Study of Under-Ventilated Burning Characteristics of Materials with the Cone Calorimeter

The ISO 5660-1 Cone Calorimeter is commonly used for the measurement of main fire properties of products and materials, such as the heat release rate, the effective heat of combustion, the mass loss rate or the time to ignition. The standard Cone Calorimeter has been designed with an “open configuration”, allowing to test specimens through use of freely driven room air for combustion. For testing specimens in oxygen depleted atmospheres (air vitiation effect) or in fuel rich combustion (ventilation effect) a modified apparatus working under controlled atmosphere can be used. A Cone Calorimeter fitted with a controlled atmosphere device has been further modified to improve the air tightness of the combustion chamber, and reduce the biasing post-combustion phenomena. This experimental setup gives promising results regarding the characterization of fire properties of materials under highly under-ventilated conditions, among them the production of toxic and unburned species.