In the United States, plastic panels used for large glazing applications must be tested to ASTM E84. This standard is also equivalent to UL 723 and NFPA 255. An 8 meter long test sample is placed in a furnace commonly known as a "Steiner Tunnel". A methane gas jet is ignited at one end and fans force the flame and air along the test sample. The flame and airflow are maintained for the duration of the test. The rate at which the flame spreads, and the amount of smoke generated, are measured and compared to a standardized test sample. The test requires a flame spread index of no more than 25 and a smoke development index of no more than 50 for materials used as surface finishes in interior construction. The index is calibrated to a flame spread of 100 and a smoke development of 100 for red oak hardwood floor planks. http://www.ul.com/fire/surface.html
An acrylic material would not likely pass this test. Most of the plastics used for glazing are polycarbonates. http://www.geplastics.com/gep/en/Home/Home/home.html Ted Eckert American Power Conversion/MGE http://www.apc.com/ The items contained in this e-mail reflect the personal opinions of the writer and are only provided for the assistance of the reader. The writer is not speaking in an official capacity for APC-MGE or Schneider Electric. The speaker does not represent APC-MGE's or Schneider Electric's official position on any matter. John Woodgate <[email protected] o.uk> To Sent by: scott barrows <[email protected]> [email protected] cc "Tarver, Peter" <[email protected]>, 06/27/2007 01:00 "Grasso, Charles" PM <[email protected]>, "Tyra, John" <[email protected]>, [email protected] Subject Re: RE2: Caught fire during stand-by mode In message <[email protected]>, dated Wed, 27 Jun 2007, scott barrows <[email protected]> writes: >Perhaps we should look over at that neck of the woods for the effects >on large thick pieces of plastic. There was a very serious fire in Britain around 30 years ago, where thick panels of Perspex (Lucite) burned. There was also a fire in a London factory, caused by the same material and some over-enthusiastic lathe work. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerland_disaster -- OOO - Own Opinions Only. Try www.jmwa.demon.co.uk and www.isce.org.uk There are benefits from being irrational - just ask the square root of 2. John Woodgate, J M Woodgate and Associates, Rayleigh, Essex UK - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to [email protected] Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas [email protected] Mike Cantwell [email protected] For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: [email protected] David Heald: [email protected] All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________
