Evaluation of thermal barrier effect of ceramic microparticulate surface coatings on glass fibre-reinforced epoxy composites

In this work, three commercially available ceramic particles have been used as thermal barrier coatings on glass fibre-reinforced epoxy composites. The coatings have been prepared by dispersing 70 wt.% ceramic particle in 30 wt.% flame retarded epoxy resin. The thermal barrier efficiency of the coatings on the composites has been studied in terms of temperature gradient through the thickness of the sample while the surface is exposed to a radiant heat of varying heat fluxes. The tests have been performed in a cone calorimeter by inserting two thermocouples, one underneath the coating and the other on the reverse side of the sample during the experiments. This also allowed evaluating their flammability performance.