Publications

An investigation of polyurethane foam filled with known flame retardant fillers including hydroxides, melamine, phosphate-containing compounds, and melamine phosphates was carried out to produce a low-cost material with high flame retardant efficiency. The impact of flame retardant fillers on the physical properties such a s composite foam density, glass transition temperature, storage modulus, and thermal expansion of composite foams was investigated with the goal of synthesizing a robust rigid foam with excellent flame retardant properties.

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Decomposition profiles for individual and mixed foam samples were examined in partially confined and unconfined environments. The weight percent loss versus temperature plots for the individual and mixed foams show that foams in a partially confined environment experience decomposition at a higher onset temperature than do foams in an unconfined environment. Likewise, the decomposition profiles of foams and mixed foams in a partially con fined environment differed from the decomposition profiles of these materials in an unconfined environment. These results suggest that different environments affect the decomposition mechanisms of foams. Furthermore, derivative thermogravimetric analysis showed that mixed foam samples decompose differently than do their individual parts, indicating that a foam will undergo a different mechanism of decomposition when heated in the presence of other foams than when heated alone.