Railcar Interior Finish Flammability Requirement Based on Heat Release Rate

Details

• Creators:
  Lattimer, Brian Y. ; Kraft, Stefan ; Kapahi, Anil
• Corporate Creators:
  Jensen Hughes, Inc.
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration. Office of Research, Development and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Flammability
  • Fluid dynamics
  • Materials
  • Railroad cars
  • Vehicle interiors
  • Standards
  • Specifications
  • Heat loss
  • Heat release rate
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FRA/ORD-26/21
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Nov 2022 - Sep 2023
• Contracting Officer:
  Shurland, Melissa
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Railroad Administration
• Description:
  The Federal Railroad Administration issued a contract to American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to conduct this study to develop a material flammability requirement based on heat release rate that would prevent accelerated surface flame spread leading to flashover. Jensen Hughes, Inc. conducted the research on behalf of APTA and created a database of over 320 rail car materials and flammability data to support development of a requirement and a comparison of flammability requirements in NFPA 130 and EN 45545-2. The team determined that the average heat release rate per unit area (HRRPUA) from a cone calorimeter test is the single most important variable in classifying the occurrence of flashover. At an exposure of 50 kW/m2, the requirement is to limit the average HRRPUA to less than 85 kW/m2 for large spaces; for small spaces, an average HRRPUA less than 70 kW/m2 is needed. The team found the average HRRPUA to be more accurate at predicting flashover compared with EN 45545-2 maximum average rate of heat emission (MARHE). The NFPA 130 ASTM E162 requirement could not be used to accurately predict flashover. The EN45545-2 MARHE was found to be a stricter requirement compared with NFPA 130 ASTM E162.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93433/dot_93433_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.89 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Railroad Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1d6bdcf12e59d0f98eda30a36dcc938ac574fe5bcea1344ec144560ef51fdcb045f34bd9282add3a28ac4d12dca695d901dfed7a38db7ee1f0561b6b28e0556d