WOODIWISS ANDY (US)
| WO2016125612A1 | 2016-08-11 |
| CN105295664A | 2016-02-03 |
| CLAIMS 1. Fire resistant material composed of inorganic ingredients destined for coating or incorporation into inflammable materials, also designated for retarder properties. 2. The material of claim 1 , which comprises of: a) Ceramic powder at a proportion of 15-35 % and preferably 20-30% b) Graphite at a proportion of 0,5- 40 % and preferablylO- 35% c) Mica at a proportion of 10 - 30% and preferably 15-25% d) Zr02 at a proportion of 10-30% and preferably 15-25% 3. Material according to claim 2, that comprises in particular of: 1) Ceramic powder at a proportion of 23 -24% 2) Graphite at a proportion of 34-35% 3) Mica at a proportion of 20-21 % 4) Zr02 at a proportion of 21-22% 4. Material according to the previous claims, which is coated on, or incorporated into the products to be protected. 5. Utilization of the material within the above claims also as fire retarder, by incorporating it into the product to be protected. |
FIRE-RESISTANT MATERIAL HAVING FLAME-RETARDING PROPERTIES SCOPE
This invention refers to the sector of fire-resistant materials and specifically to a fire- resistant composition having flame-retarding qualities. BACKGROUND
The destructive power of fire is perceivable by everyone, in the same way the enormous cost in human and material damage caused by fire globally is understood by all. S urveys within the i nsurance business estimate the cost of fire up to 0,01 till 0,03% of the GDP for each developed country with the simultaneous consequence of deaths exceeding 10.000 per year (see World Fire Statistics" (Geneva Association Information, Newsletter. No 23, October 2007). Human and material cost is to be added upon the environmental cost caused by releasing large quantities of toxic substances (e.g. dioxins) and smoke into the atmosphere, polluting the environment and impacting human health.
So, within the attempt to avoid the said consequences, beyond the improvement of fire extinguishing measures using the most developed means of fire extinguishing, particular effort has been spent towards the development fire prevention me asure s using e.g. flame and smoke detectors, automatic extinguishing and alarm systems, and more, as well as facing them using materials which either hinder their spread (fire-resistant) or retard their growth (retarders) by limiting the flammable nature of various materials such as construction materials (e.g. electrical wiring), or various common consumer items such as clothing, carpets, furniture etc. It is noteworthy that stan d ard s referring to s i mp l e everyday i t em s such as e.g. children's garments or carnival costumes provide for particular specifications for limiting the flammability of the said items and, therefore, the risk of causing burns, or even death to users, something usually accomplished using flame retarders. The role of flame retarders is to prevent a fire start or at least to render its spread slower, in order to allow reaction time for its extinguishing or the escape of humans in danger.
As a rule, a fire start is linked with a preliminary period when the substrate sustains local heating from a small heat source (e.g. cigarette burny parts), resulting in a local cracking of the substrate, the release of a small quantity of combustible gases and their subsequent ignition, as soon as they reach the required concentration and the needed ignition temperature. Ignition causes faster cracking and thus, fire spreads.
So, depending on the nature of the retarder (inorganic or organic), the aforementioned role of the retarders is implemented, by natural or chemical means such as, by cooling the substrate down to a temperature below the required one to sustain combustion via endothermal processes- where the retarder participates, by forming a non-combustible gas layer (e.g. water vapor) that cools and limits the release of cracking gases, and more; while the chemical means consist mainly of arresting free radicals or the creation of a heat insulating shell, and more.
INVENTION DESCRIPTION
With the case at hand, the invention product is a non-inflammable outcome of inorganic composition, which can consequently serve as a barrier against fire spread on products; It can however be simultaneously used as a kind of retarder, mixed with the substance to make inflammable products, such as polymers, elastomers, dyes, and more, acting as a heat repellant in order to prevent a temperature increase of the inflammable raw material.
The product consists of a mix of inorganic materials at suitable concentrations, which were proven the most proper with regard to results, based on relevant experiments conducted.
So the product is composed by mixing the ingredients below:
1) Ceramic powder at proportions ranging from 15-35% and preferably 20 - 30%
2) Graphite at proportions ranging from 0,5- 40 % and preferably 10 - 35% 3) Mica at proportions ranging from l O - 30% and preferably 15 - 25%
4) Zr0 2 at proportions ranging from 10-30%) and preferably 15 - 25% Nevertheless, as stated before, experimental data manifested the most preferred composition to be as follows
1) Ceramic powder at a proportion of 23-24%
2) Graphite at a proportion of 34-35%
3) Mica at a proportion of 20-21%
4) Zr0 2 at a proportion of 21-22%
'Ceramic powder' stands for off-the-shelf products with Si0 2 as the prevailing ingredient in combination with various i n o rgan i c oxides, s u ch as CaO, A1 2 0 3 , Ce0 2 , Na 2 0, K 2 0, B 2 0 3 , ZnO, F, Li 2 0, Zr0 2 , SrO, Ti0 2 and pigments. Usual off-the- shelf ceramic powders contain Si0 2 exceeding 60% and A1 2 0 3 , ZnO, Na 2 0, K 2 Oat lower rates and pigments and are available with names such as Calcined Alumina Powder, Alumina oxide powder, Silicon Nitride Powder, Ceramic Frit Glass, and more.
With respect to graphite, any commercially available form of graphite can be used. The percentage of graphite can be reduced for the purpose of reaching improved product aesthetics and allowing a lighter product color, should this be deemed purposeful. However, a contribution to the aesthetic result can come also from the addition of titanium dioxide.
Mica is a group of silicon minerals whose chemical constitution can be expressed with the general chemical formula
X 2 Y 4 . 6 Z 8 O 20 (OH,F) 4
Where X is K, Na or Ca
Y is Al, Mg or Fe and less often Mn, Cr, Ti, Li
Z is Si or Al but Fe 3+ or Ti can be included. The so called "common mica" is preferably to be used; it can be expressed by the chemical formulae K 2 Al 2 (AlSi 3 O, 0 (F 3 OH ) 2 , KAl 2 (AlSi 3 O, 0 (F 3 OH ) 2 and more frequently with the formula (KF) 2 (Al 2 0 3 ) 3 (Si0 2 ) 6 (H 2 0) also known as muscovite. Finally, Zr02 is a commercially available product and the required particle magnitudes can be determined by an expert.
The final product can be produced by mixing the above ingredients with any mechanical mixing mode known by the current technique, within mixers of suitable capacity, with the mixing sequence of the original ingredients playing no role.
The product is a non-inflammable, biodegradable, non toxic and water proof material and can be utilized either as an additive into raw materials for manufacturing products destined for several sectors or as coating upon these materials.
Thus, the product can be mixed with other materials, such as polymer materials for the manufacturing of plastic items, after being first ground into particles of a diameter up to nanometers, in order to secure a uniform separation at the total mass, attributing the final products with durability, sustainability and before all fire resistant properties, reflecting incident heat and acting as a retarder in case of ignition.
The material can be also used as cladding upon the above products by means of producing a suspension of the material into water at a proportion of 20% and coating of the suspension using a paint brush, spray or roller. During an experimental trial with a flame cutter, a coated wooden box resisted up to a temperature close to 2200°C, proving its exceptional fire resistant properties.
Another means of application is to soak the surface to be protected with the said material utilizing several techniques, such as solvent deposition, mechanical deposit, sol-gel, and more, if use of the above two modes is deemed impossible, soak that particularly augments the prevention of thermal degradation and the development of combustion products, while its use as extinguishing material can be also an option, by means of jetting using air or water pressure.
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