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Plastics used in most industrial and transport applications, and particularly those used in higher fire hazard environments, are compounded with flame retardants to enhance their fire performance.
Several methodologies have been developed to assess the burning characteristics of materials so that the performance of the plastics themselves — and the products into which they are made — can be comparatively assessed. Some of these methods are simple flame tests and others can be used in numerical models.
6 matching test methods. Each card opens the full test method page.
ISO 5660-1 · ASTM E1354
The most significant bench-scale instrument in fire testing — measures heat release, smoke production and mass loss under preset fire conditions.
BS EN ISO 5659-2 · ASTM E662
Determines the specific optical density of smoke generated by solid materials and assemblies in a closed chamber.
ASTM D7309
Determines fundamental thermo-chemical data in seconds from 1–5 mg specimens and predicts fire properties of materials.
UL 94
Measures flammability characteristics of plastic materials, determining 12 flame classifications for specific applications.
BS EN ISO 4589-2 · ASTM D2863
Measures the minimum percentage of oxygen in a test atmosphere required to marginally support combustion.
BS EN ISO 4589-3
Determines the oxygen index at temperatures up to 125°C — a better determinant of combustibility than the conventional oxygen index.
Tell us what you make and where it will be used. We will come back with the exact tests and the classification route to plan for.
