A NOVEL FIRE RETARDANT AFFECTS FIRE PERFORMANCE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF WOOD FLOUR-HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE COMPOSITES

Wood flour-high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites were prepared to investigate the effects of ammonium polyphosphate based fire retardant content (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10-wt%), on the flammability, mechanical, and morphological properties of the wood flour-HDPE composites in this study. Cone calorimetry analysis showed that the addition of fire retardant could decrease the heat release rate (HRR) and total smoke release of wood flour-HDPE composites, while it had no obviously effects on effective heat of combustion. Most of the decrease of the HRR occurred with the concentration of the fire retardant up to 4-wt%. With addition of fire retardant, the composites showed a decrease in tensile elongation at break and impact strength, and had no obvious effect on tensile and flexural strength. The scanning electron microscopy observation on the fracture surface of the composites indicated that fire retardant had a uniform dispersion in the wood flour-HDPE composites. However, interfacial bonding would be suggested to improve in wood flour-HDPE composites with ammonium polyphosphate based fire retardant.