Flame resistant structural composites comprised of lightweight polymers have been of interest for many years. Now Virginia Tech researchers are working on a composite resin with a combination of properties, including being flame retardant. The research will be presented at the 220th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society Aug. 20-24 in Washington, D.C.
"We are trying to make structural composites that are light-weight, strong, and flame retardant and that can be produced inexpensively," explains Virginia Tech chemistry professor Judy Riffle. "The flame retardant property is important for such structures as off-shore oil platforms, ship compartments, tunnels, and mine shafts, for instance -- any place where materials need to carry a lot of load and where escaping a fire would be difficult."
While the materials being presented burn near the lowest known rates for phenolic resin, they have structural properties in excess of most epoxies.
The paper, "Tough void-free flame retardant phenolic networks: Processability and properties (PMSE 42)," will be presented Sunday, Aug. 20, at 4 p.m. in the JW Marriott Hotel, Capitol Ballroom Salon H-K, as part of the Fire and Polymers Symposium. Co-authors are Virginia Tech graduate students Sheng L. Lin, Metha Rutnakornpituk, and Christy S. Tyberg, Riffle, and Usman Sorathia of the Naval Surface Warfare Center.
Related work is being presented as part of the Materials for Transportation Symposium Sunday, Aug. 20, at 3:35 p.m. in the JW Marriott Hotel Commerce room. The paper, "Synthesis and characterization of epoxy-novolac composite-steel adhesives (PMSE 34)," discusses the adhesive strength of the phendic-epoxy resins in other applications -- for bonding composite, steel, and concrete components. The authors, graduate students M. B. Bump, Anita Y. Carmichael, and Tyberg, and Riffle.
The research is being funded by the NSF Division of Materials Research and the Center for Adhesive and Sealant Science at Virginia Tech.
PR Contact: Susan Trulove
540-231-5646 strulove@vt.edu