Burning behaviour of fabric/polyurethane foam combinations in the cone calorimeter

The burning behaviour of three different flexible polyurethane foam samples covered with wool fabric has been studied in a cone calorimeter operated at a radiant flux of 35 kW m−2. One non‐flame retarded and two flame retarded polyurethane foams containing melamine and melamine plus a chlorinated phosphate, respectively, have been used. Two wool fabrics were used, one of which was flame retarded using zirconium hexafluoride (Zirpro (IWS)). Results for the polyurethane foams indicated that the presence of chlorinated phosphate in the flame retardant system results in increased levels of smoke and CO compared to when melamine only was the flame retardant. The times to ignition of the foam/fabric combinations were longer than those of the foams alone. The (peak) rates of heat release of the composite samples were dependent on the covering fabric. Smoke and CO release from the composite depended on both the foam and the fabric. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry