Jiahao Liu

Experimental Study on the Fire Properties of Nitrocellulose with Different Structures

In order to ensure the safety of inflammable and explosive chemical substance such as nitrocellulose (NC) mixtures in the process of handing, storage, and usage, it is necessary to obtain the fire properties of NC with different exterior structures. In present study, fire properties of two commonly used nitrocelluloses with soft fiber structure and white chip structure were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the ISO 5660 cone calorimeter. Experimental findings revealed that the most important fire properties such as ignition time, mass loss rate and ash content exhibited significant differences between the two structures of NC. Compared with the soft fiber NC, chip NC possesses a lower fire hazard, and its heat release rate intensity (HRRI) is mainly affected by the sample mass. In addition, oxygen consumption (OC) calorimetry method was compared with thermal chemistry (TC) method based on stoichiometry for HRRI calculation. HRRI results of NC with two structures obtained by these two methods showed a good consistency.

Experimental study on the thermal decomposition and combustion characteristics of nitrocellulose with different alcohol humectants

Although the thermal behaviors including thermal instability of nitrocellulose (NC) and its mixtures with some humectants have been comprehensively examined previously in the literature, their combustion characteristics have not been systematically studied. To address the issue, the combustion properties of NC with alcohol humectants are investigated by the means of the ISO 5660 cone calorimeter. Two kinds of NC-humectant mixtures with 30wt.% isopropanol and 30wt.% ethanol, respectively, were employed as samples. The tests were conducted under different external radiations, ranging from 0-15kW/m2. The experimental results indicate that the external radiation positively influences the peak heat release rate (HRR) intensity and the maximum mass loss rate (MLR), while the total heat release (THR) decreases with the elevated external radiation. Comparatively, the sample with isopropanol exhibits a higher fire risk, characterized by the higher peak HRR, THR and maximum MLR. Auxiliary investigating methods, including Scanning Electron Microscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimeter-Thermal Gravimetric Analysis, were applied to examine the micro structure and thermal behavior of NC-humectant mixtures. The results helped to explain the burning characteristics observed in the cone calorimeter tests.

Experimental study on the thermal behaviors of lithium-ion batteries under discharge and overcharge conditions

To have a better understanding of the thermal behaviors of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) under discharge and overcharge conditions, some tests were conducted by a cone calorimeter. Several parameters were measured such as the battery surface temperature, voltage, the time to thermal runaway, the time to maximum temperature, heat release rate and total heat released. The results indicate that the lithium-ion battery will have obvious warming up during discharge owing to the reversible heat and irreversible heat. It was observed that the current treatment (discharge) has a significant influence on the thermal behaviors of LIBs. It can accelerate the warming up, result in earlier thermal runaway, and reduce the heat released. In addition, overcharge will make LIBs more unstable and easier to attain the thermal runaway.

Combustion calorimetry of carbonate electrolytes used in lithium ion batteries

In this article, some of the combustion properties of three carbonate solvent mixtures commonly used as the electrolytes of lithium ion batteries are considered by means of the ISO 5660 cone calorimeter. Experimental findings reveal that the heat release rate, the most important parameter in fire science, exhibits a significant variation among the carbonate mixtures. Other key parameters governing the fire-induced hazards such as total heat release, mass loss rate, combustion efficiency, and concentration of the major exhaust gases are also determined and analyzed. Furthermore, as some researchers argue that oxygen consumption calorimetry is likely to over-predict the chemical heat release for lithium ion cells, another thermal chemistry method based on stoichiometry for heat release rate calculation is adopted. Heat release rate results of the three carbonate solvent mixtures obtained by these two separate methods are found to be in good agreement. Thus, oxygen consumption calorimetry is considered to be an appropriate technique to determine the heat release in fires in relation to electrolytes of lithium ion batteries.

Prediction of heat release rate of shredded paper tapes based on profile burning surface

A series of shredded paper fire experiments were conducted by means of a calorimeter. The mass loss rate and heat release rate were measured. The flame spread process was recorded, which shows that the flame spread process can be divided into four typical stages, and the mean spread rates along different directions were obtained from the observed combustion process. Based on the mean flame spread rate, a mathematical model for predicting the burning surface as a function of time during the four stages is established. Combining this model with the effective heat of combustion calculated from measured mass loss rate and heat release rate, an improved model to predict the heat release rate as a function of time was developed. In this model, the linear relationship between heat release rate and burning surface is found, and the predicted result agrees well with the measured heat release rate.

Investigation on the combustion efficiency and residual of nitrocellulose–alcohol humectant mixtures

To have an insight into the fire properties of nitrocellulose–isopropanol and –ethanol mixtures, the experimental data in previous work are further extracted and analyzed carefully. Generally, the effective heats of combustion of the two samples characterized by both the peak and mean heat release rates decrease with the increasing external irradiance levels. The combustion efficiencies characterized by the ratio of carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon monoxide (CO), regardless of the maximum and mean values, also show the similar decreasing tendency, exhibiting a lower combustion efficiency at elevated external radiation. With respect to the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results, the two nitrocellulose–alcohol mixtures appear to yield the similar species of combustion residuals, but slightly different in the atomic concentrations, which may be due to the differences in the alcohol humectant and nitrogen content in nitrocellulose substrate. These findings are expected to provide further understanding of fire properties of nitrocellulose–alcohol mixtures and help with fire investigation of such type of fires.