An experimental and numerical model for the release of acetone from decomposing EVA containing aluminium, magnesium or calcium hydroxide fire retardants
- Submitting institution
-
University of Central Lancashire
- Unit of assessment
- 12 - Engineering
- Output identifier
- 16622
- Type
- D - Journal article
- DOI
-
10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2016.01.007
- Title of journal
- Polymer Degradation and Stability
- Article number
- -
- First page
- 65
- Volume
- 127
- Issue
- -
- ISSN
- 0141-3910
- Open access status
- Out of scope for open access requirements
- Month of publication
- January
- Year of publication
- 2016
- URL
-
-
- Supplementary information
-
-
- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- Yes
- Number of additional authors
-
3
- Research group(s)
-
D - Centre for Fire and Hazards Science
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- Most non-domestic buildings are wired with cables sheathed by EVA copolymer, fire retarded with aluminium or magnesium hydroxide. When EVA decomposes, acetic acid is released, creating sites on the polymer for cross-linking and char formation. When EVA-based cable sheathing decomposes, to everyone’s surprise, the acetic acid is converted to acetone, catalysed by the aluminium or magnesium oxide residue, and released as fuel. This has clear implications for the development of fire-safe electric cables, and the excellent fit of the model to the experimental data suggests that this unexpected behaviour is now well understood.
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
- -
