Effects of reduced oxygen environment on the reaction to fire of a poly(urethane‐isocyanurate) foam

Thanks to their thermal insulation properties, rigid polyisocyanurate foams are commonly used in the modern built environment, as well as in transportation and industrial applications. However, the fire behaviour of this kind of foam remains one of the most limiting factors for their wider use as insulation material in some sectors. Indeed, this type of material is thermally and chemically reactive. The general scope of this study is to investigate the effects of a reduced oxygen atmosphere on the reaction to fire of flame-retardant polyisocyanurate foam. This paper reports the results of an experimental campaign, which was performed using a controlled-atmosphere cone calorimeter, coupled to a Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer. The dependence of the results on both oxygen concentration and irradiance level is presented and discussed. The chemical compositions of the identified gaseous products were qualified and quantified during both the decomposition and the combustion processes. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.