Flame-retardant agent and fire-retardant fabrics reinforced the polyurethane foam: Combustion resistance and mechanical properties

In this study, three differently composed polyurethane (PU) composites are developed and then compared with the pure PU foam in terms of combustion resistance and mechanical properties using the compression test, the drop-weight impact test, the horizontal burning test, and the sound absorption test. Flame-retardant fabric (FRF)-PU is composed of PU foam that is enclosed with two cover sheets of FRFs. FR-PU10 is composed of PU foam that contains 10 wt% of flame-retardant agents. FRF-PU10 is composed of PU foam containing 10 wt% of flame-retardant agents and enclosed by two covers sheets of FRFs. Based on the test results, both FR-PU10 and FRF-PU10 are structurally stabilized and have good combustion resistance. The sample using FRFs as cover sheet had the same combustion resistance property and better compression resistance as the sample using flame-retardant agent. The carbonized layer extinguishes the alighted samples and stops the fire spread right after they are out of the source of fire, suggesting the FRF-PU10 is flame retardant. In addition, FRF-PU10 is easier to process and healthier because of the low use of flame retardants. Therefore, in this study, we proposed PU foam composites have good mechanical and flame-retardant properties and are a suitable candidate for productions of vehicles, plants, construction, and staple merchandises.