Ruichao Wei

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 fire characteristics of typical nitrocellulose mixtures using a cone calorimeter

To further understand the safety performance of energetic materials such as nitrocellulose (NC) mixtures, it is necessary to obtain the fire properties of commonly used NC mixtures. In the present study, an in situ calorimeter was employed to investigate the fire characteristics of pure NC, NC-plasticizer mixture and two NC-humectant mixtures, namely NC-isopropanol and NC-ethanol mixtures. The plasticizer (dibutyl phthalate) and humectants (ethanol or isopropanol) can effectively reduce the fire risk of NC. NC-plasticizer is more risky than NC-humectants in the burning process. Compared with the NC with isopropanol, the NC with ethanol exhibits higher fire risk. Also, the thermogravimetric (TG) curves of four NC samples were measured by a TG analyzer. The curves indicate that the decomposition of pure NC is more dramatic than NC mixtures, and the NC with plasticizer dibutyl phthalate can decompose in advance.

Effect of plasticizer dibutyl phthalate on the thermal decomposition of nitrocellulose

This paper aims to investigate the effects of plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP) on the thermal decomposition of nitrocellulose (NC) by using a series of analytical apparatuses. In the present study, the detailed structures of pure NC (NC-P) and NC with DBP (NC-D) were revealed by scanning electron microscope. It was found that the fibers in NC-D are more closely aligned than those in NC-P, which makes the thermal behaviors of NC-D different from NC-P. The thermal stability of both NC-P and NC-D was examined by means of simultaneous TG-DSC apparatus (STA). Three different kinetic methods (Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose method, Ozawa–Flynn–Wall method, and Friedman method) were applied for determining the activation energy E of these two NC samples. Moreover, the experimental data were compared with sigmoidal models and pre-exponential factor was calculated by compensation effect. Besides, in situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and a TGA instrument coupled with Frontier FTIR spectrometer were employed to investigate the characteristic functional groups of decomposition residues and gaseous products at different temperatures, respectively. The results show that NC-P and NC-D have similar decomposition products and decomposition mechanisms.

Experimental study of polyethylene pyrolysis and combustion over HZSM-5, HUSY, and MCM-41

The effects of temperatures, catalysts, and catalyst contents on polyethylene (PE) pyrolysis were investigated by using single-photon ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SPI-TOFMS). The mass spectra of pyrolyzed PE and PE/catalysts from 300°C to 800°C illustrate that the pyrolysis reactions were apparently promoted and varied by introducing HZSM-5, HUSY, and MCM-41. As microporous catalysts, HZSM-5 and HUSY were found to accelerate the BTX formation at 400°C, which could not be observed for pure PE until 800°C. With the existence of MCM-41, only alkenes were produced below 600°C. The pyrolysis processes could to be accelerated by adding catalysts. Principal components analysis (PCA) was finally employed to identify the main factors with influence on the products distribution. Analytical results showed that the yield of the majority of products could be affected by different experimental conditions, that the type of catalysts makes the most significant influence. The impact of different types of catalysts on fire hazard of PE was studied by using the cone calorimeter. The results indicated that the time to ignition (TTI) and the peak heat release rate (pHRR) were changed remarkably. It is worth noting that with the addition of MCM-41, the pHRR is the minimum.

Investigation of a commercial lithium-ion battery under overcharge/over-discharge failure conditions

A lithium-ion battery (LIB) may experience overcharge or over-discharge when it is used in a battery pack because of capacity variation of different batteries in the pack and the difficulty of maintaining identical state of charge (SOC) of every single battery. A series of experiments were established to investigate the thermal and fire characteristics of a commercial LIB under overcharge/over-discharge failure conditions. According to the results, it is clear that the batteries experienced a clear temperature rise in the overcharge/over-discharge process. The temperature rise worsened and required less time when the battery was overcharged/over-discharged to failure with the increasing charge/discharge rate. Besides, the closer the position to the opening of the battery, the higher the surface temperature. It was demonstrated that LIBs can fail when overcharged/over-discharged to a critical degree regardless of the charge/discharge rate. Under different rates, the final capacities were around a critical value. Finally, there existed an explosion phenomenon in the external heating test of battery failure after overcharge, whereas the fire behaviors of the over-discharged battery were much more moderate.

Pyrolysis and Combustion of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Sheath for New and Aged Cables via Thermogravimetric Analysis-Fourier Transform Infrared (TG-FTIR) and Calorimeter

To fill the shortages in the knowledge of the pyrolysis and combustion properties of new and aged polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheaths, several experiments were performed by thermogravimetric analysis (TG), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC), and cone calorimetry. The results show that the onset temperature of pyrolysis for an aged sheath shifts to higher temperatures. The value of the main derivative thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) peak of an aged sheath is greater than that of a new one. The mass of the final remaining residue for an aged sheath is also greater than that of a new one. The gas that is released by an aged sheath is later but faster than that of a new one. The results also show that, when compared with a new sheath, the heat release rate (HRR) is lower for an aged one. The total heat release (THR) of aged sheath is reduced by 16.9–18.5% compared to a new one. In addition, the cone calorimetry experiments illustrate that the ignition occurrence of an aged sheath is later than that of a new one under different incident heat fluxes. This work indicates that an aged sheath generally pyrolyzes and it combusts more weakly and incompletely.

A study on the fire behaviors of 18650 battery and batteries pack under discharge

In order to have a better understanding of the fire behaviors of lithium-ion battery (LIB) and batteries pack under discharge, a series of fire tests were conducted. The fire behaviors of LIB were characterized by parameters including the flame photographs, surface temperature, mass loss, radiative heat flux and hydrogen fluoride (HF) mass flow. The results indicate that the number of batteries will affect the fire behaviors of LIB. Pack with larger number of LIB possesses a faster temperature rise, a higher peak heat flux and total radiative heat, leading to a quicker thermal runaway. Additionally, the discharging treatment also has a significant impact on LIB. It can accelerate the warming-up process, increase the fire risks of LIB, decrease the combustion efficiency of LIB and reduce the radiative heat. This is the result of the heat generation during discharge and the more reactive materials inside the battery under discharge. Besides, the HF generated during tests is discussed in the paper to note the toxicity of the released gases in LIB fire.

Experimental analysis of high oxygen concentration influences on horizontal flame spread over PA6 and epoxy

The combustion characteristic of material in high oxygen concentration is directly related to the safety of elevated oxygen environment similar to oxygen bombs and future spacecraft. In this study, flame front and flame spread rate in high oxygen concentration are discussed. Thermoplastic material polyamide (PA6) and thermosetting material epoxy are selected as comparison material. The variation of flame front over epoxy is more stable than PA6 which has dripping phenomenon during the flame spread process. The flame spread rate of both PA6 and epoxy have a power law with the increasing oxygen concentration.