Flame and Blast Resistant Materials for Force Protection

Abstract

This report is concerned with the development of a fire retarded blast resistant polyurea. Any blast resistant material must offer protection not only against a blast but also against the possibility of an accidental fire. In this project more than fifty different materials were investigated but alone and in a variety of combinations to determine the best system to offer fire protection to polyurea. The various formulations were initially evaluated using the cone calorimeter and the two key ingredients were found to be expandable graphite and ammonium polyphosphate. The combination of these two additives reduces the peak heat release rate from more than 2000 kW/m2 to about 100 kW/m2. This indicates that there is a significantly smaller fire. When the system is evaluated by the ASTM E-84 Flame Spread protocol, a solid Class B performance is obtained. Since pristine polyurea is not classified according to this testing protocol, this represents a great improvement in fire retardancy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 29, 2012
Accession Number
ADA569289

Entities

People

  • Charles A. Wilkie

Organizations

  • Marquette University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Additives (Chemicals)
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Carbon Nanotubes
  • Ceramic Materials
  • Combustion
  • Department Of Defense
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Fire Protection
  • Governments
  • Graphitic Materials
  • Ignition
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Testing
  • Silicon Carbide
  • Test Methods
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Fire Suppression Systems Design.
  • Polymer Science and Engineering.
  • Systems Analysis and Design