An Experimental Investigation on Fire Behavior of Expanded Polystyrene

Fire behavior of different types of EPS was evaluated with the use of ISO 5660 cone calorimeter test method. Considering the complexity of behavior of EPS against high temperatures, several specimens were tested, so a better judgment on fire behavior of this material could be acquired. The effects of foam density, thickness of specimens and the level of heat flux on fire behavior of foam were examined. The relation between total heat release (THR) and heat release rate (HRR) with the density of the specimens were examined. The increase of thickness showed a two-fold influence on the fire behavior of the specimens. In one side, the mass of fuel increases with thickness, hence the THR and HRR needs to be increased. Contrary to that however, as EPS quickly melts and recedes away the heat source at high temperatures, the incident heat flux on specimen conciderably reduces with increase of thickness and as a result the time to ignition will be lengthened with increase of thickness. These observations are discussed in the paper. On the basis of our results the comparison between the fire behavior of fire-retarded and standard types of foam is also discussed in the paper.