BS ISO 10840:2008 - Page 2

BS ISO 10840:2008 Plastics. Guidance for the use of standard fire tests

BS ISO 10840 covers the following aspects of fire testing of plastics materials and products:

• Selection of appropriate tests that reflect realistic end-use conditions

• Grouping of the reaction-to-fire characteristics that any given test or tests can measure

• Assessment of tests as to their relevance in areas such as material characterization, quality control, pre-selection, end-product testing, environmental profiling and DfE (Design for the Environment)

• Definition of potential problems that may arise when plastics are tested in standard fire tests.

BS ISO 10840 does not cover the development or design of new fire tests for plastics. However, the flexibility of approach that is indicated with respect to the mounting and fixing of test specimens will be valuable when fire-testing laboratories and certification bodies are considering how to evaluate ranges of plastics that are used in different ways.

Contents of BS ISO 10840:

• Foreword

• Introduction

• Scope

• Normative references

• Terms and definitions.

• Enclosure fire scenarios

• General

• Initiation and early growth

• Development of fire

• Fully developed fire

• Decay

• Categories of fire test

• Material characterization tests

• Quality-control tests

• Pre-selection tests

• End-product tests

• Important considerations in the fire testing of plastics materials and products

• Influence of the chemical or physical nature of the test specimen

• Thermal-decomposition products

• Problems posed by specimen decomposition

• Health, safety and local environmental considerations

• Specimen size and geometry

• Characteristics of ignition sources

• Sample and test specimen preparation and conditioning

• Operating procedures in the event of specimen collapse or deformation

• Complications caused by melting effects in thermoplastics

• Advantages and disadvantages of scale in fire tests

• Influence of test apparatus design on the applicability of test data

• Calibration of the test apparatus and attainable precision

• Uncertainty associated with fire test measurements

• Potentially problematical specimen behaviour

• Tests developed for materials other than plastics

• Shrinking

• Bubbling

• Intumescence

• Extinguishing of pilot flames by highly flame retarded plastics

• Slumping of thermoplastic sheets

• Detection of flaming drips

• Edge effects

• Profiled products

• End-use-relevant preparation of test specimens

• Environmental-impact assessment

• Bibliography