Publications Details
The decomposition behavior of thermoset carbon fiber epoxy composites in the fire environment
Carbon fiber composite materials are increasingly being used in the design and fabrication of transportation vehicles. In particular, the aviation industry is increasing transitioning from metals to this class of composites due to the high strength and low weight of the materials. Most aviation structural composites are thermoset, meaning they require thermal processing to harden the epoxy. In the event of a fire, they will behave significantly different than the metals they replace. Because they are not homogeneous, they also differ significantly from homogeneous solid combustibles. Sandia National Laboratories is motivated to study burning composites because we maintain experimental and modeling capabilities for assessing transportation safety. Understanding the thermal environment created by transportation fires is therefore paramount. This type of focus is not typical of the general literature on these materials in the fire environment. A serious issue with the majority of fire performance data found in the open literature is that the length and mass scales are generally orders of magnitude below those used in vehicle design. With a non-traditional perspective on composite fires, Sandia has performed several test series. Together with a review of the work from other institutions as found in the literature, this report presents a phenomenological overview of the relevant work on the behavior of composite materials in a fire environment.