Effect of Dolomite Clay on Thermal Performance and Char Morphology of Expandable Graphite Based Intumescent Fire Retardant Coatings

Dolomite Clay was introduced in a traditional intumescent flame retardant system which contains ammonium polyphosphate/expandable graphite/melamine (APP–EG–MEL) to evaluate its effects on char morphology and fire performance. The effect of dolomite clay on the fire-resistance and thermal properties of expandable graphite based Intumescent fire retardant coatings has been investigated by using Bunsen burner fire test and thermal gravimetric (TG) techniques. The current study describes the effects of Dolomite Clay on the heat shielding performance of intumescent passive fireproofing coatings during fire testing. The fire performance of dolomite clay reinforced intumescent coating formulations were evaluated by Bunsen burner fire test according to ASTM E-119. Results showed that the dolomite reinforcement in IFRC formulation significantly reduced the steel substrate temperature up to 180 °C after 1 hour of fire exposure. The coating degradation was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The physical morphology and alignment of intumescent char residue were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). TGA analysis revealed that IFD (8) containing 8 wt. % of dolomite clay enhanced residual weight by 37.30%. It is suggested that Dolomite clay can enhance the fire performance and can significantly affect the formation of dense and continuous char if incorporated as a filler in conventional intumescent fire resistive systems.