Thermoplastic Composites: Modelling Melting, Decomposition and Combustion of Matrix Polymers

In thermoplastic composites, the polymeric matrix upon exposure to heat may melt, decompose and deform prior to burning, as opposed to the char-forming matrices of thermoset composites, which retain their shape until reaching a temperature at which decomposition and ignition occur. In this work, a t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of composites science Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 27
Main Authors Ndiaye, Mamadou, Myler, Peter, Kandola, Baljinder K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2022
Subjects
Behavior
Boundary conditions
Combustion
cone calorimeter
Cone calorimeters
Decomposition
Exposure
Finite difference method
Heat conductivity
Heat flux
Heat transfer
heat transfer model
ignition
Mathematical models
melting
Polyamide resins
Polyethylene terephthalate
Polymer matrix composites
Polymer melts
Polymers
Radiative heat transfer
Temperature
Thermoplastic composites
thermoplastic matrices
Thermosetting resins
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Summary:In thermoplastic composites, the polymeric matrix upon exposure to heat may melt, decompose and deform prior to burning, as opposed to the char-forming matrices of thermoset composites, which retain their shape until reaching a temperature at which decomposition and ignition occur. In this work, a theoretical and numerical heat transfer model to simulate temperature variations during the melting, decomposition and early stages of burning of commonly used thermoplastic matrices is proposed. The scenario includes exposing polymeric slabs to one-sided radiant heat in a cone calorimeter with heat fluxes ranging from 15 to 35 kW/m2. A one-dimensional finite difference method based on the Stefan approach involving phase-changing and moving boundary conditions was developed by considering convective and radiative heat transfer at the exposed side of the polymer samples. The polymers chosen to experimentally validate the simulated results included polypropylene (PP), polyester (PET), and polyamide 6 (PA6). The predicted results match well with the experimental results.
ISSN:2504-477X
2504-477X
DOI:10.3390/jcs6010027