STUDY OF WEATHER RESISTANCE OF INORGANIC FILLERS BASED INTUMESCENT COATING

Intumescent is a substance which swells when it is exposed to heat. The use of
intumescent coating is one of the easiest and efficient ways to protect the substrate
against fire. It has been used in firestopping, fireproofmg and gasketing applications
as well as closure components. By insulating or coating the steel, the rate of heat
transfer can be reduced. It will extend the time taken to reach the structural failure
temperature and 'buying time' for the evacuation of persons. To improve the
performance of intumescent coating, fillers have been added in the coating. The
objective of this study is to produce an intumescent coating formulation with
inorganic fillers to get the optimal performance in char formation. Apart from that,
the other objectives is to study the weather resistance of inorganic filled intumescent
coating since the performance of intumescent coating may be deteriorated because
of weathering issues. Generally known ultraviolet light, heat, moisture (humidity)
and pollution will contribute to the degradation of the material and this will affect
the performance of the coating. The study will be focusing on improving the
intumescent coating by adding the inorganic fillers. The organic fillers which will be
used are fumed silica and Alumina Trihydrate (A TH). Fumed silica has the ability to
act as the thermal insulator and as for A TH, it is an effective flame retardant due to
its thermodynamic properties. This study will also include the performance of
intumescent coating in terms of weather resistance. The performance will be
evaluated based on the expansion of char and physical properties of intumescent
coatings.