Fire Performance of Polymer in Composite Materials for Building Claddings: A Numerical Approach

High-rise buildings pose unique challenges when it comes to fire safety, particularly regarding the fire performance of non-structural elements. Recent severe fire incidents in high-rise buildings have highlighted the need for suitable materials to cover large areas and ensure adequate fire resistance. One major factor contributing to the rapid spread of fires in high-rise buildings is the failure of external cladding materials. Investigations have identified the use of polymer materials within composite materials as a significant reason for the combustibility of these claddings. Therefore, the impact of the polymer material in terms of combustible behaviour needs to be investigated clearly. The peak heat release rate (pHRR) is a critical parameter of a material's combustibility. Various material parameters have been identified as significant factors influencing the peak heat release rate. To understand the impact of these material parameters, a parametric study can be conducted using experimental or numerical results. However, conducting experiments can be costly, time-consuming, and may not be environmentally sustainable. Therefore, numerical analysis is performed using computer fluid dynamic (CFD) software: Pyrosim. Based on the numerical results, statistical analysis is conducted following the design of experiments (DoE) method in Minitab software. Among different polymer materials that are used as a part of composite materials in building claddings, rigid polyurethane (RPU) is selected for the parametric study as it has high thermal resistance compared to other polymers. The heat of combustion, heat of reaction, absorption coefficient, and reference temperature are identified as major significant parameters on the pHRR of the rigid polyurethane polymer material. The study provides a thorough investigation of composite materials containing polymers under various fire scenarios through parametric studies using computational simulations, thus aiding in the design of fire-resistant non-structural elements for high-rise buildings.