Effects of Fiber Reinforcement in Intumescent Formulations for Char Strengthening

Fire retardant coating is used to protect structural materials against fire. It is
simple and proficient passive fireproofing materials because it is designed to
decrease heat transfer from a fire to the structure being protected. In this research,
two formulations were prepared and tested for fire resistant properties. Glass fiber
was added to the formulations to increase the strength of resulting char. All of the
ingredients were mixed using high shear mixer. Once ready, the mixtures were
applied on top of a metal substrate and cured in an oven. Thicknesses of the steel
substrates plus the coating were recorded before and after fire testing. The
samples were exposed to fire using Bunsen burner to a temperature up to 4000C.
The temperatures of metal substrates were recorded at different time interval for
about ten minutes. The results showed that metal substrates were protected by the
char produced. For sample A, the thickness of the coating increases about 20%
while sample B shows about 40% increase. Both samples (A and B) showed good
intumescent behaviour. Based on the observation, sample B showed better result
followed by sample A. In the case of fiber reinforcement, intumescent behaviour
also recorded. The data showed that strength of the char increases in term of
thermal conductivity where substrate's temperatures recorded were lower
compare to sample without fiber reinforcement. Microscopic studied of the
samples after exposing to fire showed irregular micro-pores were well distributed
in the char. The fiber did not degrade during exposure to the fire.