An Analysis of Furniture Heat Release Rates by the Nordtest

Abstract

This report analyses the small to full-scale prediction of the combustion behaviour of a series of Nordtest furniture specimens. This prediction analysis is based on Model I from the Combustion Behaviour of Upholstered Furniture (CBUF) study. The Nordtest furniture specimens ranged from 1 to 3 seaters and used two different types of foam and fabrics. Both types of foam and fabric were representative of the two extremes typically found on the market. The foams used were High Resilience Polyurethane and Standard Polyurethane. The fabrics used were 100% polypropylene and 100% cotton/linen blend. A total of 141 full-scale furniture tests in the Furniture Calorimeter and 33 small-scale tests in the Cone Calorimeter were conducted at the fire-testing laboratory at CSIRO in Melbourne. In addition to this a further 22 small-scale tests in the Cone Calorimeter were conducted in the fire-testing laboratory in Christchurch at the University of Canterbury. The outcomes from this study showed that Model I is a good predictor of the full-scale results for the Standard Polyurethane foam with both fabric combinations. The High Resilience Polyurethane foam burnt more readily with its cotton/linen fabric cover than with the polypropylene fabric, demonstrating that fabric effects can be quite pronounced in determining the burning behaviour of upholstered furniture. The High Resilience Polyurethane was a better performer than the Standard Polyurethane foam, in terms of producing a lower heat release rate, and was generally over predicted, confirming that for these particular furniture specimens, Model I's results range from good to conservative.