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Composite Solutions to the Fire Performance needs of Mass Transit

Geof Tipping DSM Composite Resins

“Composites In Fire”9 – 10 September 2003Newcastle upon Tyne,

England

Contents of Presentation

• The changing demands of new fire standards in mass transit

• Composites with combustion gases of low toxicity are favoured

• Examples of low toxicity composites in railways

• Future opportunities for composite growth in mass transit and other demanding fire scenarions

SOME RECENT RAIL DISASTERSSOME RECENT RAIL DISASTERS

KingKing’’s Cross Stations Cross Station

EurotunnelEurotunnel

KitzsteinshornKitzsteinshorn

SOURCES OF FIRESOURCES OF FIREFire TypeFire Type FrequencyFrequency [%][%]

Vandal FiresVandal Fires [[interiorinterior]] 145145 6868

Electrical Faults Electrical Faults [[interiorinterior] ] 8 8 44

Small Small FiresFires [[interiorinterior] ] 22 11

Electrical Faults Electrical Faults [[undercarundercar]] 5757 2727

TotalTotal 212 100212 100

FST PROPERTIES OF MATERIALSFST PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS(Fire, Smoke and (Fire, Smoke and ToxicityToxicity))

(1970‘s) (1980‘s) (1990‘s)

TOXICITY

SMOKESMOKE SMOKESMOKE

Fire FireFire

UK Fire Tests BS 476

Part 6 fire propagation Part 7 surface spread of flame

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French Railways Fire Tests – NFF 16-101

• Combines reaction to fire Epiradiateur NF P 92-501 [M ratings] with smoke and toxicity NFX 70-100 [F ratings]

• The M & F rating required is dependent on the type of rolling stock and the component location

Epiradiateur

German Railways Standard DIN 5510

• Focuses on reaction to fire and smoke generated

• It does not include any measurement of toxic gas emission

LONDON UNDERGROUNDLONDON UNDERGROUND LUL Three Metre Cube Test

‘‘THINK THE UNTHINKABLETHINK THE UNTHINKABLE’’

A A train stoppedtrain stopped in a tube and on firein a tube and on fire

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CATEGORIES OF TRAINSCATEGORIES OF TRAINS -- BS6853BS6853Category Category IaIaTrains which predominantly use tunnelsTrains which predominantly use tunnels

Category Category IbIbTrains which use tunnels, but Trains which use tunnels, but infrequentlyinfrequently

Category IICategory IITrains which run predominantly Trains which run predominantly overgroundoverground

Test Parameter

Ia Ib IIBS 476 Pt. 6 i (max) 6 6 nc

I (max) 12 12 NcBS 476 Pt. 7 Class 0 0 1Smoke A (ON) (max) 2.6 4.2 9.4

A (OFF) 3.9 6.3 14Toxicity R-Index (max) 1.0 1.6 3.6

MATERIALS REQUIREMENTSMATERIALS REQUIREMENTSaccording to BS 6853:1999according to BS 6853:1999

Interior vertical surfacesInterior vertical surfaces

TOXICITYTOXICITYRR--IndexIndex

GASES IDLH values (mg/m3)BS 6853 NFX 70-100

Carbon dioxide 73.000 90.000Carbon monoxide 1.400 1.750Hydrogen fluoride 25 17Hydrogen chloride 76 150Hydrogen bromide 101 170Hydrogen cyanide 56 55Nitrogen dioxide 38 -Sulphur dioxide 270 260

FIRESTARR – “Fire Protection on Railway Vehicles”

• EC project to develop new European standard prEN 45545

• Considered fire initiation, time to flashover, time to loss of visibility and time to lethal conditions for passengers

• For structural , furniture and electrical railway parts performance has been compared to existing national tests

FIRESTARR – “Fire Protection on Railway Vehicles”

• Strong contenders include:• NBS smoke chamber at

50kW/m² heat flux with toxic gas emission following IMO criteria

• Cone Calorimeter at 50kW/m² heat flux for heat release

• It will be several years before the recommendations are adopted by EC member statesCone calorimeter

Changing Fire Standards Push Composites Towards Those With Low Toxicity Combustion Gases 1960’s

Halogenated additives

Antimony1970’s

Halogenated polymers

1980’s

Gel coated systems

Phenolic resin systems

1990’s into the millennium

Specialised polymer backbone

Aluminium trihydroxide filled systems

Specialised additives e.g. APP

Aliphatic monomer systems

SMOKESMOKE

TOXICITY

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Fire Safe ATH Filled Polyester Composites -

Pass BS 6853 category 1a

Very low levels of smoke

Very low levels of toxic gas emission

Very low heat output

Excellent fire performance

IMO Resolution A653 (16) Combustion GasesMaximum Concentrations

120 ppmSulphur Dioxide

140 ppmHydrogen Cyanide

600 ppmHydrogen Bromide

350 ppmOxides of Nitrogen

600 ppmHydrogen Fluoride

600 ppmHydrogen Chloride

1450 ppmCarbon Monoxide

Cone Calorimeter Comparison for Smoke and Carbon Monoxide

Cone Calorimeter at 50 kW/m2

Synolite 5001-T-1 Phenolic Laminate10 wt.% glass 30 wt.% glass 60 wt.% glass

300 phr ON-921

Ignition Time (s) 186 159 154

Heat Release (MJ/m2) 18.0 38.6 21.7

Smoke (m2/m2) 160 294 175

CO2 (kg/m2) 1.51 2.30 1.03

CO (kg/m2) 0.05 0.38 0.36

CO2 / CO Ratio 30 6 3

Advantages of halogen-free highly flame retardant polyester composites in fire situations:

no dripping ==> low contribution to fire spread

low smoke development ==> visibility to reach emergency exits

low toxic gases ==> passenger safety

low heat development ==> passenger safety

Examples of low toxicity composites in railways

FABRICATION TECHNIQUESHand Lay-up Resin Injection

Pultrusion

Compression Moulding

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Hand Lay Up Applications

• Synolite 5001-T-1 specialised low viscosity aliphatic resin

• Fire performance can be tailored to different fire specifications by varying the aluminium trihydroxidegrade and level

• Can meet the most severe fire standards up to BS 6853 class 1a

• Suitable for large, low volume components for example arc barriers, driver cabs, flash guards, internal panelling and window frames

• Filled system can be used as a coloured gel coat

PULTRUSION APPLICATIONS

Cable Trays

Fire Resistant Profiles

Frames for Fire-Proof Doors

Ceilings

Grids and Floors

Supporting Tubes for Tunnels

Manufacture by RTM

• Suited to medium volume applications such as• Railway seats• Dado rails• Window surrounds• Drivers cabs• Arc barriers• Arc shields• Flash guards

• Fire performance can be tailored by the choice and loading of aluminium trihydroxide or APP

• System can be used as a pigmented gel coat

Manufacture by Compression Mouldingusing Sheet Moulding Compound

• Suited to large volume applications such as• Railway seats• Interior panelling• Ceilings• Bulkheads

• Formulae can meet BS 6853 1b

Case Study: Arc Barriers for LULwhere aluminium trihydroxide filled

polyester replaced asbestos

Case Study: Central Line Train Arc barriers based on Synolite 5001-T-1

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EurostarEurostar emerging from the Channel emerging from the Channel TunnelTunnel

Case Study: Eurostar Components

Case Study: Network South East Train with flash guard panels installed

Case Study: Gel Coated Flash GuardsNow with several years of proven service

Case Study: Electrostar Train Gel Coated Dado Rail Manufactured for the Electrostar Train

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Interior of the Electrostar with Composite Components

Deutsche Bahn AG

Interregio interiorwith SMC-parts:•luggage rack•seat shells•wall panels

S-Bahn Berlin

52 SMC inner parts •side panels•ceiling panels•door side cover•cover above door

Connection area of Regioswinger

Talent - light rail train - exterior uses aluminium trihydrate filled composites

• Composite preferred to aluminium due to better surface profile

• Pultruded profiles top and bottom

• SMC panels middle

Talent – light rail train – interior also uses ATH filled polyester composites

• Fire performance to DIN 5510 S4

• Internal panelling made from SMC

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Chapman Seat

• Manufactured by Chapman Transport Systems for Chiltern Railways

• Moulded in Menzolit UK’s SMC Flomat 2950 series conforming to BS 6853 Category 2

• Category 1b SMC is also available

Desiro UK 450

• First of 132 trains ordered by British South West Trains

• SMC conforming to BS 6853 Category 2 chosen due to light weight and excellent mechanical properties

• Moulded painted parts include window frames, door and partition panels

Transrapid – Sanghi Airport Express

• Transrapid magnetic levitation train recently trialled in Shanghai

• Components include window surrounds and air conditioning ducts

• Moulded in specialised ATH filled low smoke polyester by hand lay up

• Conforming to DIN 5510 standard

Future opportunities for composite growth in mass transit

• Part two of Euronorm pr EN45545 will include ISO 5658-2 for flame spread, ISO 5659-2 for smoke opacity and gas analysis and ISO 5660-1 for heat release

• The categories, as in BS 6853, are based on risk assessment and will be more demanding than many existing fire tests with heat fluxes of 50kW/m²

• Specialised polyester systems filled with ATH perform well at these high heat fluxes and can meet the high IMO standards for low toxicity combustion gases

IMO approved grade Synolite 5001-W-1:

Conforms to IMO Res Msc61 [67] FTP Code Annex Part 2 Is used in the manufacture of cabins and bathrooms

Future opportunities for composite growth in mass transit and other demanding fire scenarios

• Definitely in railways under the existing and new proposed norms specialised polyester ATH/APP filled systems can meet the highest fire standards

• Significant opportunities exist in other mass transit markets such as marine

• Moving from reaction to fire applications into fire resistance there is significant potential for sandwich construction in conjunction with insulation materials in mass transit

• There is further potential for intumescentsystems in passive fire protection systems and offshore applications

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Concluding Remarks

• Fire safe polyester composites can meet the most stringent demands for fire performance in railway applications

• Designing for fire safety is made easy by using specialised polyester resin systems with aluminium trihydroxide and other specialised additives.

• Flexibility in design and through colour is facilitated by the wide range of manufacturing techniques available to produce cosmetic finishes where required

• Passenger safety is ensured due to the difficult-to-ignite composite materials and the exceptionally low smoke and low toxic gases which may be generated

Composite Solutions to the Fire Performance needs of Mass Transit

Geof Tipping DSM Composite Resins

“Composites In Fire”9 – 10 September 2003Newcastle upon Tyne,

England

What are Fire Safe Polyester Composites?

• Three components in the composite • Specialised aliphatic polyester resins• Aluminium trihydroxide fire retardant filler• Glass reinforcement

• Different methods of manufacture to suit the shape, size and number of components needed

Fire Safe Polyester Composites are through pigmentable in a wide range of colours

Can be used as a pigmentablegel coat layer

Good physical properties especially at lower filler loadings

FIRE RETARDANT EFFECT OF ALUMINIUM TRIHYDROXIDE

Heat

> 200 oC

2Al(OH)3 Al2O3 + 3H2O

Replaces substrateAbsorbs heat

Produces steamDilutes O2 atmosphere

Adsorbs smoke particles

Retains particle form

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FIRE SAFETY OF MATERIALSFIRE SAFETY OF MATERIALSThe RoleThe Role of Aluminium of Aluminium TrihydroxideTrihydroxide

[[Limiting OxygenLimiting Oxygen Index]Index]

00

2020

4040

6060

8080

100100

300300200200100100 400400

Class 1

B 3 B 2 B 1 A 2

M 3 M 2 M 1 M 0

Class 2 Class 0

S 3 S 4 S 5

DIN 4102DIN 4102

FranceFrance(NFF 16(NFF 16--101)101)

Great Great BritainBritain(BS 476 (BS 476 PtsPts 6&7)6&7)GermanyGermany(DIN 5510)(DIN 5510)

MARTINAL ONMARTINAL ON--921 921 FillingFilling Level (Level (phrphr))GlassGlass--ReinforcedReinforced Polyester (25% Glass)Polyester (25% Glass)

% O

% O

22

Comparison of Physical PropertiesCSM hand lay up laminates

Resin type 5001-T-1 5001-T-1 5001-T-1 Phenolic

ON 921 phr 300 150 - -

ON 901 phr - - 150 -

Glass % 11 20 17 30

Flexural strength [MPa]

92 136 147 101

Flexural modulus [GPa]

12.3 8.5 8.5 4.6

Specific gravity

2.0 1.8 1.8 1.5

Synolite 5011-R-1 - Martinal ON 901 Pultrudate

Mechanical Properties 150 phr ON 901 Result

Flexural Strength 1020 MPa

Flexural Modulus 32 GPa

Impact Strength 52 kJ/m2

FST Properties 130 phr 150 phr 170 phr

M M1 M1 M1

F - F0 -

R - 1.3 -

R value measured on phenolic pultrudate 5.1

New Low Smoke Resin Especially Designed for Pultrusion Applications

• Synolite 5011-R-1 is a special halogen-free fire retardant polyester in methyl methacrylate

• Specifically designed for pultrusion, Synolite 5011-R-1 can be highly filled with aluminium trihydroxide e.g. Martinal ON 901

• This high reactivity resin and particle shape of the filler enables fast pull speeds on pultrusion lines to be achieved