Study of the Influence of Fillers on Swelling and Water Absorption of Reactive Fire-Retardant Coatings of Metal Structures

Abstract A study was conducted to determine the linear coefficient of swelling, its strength, the group of fire retardant efficiency and resistance to water sorption of the developed reactive fire retardant coatings of metal structures consisting of ammonium polyphosphate/pentaerythritol/aluminum hydroxide/styrene-acrylic water dispersion. The creation of such polymer fire protection coatings for metal structures has always been and remains one of the priority areas of fire protection of buildings and structures, since the material costs of restoration after a fire many times exceed the costs of preventive fire protection measures. As a result of the conducted experimental studies, it was found that all the experimental coatings belong to the first group of fire-retardant efficiency. The foam coke formed by the experimental components has a porous structure, uniform, dense and small cells, without micro cracks and large cavities, which provides better insulating properties. The obtained results of water absorption of styrene-acrylic coatings can be interpreted from the point of view of increasing the contribution of the barrier effect of aerosil in systems with high viscosity, which preserves the chemical composition of the intumescent coating. The developed coatings can be operated at the water-air interface, low water absorption indicates its high protective characteristics.