Pyrolysis-Combustion Flow Calorimetry: A Powerful Tool To Evaluate the Flame Retardancy of Polymers (ch. 24)
Résumé
Pyrolysis-combustion flow calorimeter is becoming a common and useful tool to study the flammability of materials at a very small scale (several milligrams of sample). Most generally, it is used according to the method A described in the ASTM D7309 standard (anaerobic pyrolysis and complete combustion) since it is possible to monitor the conditions of pyrolysis and combustion to a large extent. Moreover, combining PCFC with thermogravimetric analysis allows a better understanding of the thermal degradation of materials. Even if there is no general correlation between PCFC and cone calorimeter (or other flammability tests) results, it has also been shown that the comparison of the results from both tests could help to identify the modes-of-action of flame retardants. This chapter reviews the multiple uses of PCFC and points out some issues or developments about this tool.