Gaseous effluents from the combustion of nanocomposites in controlled-ventilation conditions

Abstract : Composite materials are more and more used every day. In order to further enhance their attractive mechanical and physico chemical performances, the last generation of these materials largely makes use of nanomaterials. Various nanofillers are eligible for such a purpose, the best ones depending on the associated matrices. One favorite field of application of these nanomaterials is fire retardancy and fire behavior of nanocomposites. In the context of the ANR research project NanoFeu, various technical analyses have been performed [1]. One focuses on the characterization of the dispersion of nanofillers in the matrix; another deals with the characterization of the fire behavior of samples including the study of the composition of the gaseous effluents, the characterization of the emitted soot [2]. A third part of the work focused on molecular modeling of observed phenomena within the matrices. This paper focuses mainly on the combustion of nanocomposite samples under various ventilation conditions. Tests have been performed with the Fire Propagation Apparatus (FPA). Samples are based on poly(methyl methacrylate); various nanofillers were used: carbon nanotubes, alumina and silica. Efficiency of fillers is compared to the classical ammonium polyphosphate in equal proportions. During testing, the ventilation-controlled conditions were obtained by adjusting the combustion air flow rate entering the apparatus. Gaseous effluents were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectrometer. Fire behavior is characterized in terms of fire parameters and chemical composition of gaseous effluents. The influence of ventilation conditions is especially significant in terms of amount of gases released: much more important production of specific gases is generally observed in case of under ventilation regime as compared to the well ventilated case.