TY - CHAP A1 - Schartel, Bernhard ED - Troitzsch, J. ED - Antonatus, E. T1 - The Burning of Plastics N2 - The burning of a polymer is a physico–chemical process strongly influenced by the coupling of a chemical reaction – oxidation of fuel – in the gas phase with a chemical decomposition reaction – pyrolysis – in the condensed phase via heat and mass transfer. The heat and mass flux control the intensity of fire and the ablation of fuel. Indeed, the temperature profile as a function of time may be one of the most important responses of a specimen to understand its burning behavior. Further, several physical phenomena, such as the heat absorption of the materials, thermal conductivity, and also melt flow and dripping, play a major role in determining ignition, flammability, and fire behavior. The burning of a polymer is very complex. The various phenomena interact with each other, e. g., pyrolysis also influences the viscosity of the melt, and, thus, whether dripping or charring results in a protective layer, increasing the shielding effect of the residual protective layer. Only a detailed and comprehensive description opens the door to a well-founded understanding of the burning behavior of polymeric materials. KW - Fire behaviour KW - Plastics KW - Pyrolysis KW - Decomposition KW - Ignition KW - Smoldering KW - Flame spread KW - Steady burning KW - Fire load KW - Fire resistance PY - 2021 SN - 978-1-56990-762-7 SP - 23 EP - 52 PB - Hanser CY - Munich ET - 4th Edition AN - OPUS4-52684 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -