Smoke density evaluation of acrylic resin and intumescent flame retardant coatings

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss how acrylic resin influences the smoke generation of intumescent flame retardant coatings.

Design/methodology/approach

Thermal decomposition kinetics is used in this study to simulate the burning process. The thermal decomposition of acrylic resin can be identified in the intumescent coatings through the multi-peak fitting of derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) curves. The dormant influence of acrylic resin, combined with the smoke density, is calculated.

Findings

Multiple peaks fitting method of DTG curves helps estimate the decomposition process of acrylic resin in flame retardant coating. Combining DTG data with the smoking curve, smoking generation of acrylic resin during the combustion could be evaluated. The decomposition conversion rate of acrylic resin is 21.13 per cent. Acrylic resin generates 34.64 per cent of the total amount of smoke produced during the combustion of intumescent flame retardant coatings.

Research limitations/implications

All the other intumescent flame retardant coating systems could be studied using the same approach as that used in this work to achieve an improved understanding of the smoke generation process during combustion.

Practical implications

The method developed here provided a simple and practical solution to analyse the decomposition and smoking generation of acrylic resin in the coating mixtures. It also can be used to analyse any thermal decomposition process of any mixed compounds.

Originality/value

The analysis method to evaluate resin’s smoking generation of coating’s total generation is novel, and it could be applied in all kinds of coatings and mixtures to estimate the smoking generation of one composition.

Citation

Li, Z., Wang, H., Zhang, S., Zhao, W., Jiang, Q., Wang, M., Zhao, J. and Lu, W. (2016), "Smoke density evaluation of acrylic resin and intumescent flame retardant coatings", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 86-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/PRT-03-2014-0023