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Correlation analysis of sample thickness, heat flux, and cone calorimetry test data of polystyrene foam

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Abstract

This paper deals with thermal and fire performance evaluation of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) in a cone calorimeter with a piloted ignition. The correlation analysis of sample thickness, heat flux (\( \dot{q}^{\prime \prime } \)), and experimental results is performed. It is found that the heat flux follows a linear function of the vertical distance from the standard horizontal level to the sample. An optimization ignition model is established considering the effects of sample thickness (or radiant distance). The modified ignition time (\( \bar{t}_{\text{ig}} \)) decreases with the increase of the sample thickness. Both t ig (ignition time) and \( \bar{t}_{\text{ig}} \) drop as external heat flux rises. EPS’s t ig is more sensitive to the variation of external heat flux. Thermal thickness (δ P) decreases with the intensifying of heat flux, and δ P is in linear correlation with \( \rho /\dot{q}^{\prime \prime } \). When sample is quite thin or the irradiance level is low (2 cm-thick PS under 35 kW m−2 and 3 cm-thick EPS under 25 kW m−2), single peak heat release rate (HRR) is present. Under other situations, there are at least two peak values. For EPS, the first peak value is higher than the last, while the reverse is true for XPS (exclusive of 5 cm-thick XPS at 35 kW m−2). Both peak and mean HRR rise linearly with the increase of external heat flux. t ig, \( \bar{t}_{\text{ig}} \), critical heat flux and δ P of XPS are smaller than those of EPS, while the reverse is true for mean HRR. The ignition and heat release risk of PS drop with the decrease of external heat flux, and these hazards of XPS are higher than those of EPS.

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Abbreviations

A :

Sample surface area (m2)

c :

Specific heat (J kg−1 K−1)

k :

Thermal conductivity (J s−1 m−1 K−1)

h c :

Convective heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

\( \dot{q}^{\prime \prime} \) :

External heat flux (kW m−2)

T ig :

Ignition temperature (K)

T 0 :

Initial temperature (K)

t ig :

Ignition time (s)

\( \bar{t}_{\text{ig}} \) :

Modified ignition time (s)

v f :

Flame spread rate (cm s−1)

ρ :

Sample density (g cm−3)

ε :

Emissivity

δ :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant

δ P :

Thermal thickness (cm)

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, Grant. No. 2012CB719702), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (No. 20113402110023), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51036007 and No. 51206002) and Key Technologies R&D Program of China during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period (No. 2013BAJ01B05). The Young Teacher Fund (No. QZ201109) of Anhui University of Technology and the open fund of State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (No. HZ2012-KF04 and No. HZ2012-KF08) are also appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, Anhui, People’s Republic of China

    Weiguang An, Lin Jiang & Jinhua Sun

  2. Department of Architectural and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong

    Weiguang An & K. M. Liew

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  1. Weiguang An
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  2. Lin Jiang
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Correspondence to Jinhua Sun.

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An, W., Jiang, L., Sun, J. et al. Correlation analysis of sample thickness, heat flux, and cone calorimetry test data of polystyrene foam. J Therm Anal Calorim 119, 229–238 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-014-4165-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-014-4165-9

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