Flame Retardant Material Design, Testing, Analysis and Connection to Real World Fire Safety Regulations

The UDRI Fire Safety Science Laboratory (FSSL) offers over 29 years of experience in flame retardant research and fire safety for all materials (wood, plastic, composites, aircraft materials, metals, etc.) in all fire risk scenarios. We can deliver practical solutions to industrial, government and academic customers. We specialize in flame retardant and fire protection solutions that meet regulatory tests for all applications and materials in use today, including wildland fire and electric vehicle (lithium ion battery) fire protection. The FSSL also offers combustion and emissions research of burning materials for everything from energy recovery to development of more sustainable fire safety solutions and understanding broader fire hazards. The Quality Management System of the Fire Safety Science Laboratory is certified to ISO 9001:2015 (Eagle Certification Group, Cert No. 5587). 

Contracted projects with the FSSL can involve fire testing, product development and design, consulting, or any combination of these. We also offer literature searches and analysis for patent and proposal writing that take advantage of an extensive intelligent database of fire safety, fire science and flame retardancy papers. We can also provide consulting services for meeting regulatory tests, troubleshooting and product development. Finally, the FSSL can help customers connect with the broader UDRI range of services to design, make, and test materials before and after fire testing. With all projects, the customer owns all of the data and intellectual property unless UDRI is bringing existing technology to the project that requires licensing.

Capabilities

Cone Calorimeter

Standard test for fundamental understanding of materials fire behavior.

• ASTM E1354, E1474, E1740, E3367, D6113, ISO 5660, MIL_STD 2031, and various other tests
• Measures heat release rate, mass loss rate, smoke production rates and CO/CO₂ production rates, and can also measure sample temperature via inserted thermocouples

Micro Combustion Calorimeter

Small-scale quantitative flammability testing apparatus (5-50 mg sample) enabling rapid screening for flammability performance.

• Standard test under ASTM D7309
• Materials can be pyrolyzed under nitrogen (Method A) or air (Method B) at rates of 1°C/sec from 50°C to 900°C
• Heat of combustion measurements can be collected with as little as 5mg of material
• Future use as FAA test for re-qualification of materials

UL-94 Test Station

Standard test for polymers in electronics and electronic enclosures.

Covers the following UL/ASTM methods:

• ASTM D635 (UL-94 HB)
• ASTM D3801 (UL-94 V)
• ASTM D4804 (UL-94 VTM)
• ASTM D5048 (UL-94 5V)
• ASTM D4986 (UL-94 HBF)

Horizontal Flammability Tester

Standard test for aerospace and automotive parts. Covers the following fire test standards:

• FMVSS 302
• FAR Part 25.853 Horizontal Test
• ISO 3795

Vertical Flammability Tester

Standard test for many aerospace, automotive, building and textile products. Covers the following fire test standards:

• FAR Part 25.853 Vertical test
• ASTM D6413

FAA Multi-Tester

Instrument capable of meeting FAA standard test methods under FAR Part 25.853 and 25.855.

• FAR Vertical Bunsen Burn Test (both 12 & 60 seconds flame exposures)
• Horizontal Bunsen Burn Test
• 45 Degree and 60 Degree Angle Bunsen Burn Tests

Oxygen Bomb Calorimeter

Standard test for measuring heat release and total heat of combustion for solids and liquids.

• Sample size (0.5g to 1g)
• Solids can be homogeneous or heterogeneous

Instrument can conduct the following ASTM and ISO methods:

• ASTM: D240, D3176, D3180, D4809, D5468, D5865, E711
• ISO: ISO1928, ISO9831

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