Environmental Cycling of Cellulosic Thermal Insulation and Its Influence on Fire Performance. | NIST

A study was conducted on climatological data for eleven cities located throughout the United States. Findings from this environmental study were used to develop conditioning cycles for a research project on the influence of environments on the fire performance of loose-fill cellulosic thermal insulation. Six cellulosic insulation materials with different compositions of fire retardant chemicals at an add-on level of 25 percent by weight were specially manufactured for this study. These materials were tested for fire performance using the smoldering combustion test and the attic flooring radiant panel test to establish a baseline. After the materials were exposed to the various environmental cycles, they were tested for fire performance. Results from these tests show that environmental exposure can have a significant effect on the fire performance of cellulosic insulation materials and indicates that long term fire protection provided by fire retardant compounds may be limited.