Controlled atmosphere pyrolysis apparatus II (CAPA II): A new tool for analysis of pyrolysis of charring and intumescent polymers

A new gasification apparatus has been developed to enable a comprehensive analysis of pyrolysis of charring and intumescent materials. This apparatus provides well defined boundary conditions and highly resolved measurements of mass, temperature and sample profile evolution of a disk-shaped 0.07 m diameter material sample exposed to radiant heat. All measurements are collected simultaneously, in a single experiment, and recorded as a function of time. The oxygen concentration in the pyrolysis zone is controlled and can be reduced below 1 vol% to ensure that the measurements are free of oxidation effects. The radiation from an external conical heater has been carefully characterized to account for changes in the sample surface position, including the surface's angular orientation. Using an empirical expression, the radiation heat flux can be predicted with less than 2% error based on the known surface position and heat flux set point. The NIST Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) has been utilized in the direct numerical simulation mode to investigate convective losses from the sample surfaces. The convective heat transfer coefficient computed for the top (radiation exposed) surface has been found to be dependent on the surface position; its space-averaged value has been validated against experimental measurements. The capabilities of the apparatus are demonstrated using poly(vinyl chloride). It is shown that the apparatus provides repeatable data necessary for modeling of transport processes inside pyrolyzing intumescent solids. Non-one-dimensional nature of these processes is discussed.