Intumescent Polymer Metal Laminates for Fire Protection

Intumescent paints are applied on materials to protect them against fire, but the development of novel chemistries has reached some limits. Recently, the concept of “Polymer Metal Laminates,” consisting of alternating thin aluminum foils and thin epoxy resin layers has been proven efficient against fire, due to the delamination between layers during burning. In this paper, both concepts were considered to design “Intumescent Polymer Metal Laminates” (IPML), i.e., successive thin layers of aluminum foils and intumescent coatings. Three different intumescent coatings were selected to prepare ten-plies IPML glued onto steel substrates. The IPMLs were characterized using optical microscopy, and their efficiency towards fire was evaluated using a burn-through test. Thermal profiles obtained were compared to those obtained for a monolayer of intumescent paint. For two of three coatings, the use of IPML revealed a clear improvement at the beginning of the test, with the slopes of the curves being dramatically decreased. Characterizations (expansion measurements, microscopic analyses, in situ temperature, and thermal measurements) were carried out on the different samples. It is suggested that the polymer metal laminates (PML) design, delays the carbonization of the residue. This work highlighted that design is as important as the chemistry of the formulation, to obtain an effective fire barrier.