Characteristic principles of fire behavior
Fire behavior of composites

The combustion of polymeric materials [1] is a complex process, involving numerous stages, some of which are still unexplored (figure 1). They cannot be described quantitatively, but can be described qualitatively. There are four main stages: heating, decomposition, ignition and propagation.

• Warm-up

  The application of an external heat source, such as radiation or a flame, first heats up or raises the temperature of the polymer material. In this initial phase, thermoplastics will soften or melt, unlike thermoset polymers, which have a three-dimensional cross-linked molecular structure. Temperature evolution within...