SGER: Exploratory Research on Material Properties of Fire Protective Coatings

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

Modern steel-frame high-rise buildings are typically protected from fire by the application of spray-applied fire resistive materials (SFRMs). These materials have a number of desirable attributes, including light weight, low thermal conductivity, low cost and ease of application. Despite their widespread use in fire resistant assemblies, the high-temperature properties of SFRMs are not well characterized. With increasing interest in analytical approaches to evaluating the impacts of fires on structures in the wake of the World Trade Center collapses on September 11, 2001, there is an increasing need to understand and characterize the high-temperature properties of SFRMs. The purpose of this exploratory research is to evaluate the high-temperature properties of current and potential SFRMs to determine the fundamental bases for their fire resistive properties. Samples of current and potential SFRMs will be subjected to fire heat fluxes using a bench-scale cone calorimeter. The thermal and mechanical properties of the SFRMs will be evaluated before, during and after exposure to these fire heat fluxes. Scanning electron microscopy will be used to observe changes in the microstructure of the SFRMs resulting from fire exposure and these changes in microstructure will be evaluated in terms of their potential effects on thermal and mechanical properties. It is hypothesized that different SFRMs have different mechanisms to reduce heat transfer to the substrates they are protecting. Some SFRMs are purely insulative, while others include endothermic dehydration or sublimation processes in addition to insulation to reduce heat transfer.