Alexander Kuchner, CURRENTA Fire Technology, presented the results of fire testing of photovoltaic (PV) systems on roofs. In Europe, roofs are tested and approved for specific scenarios, including external fire impacts. But what happens in this context to already...
Eric Guillaume, Efectis, outlined specific fire risks of photovoltaic systems in buildings. The PV system itself can cause fires, through electrical faults, because of DC arcing, power mismatches with partial lighting, electrical faults in e.g. DC-AC inverters, or the...
Victoria Hutchison, Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF – NFPA, USA), outlined the fire safety challenges of new energy systems, underlining that fire safety regulations tend to be behind technological development and societal use. Societal trends...
Florian Tomiak, Institute of Polymer Technology, Germany, presented data testing expandable graphite in polyamide (PA6). 15% loading of graphite reduced peak heat release rate by 3/4 and MHARE by 2/3. However, the FR effect of the graphite was reduced with glass fibre...
Günter Beyer, Fire & Polymer, Belgium, discussed nano organoclays as PIN FRs in LS0H formulations (Low Smoke Zero Halogen). They are effective if the polymer enters between the molecular layers of the organoclay, resulting in a nanocomposite. This depends on...
