Using a radiant heat test facility to study the options for the fire protection of structures involving coiled MBOR basalt fiber material

Introduction. Coiled MBOR basalt fiber material is used to demonstrate the potential of research into the fire protection of structures using a radiant heat test facility. Research methods. A set of high-power halogen lamps is used to simulate a high temperature impact. The heating intensity is adjusted by changing the voltage applied to the lamps, and it is controlled by the thermocouples that record the temperature of the heated surface of a fire proofing material. The studies have proven efficient for various types of fire proofing and various structures. They are especially relevant in providing rational fire protection of polymer composite structures having relatively low thermal resistance (80…120 °С) due to the fact that they are rarely tested in fired furnaces. Results and discussion. Several options of multilayered MBOR-20F fire proofing were tested. Dependences between time, on the one hand, the surface temperature of protected elements (200 × 300 × 20 mm polyurethane plates), and the temperature between the layers of the fire-proofing material, on the other hand, are presented under standard temperature conditions. Fire protection efficiency improvement by PLAZAS fire-resistant adhesive compound, applied between MBOR layers, is demonstrated. This fireproofing method is applicable not only to metal structures. It demonstrates high fireproofing properties and has a strong potential if applied to fireproof polymer composite structures and products. The measurements, taken by thermocouples in the course of a session of tests, can be used to estimate the thermophysical properties of fireproofing materials exposed to high temperatures, which are rare in most cases, although they are necessary for a thermal analysis. It is demonstrated that similar experiments can also be carried out at nonstandard heating temperatures (for example, when the combustion of fossil fuels is imitated). Conclusions. Experiments, conducted using the radiant heat test facility, and thermal engineering calculations allow to accelerate the selection of the optimal fire protection option and identification of the fireproofing thickness. Moreover, this method allows to reasonably minimize the number of costly fired furnace tests using fullscale samples of fireproofed structures and products.