Suppression on heat and smoke diffusion in flame retardant epoxy coatings
A new paper describes the reduced heat and smoke diffusion by zirconium nitride (ZrN) in intumescent flame retardant epoxy coatings.
The coating containing ZrN exhibited more control on heat and smoke release. Image source: Hoppe - stoc.adobe.com (symbol image).
-In order to control heat and smoke release of intumescent flame retardant (IFR) epoxy coatings on steel during fire hazard, a little amount of zirconium nitride (ZrN) of 1～3 wt% was introduced into the coating.
Increased safety
The back temperature test showed it used about 46.1 min for a steel plate coated with IFR coating without ZrN to reach 580 °C, however by using of 3 wt% ZrN, the time was prolonged to 61 min, indicating the steel structure can be kept for more than 15 min. This may increase the safety of steel structures, as it means more escape time during a fire hazard.
Furthermore, the coating containing ZrN exhibited more control on heat and smoke release. For example, compared with the IFR coating containing no ZrN, coating containing 3 wt% ZrN cut more than 20.3% total heat release (THR) and 40.0% smoke production (SPR).
The paper has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Vol. 146, September 2020.
