Numerical Analysis of Heat Transfer in Fire-Protective Coatings Deformable upon Heating

Abstract

Numerical studies of heat transfer in fire-protective coatings deformable (intumescent) upon heating have been conducted. The optimum combination of the computation-scheme parameters providing stability, convergence and satisfactory accuracy of solutions has been determined. An effect of basic characteristics of materials in real range of their change that made it possible to estimate the degree of influence of properties on the fire-protective efficiency of coatings and the level of warm-up (flame resistance) of structures to be protected with them has been studied. The possibility of using developed models and techniques to estimate and provide the required level of fire safety of polymer-based materials (in particular, elastomers and structures and products on their basis) is considered. The results of estimating the mass rate of evolving gaseous thermal-decomposition products that determine, in a considerable extent, the material combustibility have been presented. The numerical analysis results have demonstrated the potentiality of reducing the combustibility of such materials and increasing limits of their fire resistance at the expense of organizing the intumescence of a material upon heating by means of modification of their initial formulations as well as with the aid of an additional layer made of the intumescent coating compatible with an elastomer.