Understanding The Use Of Inorganic Fillers For Fire Protection
Though various other fire coatings are currently being researched, as of late, inorganic fillers are being used more and more in fire resistant coatings. They may have some shortcomings, but inorganic fillers can improve a coating’s fire resistance performance effectively.
To prevent accidents, fire protection coatings have established a role as an essential part of protective products. By improving a coating’s fire prevention performance, we can effectively reduce fire safety accidents.
Fire Retardant Coating Improvements
Through research, it is been discovered that inorganic filler is an effective way of improving fire retardant coating. In addition to the coating having improved fire retardant performance, it additionally has advantages of being non-toxic, having good thermal stability, and using abundant raw materials. In numerous industrial fields, including that of fire retardant coatings, it is being more widely used now than ever.
Inorganic Filler’s Flame Retardant Principal
Fireproof coatings can be improved by the use of inorganic filler in the following manners:
- Resistance to airflow impact
- Heat resistance of the coating
- Chemical properties
- Mechanical properties
- Make a coating more decorative
The following categories describe various working principles of different inorganic fillers:
- Inorganic filler decomposed gas (this happens during combustion) can inhibit the combustion by diluting the concentration of combustible oxygen and gas.
- At high temperature, certain organic filler will produce decomposition, dehydration, and various endothermic reactions or evaporation, or melting, and other endothermic processes. This inhibits the combustion process by reducing the energy of the combustor.
- A coating can be formed by some inorganic filler melts providing a base material to prevent combustion and isolate air.
Inorganic Fillers Most Commonly Seen
These are the most common inorganic fillers:
- Titanium white – A fireproof coating’s performance can be improved significantly due to the increased durability and thermal stability of titanium white.
- Nano titanium dioxide – A fire resistant coating can be enhanced, the medium’s physical stability insured, and the coating’s strength improved thanks to the advantages of good dispersion and weather resistance, stable chemical structure, large specific surface area, and three dimensional mesh structure of nano titanium dioxide.
- Alumina – When filled into a fireproof coating, this incombustible additive enhances performance with a melting point as high as 2000°C.
- Kaolin – Good fire resistance helps improve the performance of a fire resistant coating and fire retardant coatings with this additive.
- Calcium carbonate – The effect of combustion inhibition can be achieved through the dilution of a concentration of oxygen. This happens courtesy of calcium carbonate’s incombustibility and, at high temperature, decomposition and carbon dioxide.
- Talcum powder – The benefits of talcum powder are these: low cost, chemical inertness, insulation, acid resistance, and fire resistance. So, coating costs can be reduced while improving fire resistance.
- Magnesium hydroxide – Comparable to aluminum hydroxide (see below), this filler takes away a lot of heat because it decomposes to produce water. This also releases steam which can be useful in flame retardation.
- Aluminum hydroxide – The following characteristics apply to this filler: good flame retardant effect, less smoke, nonvolatile, non-toxic, good thermal stability. It improves the following characteristics in a coating: fire retardant, smoke elimination, flame retardant.
The experts at A&A Coatings are familiar with every coating in existence today. We are constantly striving to improve the characteristics of already existing coatings through research and development. Our highly skilled technicians can use a variety of application methods and various coatings on virtually any kind of substrate. Contact us today to find out how we are already helping others in your industry and can specifically assist your company.
