EFFECTS OF DECOMPOSITION HEAT ON HEAT RELEASE MEASUREMENT OF FILLER-POLYMER COMPOSITES BY CONE CALORIMETER

Effects of the heat absorbed during decomposition of some flame retardant fillers on the heat release rate measurement of filled polymers using the cone calorimeter have been studied. It shows that endothermic effect of the filler decomposition affects the heat release rate measured by the cone calorimeter, especially at higher levels of loadings. Some typical fillers were studied quantitatively, including alumina trihydrate (ATH) and magnesium hydroxide. For the two fillers, at the loading levels over 70% in polymers, high overestimation is produced, depending on the individual polymer used. A correction procedure was proposed to correct the heat release rate measurement using the cone calorimeter by modifying the effective heat of combustion of the composites using the pyrolysis enthalpy of the fillers. The correction and comparison with the experimental values measured by the cone calorimeter for ATH were presented in the paper.