Characterization of the thermal decomposition of two kinds of plywood with a cone calorimeter – FTIR apparatus

• Cone calorimeter was used to study the thermal decomposition of two kinds of plywood.
• Flammability parameters calculated.
• Analysis of the gaseous emissions by using FTIR.
• Calculation of emission yields and carbon atomic balance.
• Analysis of the smoke evolution.

This paper deals with the thermal degradation of two kinds of plywood in a cone calorimeter apparatus at heat fluxes from 10 to 80 kW m−2. The mass loss and the time to ignition have been continuously monitored during each experiment. The cone calorimeter has been coupled to a bench of gas analysers (a Fourier transformed infra-red spectrometer and a gaseous analyser dedicated to O2, CO, CO2, NO and SO2) in order to characterize the exhaust gases emitted.This work aims to define the different stages of the thermal degradation and to estimate the ignitability and combustibility parameters of those 2 plywoods. Moreover, the study of the gaseous emissions during the thermal degradation of the plywood is performed, because one of the major risks to residents is from the smoke and products of combustion.The highest emission concentrations have been used to calculate the yields for the exhaust gases and to establish mass balances.