Fire behaviour of cork agglomerate as core material for multilayer panels

Abstract

The bachelor thesis on "Behaviour of agglomerated cork as core material of multilayer panels in fire" deals with the properties of cork when exposed to high temperatures or directly to flame. In the first part, a description of cork is given with an indication of its properties. This is followed by a more brief description of OSB and MDF panels that have been combined with cork to form multilayer panels. Their combination was carried out using MDI and TDI resins, which are used in the production of agglomerated cork panels. The following is a description of the equipment used for the practical part of the work. The practical part starts with the thermogravimetric tests performed, their evaluation and the calculation of the kinetic parameters using Matlab. The tests were performed at temperature rise of 5; 10; 15; 20 and 25 K/min. Thus, a total of 5 tests were performed for each of the materials mentioned. This was followed by tests on a conical calorimeter. In addition to the individual materials, multilayer samples were created at elevated temperature and pressure. The same resins used in the cork panel were used as the binder. The measurements, except for the separate cork, were performed at 35 kW*m-2 only, with two tests for each sample combination. One without thermocouples, to allow recording of weight loss, and one with thermocouples to obtain information on heat transfer through the sample. Finally, two fire oven tests were performed and the limit states E (integrity) and I (insulation) were evaluated.