2. Principle

The principle of the calorimeter cone test method is described in ISO 5660-1 as follows:

"The lower calorific value is generally proportional to the amount of oxygen required for combustion. The relationship is that about 13.1 × 10 ³ kJ of heat is released per kilogram of oxygen consumed.

"During the test, the specimens are burned in ambient air conditions, while being subjected to a predetermined external irradiance of between 0 kW m ^–2 and 75 kW m ^–2 .

"Oxygen concentrations and exhaust gas flows are measured.

"This test method makes it possible to assess the contribution that the product under test can make to the rate of heat evolution during a fire...