Fire performances of foam core particleboards continuously produced in a one-step process

For further progress of novel foam core particleboards, their fire performance was examined with cone calorimetry tests (ASTM E 1354-11a). Specimens with varying surface layer thicknesses, foam densities (polystyrene foam), and processing temperatures were tested. Using the initially recommended cone irradiance of 35 kW/m², different flammability parameters were measured. In comparison to particleboards, the foam core panels generally had much higher heat release rates, somewhat higher heat of combustion and much higher smoke production due to the EPS-foam component of tested panels. The time to ignition and total heat release did not vary significantly among the samples, although certain trends could be explained. The effects of variations in specimen foam densities and processing temperatures on the flammability parameters were not very significant. However, the flammability properties improved towards that of the reference particleboard as the surface layer thickness increased from 3 to 5 mm.