1rst International Conference on Composites in Infrastructure
Tuscon, Arizona, Jan. 1996
Fire response of geopolymer structural composites
by
Richard E. Lyon, Usman Sorathia, P.N. Balaguru , Andrew Foden,
Joseph Davidovits and Michel Davidovics
published in the Proceedings of ICCI’96, pp. 972-981; see also the paper on pages166-177
The fire response of a potassium aluminosilicate matrix (GEOPOLYMER) carbon fiber composite was measured and the results compared to organic matrix composites being used for infrastructure and transportation applications. At irradiance levels of 50 kW/m2 typical of the heat flux in a well developed fire, glass- or carbon-reinforced polyester, vinylester, epoxy, bismaleimide, cyanate ester, polyimide, phenolic, and engineering thermoplastic laminates ignited readily and released appreciable heat and smoke, while carbon-fiber reinforced GEOPOLYMER composites did not ignite, burn, or release any smoke even after extended heat flux exposure. The GEOPOLYMER matrix carbon fiber composite retains sixty-three percent of its original 245 MPa flexural strength after a simulated large fire exposure.
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