Monday, June 16, 2014

An Overview Of Fire Retardant Coatings

By Ina Hunt


In occurrence of fire, the fire fighters use various substances in order to either holdup the combustion or lessen the flammability of fuels. It is for this reason that the fire retardant coatings outline will describe the coatings of these substances. This includes materials that use physical action to work for instance calming the fuels, as well as other chemical agents.

Wood, timber, among other fire retardants are usually accessible for sale in the market. There components are made up of different components made in order to satisfy customers wants. These will be covered in a comprehensive manner.

Intumescent coatings are the most applied in firefighting equipment. Basically, an intumescent is a material that increasing in volume as the density decreases as a result of its exposure to heat which has the effects of making it to swell. Important to note is the two types of intumescents, which include soft char and hard char. Soft char intumescents generate a glow char, that prevents transfer of heat as it is a poor conductor of heat..

The intumescent coatings uses expansion process which is caused by combination of three formulated components including the expanding agent known as melamine, an acid source preferably ammonium polyphosphate and a carbon supplier like pentaerythritol. It is important to note that the components are again bound in solvent or in water-borne polymeric while other components are also added in order to improve this paint properties, easy application, faster drying and enhance building.

The chemical process starts when heat is instilled and this makes the ammonia phosphate to produce acid of organic kind as it softens the polymeric binder. The blowing agent, melamine then undergoes decomposition to release a gas that facilitates the swelling of the mixture that initially was molten and the char solidifies so as to maintain insulation.

It is crucial to discuss coatings used on timber as it is among the most commonly used fire retardant. It is usually a plain fluid flame retardant with a light mass comparable to water and comes in two fundamental types of application techniques namely pressurized impregnation and saturation of surface. Typically, timbers are arranged into big sealed chambers packed with liquid fire retarded and then pressure is exacted to the chambers for sometimes around 24-48 hours previous to removal and drying of the timber.

Timber fire retardant is frequently used and for that reason it is vital to analyze its coatings. It is usually a fluid whose density is also similar to water, its clear and has two primary types comprising of pressurized impregnation and surface saturation depending on the method of application. Habitually, timbers are organized into bulky conserved chambers full liquid fire retardant and then the chambers are pressurized for approximately 1 to 2 days prior to the timber being removed and put under proper conditions for drying.

As discussed, there are various coatings available in the market. It is therefore upon the user to consider all of them and get the best depending on the equipment concerned. The economic aspect comes in ensuring that the coatings selected are cost friendly and effective to the user.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment