.2020JBKY02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Lab of MFPTS, China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, Beijing, 100012, China

    Xiaodong Qian, Sai Li, Congling Shi, Fei Ren & Honglei Che

  2. Hubei Fire Rescue Corps Suizhou Fire Rescue Detachment, Suizhou, 441300, China

    Sai Li

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  1. Xiaodong Qian
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Correspondence to Congling Shi.

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Qian, X., Li, S., Shi, C. et al. The study of smoke, heat release and fire spread characteristics of expanded polystyrene under low oxygen condition. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 821–829 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-022-11788-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-022-11788-5

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