Weronika Tabaka, BAM Germany
Fire stability of carbon fibre – epoxy resin laminates with protective interlayers was tested at bench scale (120 mm x 120 mm) with simultaneous application of mechanical load and direct flame (butane burner). Six different combinations of two fire protection systems were tested: titanium foil, thermoplastic foil, ceramic layer, basalt fibres, kenaf fibres, rubber isolation mat. Protective systems significantly enhance the fire stability and increased time to failure by 3 to 10 times. Thicker specimens showed longer resistance time, however CFRP laminate with ceramic layer and titanium foil presented outstanding results and the best performance. The protection with Kenaf and basalt fibres offered a natural fibre solution with also good fire resistance performance.
See also previous work testing protective coatings: W. Tabaka et al. Bench-scale fire stability testing – Assessment of protective systems on carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites, Polymer Testing, Vol. 102, 107340, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2021.107340