Flexible polyurethane foam (PUF) is a very versatile material ever created. The material is used for various applications and consumer end-use products such as upholstered furniture and mattresses. The increased use of these polymeric materials causes fire safety concerns. This has led to the development of various regulations and flammability test standards aimed at addressing the hazards associated with polyurethane foam fires. Several fire protection engineering correlations and thermal models have also been developed for the simulation of fire growth behaviour of polyurethane foams. Thus, the overall objective of this research project is to investigate the laboratory test behaviour of this material and then use finer modeling techniques to predict the heat release rate of the specimens, based on information obtained from cone calorimeter tests.<p> Full-scale fire tests of 10 cm thick polyurethane foams of different sizes were conducted using center and edge-ignition locations. Flame spread and heat release rates were compared. For specimens of the same size, center-ignition tests produced flame areas and peak heat release rates which were respectively 10 and 20% larger compared to edge-ignition tests. Average flame spread rates for horizontal and vertical spread were determined, and results showed excellent agreement with literature. Cone calorimeter tests of the specimens were performed using steel edge frame and open durarock board. Results indicate that different test arrangements and heat sources have significant effects on the fire behaviour of the specimens.<p> Predictions using the integral convolution model and other fire protection engineering correlations were compared with the full-scale tests results. Results show that the model was more efficient in predicting the heat release rates for edge-ignition tests than the center-ignition tests. The model also was more successful in predicting the heat release rates during the early part of the growth phase than during the later stages of the fire. The predicted and measured peak heat release rates and total heat release were within 10-15% of one another. Flame spread and t-squared fire models also gave satisfactory predictions of the full-scale fire behaviour of the specimens.

Flexible polyurethane foam (PUF) is a very versatile material ever created. The material is used for various applications and consumer end-use products such as upholstered furniture and mattresses. The increased use of these polymeric materials causes fire safety concerns. This has led to the development of various regulations and flammability test standards aimed at addressing the hazards associated with polyurethane foam fires. Several fire protection engineering correlations and thermal models have also been developed for the simulation of fire growth behaviour of polyurethane foams. Thus, the overall objective of this research project is to investigate the laboratory test behaviour of this material and then use finer modeling techniques to predict the heat release rate of the specimens, based on information obtained from cone calorimeter tests.<p> Full-scale fire tests of 10 cm thick polyurethane foams of different sizes were conducted using center and edge-ignition locations. Flame spread and heat release rates were compared. For specimens of the same size, center-ignition tests produced flame areas and peak heat release rates which were respectively 10 and 20% larger compared to edge-ignition tests. Average flame spread rates for horizontal and vertical spread were determined, and results showed excellent agreement with literature. Cone calorimeter tests of the specimens were performed using steel edge frame and open durarock board. Results indicate that different test arrangements and heat sources have significant effects on the fire behaviour of the specimens.<p> Predictions using the integral convolution model and other fire protection engineering correlations were compared with the full-scale tests results. Results show that the model was more efficient in predicting the heat release rates for edge-ignition tests than the center-ignition tests. The model also was more successful in predicting the heat release rates during the early part of the growth phase than during the later stages of the fire. The predicted and measured peak heat release rates and total heat release were within 10-15% of one another. Flame spread and t-squared fire models also gave satisfactory predictions of the full-scale fire behaviour of the specimens.

The ignition and subsequent burning of polyurethane foam based mattresses poses a significant danger to life and safety in North American homes. The development of fire models which can predict the full scale fire behavior of these mattresses using bench scale data would assist manufacturers and regulators to manage this danger in a cost effective manner. This thesis builds on previous work by the University of Saskatchewan and University of Waterloo fire research groups and focuses on the evaluation of one such scaling model, which was originally developed during the Combustion Behavior of Upholstered Furniture (CBUF) project. The evaluation of the CBUF model conducted in this thesis isolates the heat release rate (HRR) density sub-model and explores the effects of 1) cone calorimeter incident heat flux setting, 2) specimen thickness and 3) ignition location on the predictive capability of the CBUF model. To provide input for the CBUF model cone and furniture calorimeter tests were conducted. Cone calorimeter tests were conducted on foam specimen thicknesses of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 cm at incident heat flux settings of 25, 35, 50 and 75 kW/m2. Furniture calorimeter tests were conducted on foam specimen thicknesses of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 cm in both edge and center ignition configuration. Flame area spread rates were measured from infrared video of the furniture calorimeter tests using an automated algorithm. It was found that HRR curves predicted by the CBUF model showed good agreement with experimental results. Experimental results from tests of thinner foams were predicted with greater success than results from thicker foams, and results from edge ignition tests were predicted with greater success than results of center ignition tests. The results of this study indicated that specimen thickness and ignition location need to be considered when selecting an appropriate incident heat flux setting for producing input data for the CBUF model.