Integrated Assessment of Flammability and Fire Effluent Profiles of Acoustic Insulation Materials

This study presents an integrated assessment of the flammability and fire effluent profiles of five acoustic insulation materials with different structures and compositions. The materials were characterized by SEM/EDS, XRF, C/S analysis, and ATR-FTIR, whereas their fire behavior was evaluated using a mass loss calorimeter coupled with FTIR gas analysis, enabling simultaneous bench-scale flammability testing and real-time monitoring of fire effluents. Pronounced differences were observed across the sample set. Samples S4 and S5 exhibited the shortest times to ignition and the highest peak combustion intensity, whereas S3 showed by far the weakest overall fire response. Fire effluent analysis further revealed distinct emission patterns: S1 was characterized by the strongest combined CO and CH4 formation, S4 and S5 by CO2- and NO-dominated profiles with temporally concentrated emissions, and S3 by the weakest and most compositionally distinct effluent response. Exploratory composition-response analysis indicated that silica-related contribution was associated with weaker peak burning and reduced formation of the main oxidized effluents. Overall, the results demonstrate that the fire hazard of acoustic insulation materials cannot be adequately described by a single flammability parameter alone, but requires integrated consideration of combustion intensity, gas speciation, and temporal effluent development.