Ignition and combustion of low-density polyimide foam

The ignition, flaming and smoldering combustion of low‐density polyimide foam have been studied using a cone calorimeter. Low‐density polyimide foam exhibits a high ignition resistance. The minimum heat flux for the ignition of flaming combustion ranges from 48 to 54 kW/m2. This minimum heat flux also indicates the heat flux for transition from smoldering to flaming combustion. The flaming combustion results show that the heat release rate of low‐density polyimide foam is very low even at a high incident heat flux of 75 kW/m2. The smoldering combustion results show that the smoldering of low‐density polyimide foam becomes significant when the incident heat flux is greater than 30 kW/m2. The smoldering combustion of low‐density polyimide foam cannot be self‐sustaining when the external heat source is removed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.