Flame resistant PET sheet provides safety

Citation

(1998), "Flame resistant PET sheet provides safety", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770dad.018

Flame resistant PET sheet provides safety

Flame resistant PET sheet provides safety

Keywords Fire, Hoescht, Safety

In the industrial workplace and wherever large numbers of people are concentrated in public buildings or transport facilities, fire precautions play an important role. Safety starts in the selection of construction materials. An important contribution is made by materials which are flame resistant and do not propagate flames in fire incidents.

Hoechst claims to offer a material which meets these criteria: Hostaglas extruded amorphous PET (polyethylene terephthalate) sheet. The combination of favourable thermal, mechanical and chemical characteristics enables the PET sheet to be used almost universally.

Hostaglas is a convincing alternative material for roofing, light domes, partitions and safety glazing (Plate 7). In industry, the material has proved itself in active and passive machine protection systems preventing damage and injury to equipment and operators. The sheet, currently manufactured in thicknesses up to 6mm, meets the requirements of low flammability building materials to DIN 4102-B1 (BS 476, 71 Y). Without the addition of flame retardants, the material achieves the requirements of Class 1 Building Materials (General Construction Approval Z-PA-III 2.3084) for both indoor and outdoor use. Hostaglas sheet thicker than 2mm is classified as "no burning drips". The fire gases contain neither halogens nor corrosive substances.

Plate 7 Results of the fire test after 30 minutes' exposure to fire

Hostaglas is equally suited for use in the transport sector. The material is classified to DIN 5510-2 for rail vehicles, i.e. it achieves Fire Class S4, Smoke Release Class SR2 and Drippability Class ST 2. Hostaglas is also used in the skies as its fire characteristics also meet the standards of the aviation sector.

The material has passed fire tests for smoke density to FAR/JAR 25.853 and ABD 0031 and toxicity to ABD 0031. Test certificates have also been issued covering the fire characteristics of interior materials for buses.

Hostaglas has attained the relevant classifications in other European countries besides Germany such as BS 476, 71 Y in the UK.

The fire performance of Hostaglas has been clearly confirmed in a practical fire test. An inclined glazed rig made of 6mm thick sheet was subjected to a fire fuelled by a standard 50kg stack of wood. Despite the extreme temperatures, no fire propagation nor burning droplets or falling of burning parts resulted.

Further details are available from Hoescht Research and Technology. Tel: +49 (0) 69 305 4240; Fax: +49 (0) 69 305 16351.