TY - JOUR A1 - Sunder, S. A1 - Jauregui Rozo, Maria A1 - Deshpande, H. A1 - Neyer, A. A1 - Papaiya, V. A1 - Meinel, Dietmar A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Ruckdäschel, H. T1 - Char to the Rescue: Processing and Transfer of Flame-Retardant Epoxy Resins, Adjusting the Fire Behavior and Post-Fire Structural Integrity of Glass Fiber Composites N2 - Epoxy (EP) glass fiber reinforced composites (GFRCs) are extensively used in structural applications due to their excellent thermal and mechanical properties, but their inherent flammability limits fire-safe deployment. While numerous studies examine the flame retardancy of resins or individual composite systems, comprehensive studies evaluating simultaneous improvements in flame retardancy and post-fire mechanical integrity, specifically through prepreg processing, remain challenging. This study investigates the effectiveness and transferability of phosphorus-based flame retardant (FR) systems to diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and EP novolac resin matrices and their corresponding bidirectional glass fiber composites via prepregs. The FRs are chosen based on varying modes of action: ammonium polyphosphate with inorganic silicate (APP/InSi) primarily acts in the condensed phase (CP), and aluminum diethyl phosphinate with zinc hydroxystannate (AldietPO2/ZHS) is known to demonstrate both gas-phase (GP) and CP activity. Fire residues are tailored to compensate for structural defects from fire exposure. EP novolac, with higher aromaticity and cross-linking, possesses better inherent flame resistance compared to DGEBA. The novolac composites containing AldietPO2/ZHS simultaneously showed the highest retention of flexural properties after fire exposure and the best fire safety index. The experimental values of the post-fire flexural properties in the composites calibrated damage parameters in two theoretical models. KW - Composites KW - DGEBA KW - Epoxy novolac KW - Post-fire KW - Prepregs PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643752 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/pol.20250692 SN - 2642-4169 SN - 2642-4150 VL - 63 IS - 20 SP - 4295 EP - 4309 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-64375 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sunder, S. A1 - Jauregui Rozo, Maria A1 - Inasu, S. A1 - Meinel, Dietmar A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Ruckdäschel, H. T1 - Effect of Ammonium Polyphosphate/Silicate Content on the Postfire Mechanics of Epoxy Glass-Fiber Composites Using Facile Chocolate Bar-Inspired Structures N2 - This study investigates the postfire mechanical properties of epoxy glass-fiber reinforced composites (EP GFRCs) using increasing concentrations of ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and inorganic silicate (InSi) to modify the char and fire residue. A facile chocolate bar-inspired structure was introduced for fire exposure and subsequent flexural testing of the GFRCs. The resin matrix used here was a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) resin, cured with dicyandiamide (DICY), and accelerated by Urone. The microstructures of the degraded composites after three-point bending tests, were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray computed tomography (XCT) imaging. A previous study showed that increasing the APP and InSi content significantly enhanced flame retardancy, via improved char formation under fire conditions. However, flexural properties and fire resistance were adversely affected after fire exposure, highlighting a trade-off effect. Fiber breakage and delamination of the composites increased upon failure with increasing APP + InSi content in the composite due to unconsolidated char. The experimental values for the postfire flexural mechanics were in good agreement with the two-layer model proposed in literature. This paper presents a preliminary basis for postfire mechanical testing of epoxy composites for use in fire-safe structures, using a combination of standardized testing norms. KW - Flame retardants KW - Post-fire KW - Epoxy KW - Gass fiber composites KW - Prepregs PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-627176 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.3280 SN - 0308-0501 SN - 1099-1018 VL - 49 IS - 3 SP - 329 EP - 346 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-62717 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jauregui Rozo, Maria A1 - Sunder, S. A1 - Inasu, S. A1 - Meinel, Dietmar A1 - Ruckdäschel, H. A1 - Schartel, Bernhard T1 - Weaving Through Fire and Force: Fire Behavior and Fire Stability of Unidirectional, Bidirectional, and Woven Roving Glass-Fiber Composites N2 - This study systematically investigates the transfer of flame retardants (FRs) from epoxy resins to composites. The flame-retardant composites are formulated using bisphenol A diglycidyl ether as the resin and dicyandiamide as the hardener, reinforced with glass fibers (GFs) using various textile architectures: unidirectional (UD), bidirectional (BD), and woven rovings (WR). These composites are evaluated using bench-scale fire stability tests and cone calorimeter experiments to assess critical parameters, including the temperature at failure, time to failure, and fire behavior. Among the tested configurations, UD-GFs demonstrate superior flame retardancy, fire stability, flammability, and mechanical performance, attributed to their higher residue yield, forming a more efficient protective char layer. However, the addition of FRs is limited by their impact on the material's mechanical properties. When the FR content increases to 30 and 50 wt.% of the resin, the composites exhibit a decrease in mechanical performance, adversely affecting both time to failure and temperature at failure. While adding FRs reduces the risk of fire propagation, it does not substantially enhance fire stability or mechanical performance. KW - Fire Resistance KW - Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites KW - Fire Stability KW - Glass Fibers KW - Fire Behavior PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-631220 SN - 1438-7492 SN - 1439-2054 VL - 310 IS - 5 SP - 2400432 PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag AN - OPUS4-63122 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -