1. Tecnofire® Effective Fire Protection Solutions
Dan Frechette
Technical Fibre Products

2. Company Profile Part of James Cropper plc
Advanced materials group
Established 1845
Leading manufacturer of high performance nonwovens
Supply into aerospace, automotive and industrial markets
Head Office in Burneside, UK
505 employees worldwide
3 manufacturing & converting sites
Listed on the London Stock Exchange

3. TFP Product Range Optiveil® Tecnofire® Optimat®
2 g/m² - 34 g/m²
Designed for composites
Resin and process compatibility
Broad range of fiber types
Tecnofire®
Intumescent fire protection
Expands uni-directionally up to 35 times thickness
Insulates underlying structure from heat energy
Optimat®
35 g/m² g/m²
Designed for composites
Resin & process compatibility
Broad range of fiber types
High Temperature Insulation
Effective insulation from °C
Broad range of fibers – glass, mineral, AES, alumina
Converted Product
Custom cut shapes
Powder scatter
Hybrid products
SAB & foil backed materials
Cryogenic Insulation
Spacer tissues for cryogenic superinsulation
Used in liquid oxygen & nitrogen vessels

4. Tecnofire® - Passive Fire Protection
Tecnofire® is a range of high quality intumescent passive fire protection materials
Tecnofire® mats are activated by heat (190°C +)
Expand uni-directionally up to 35 times thickness
An exceptionally stable insulative char is produced
Protects underlying structure from fire & heat
Key application areas:
Composites
Gap filling
100°C °C 400°C

5. Tecnofire® in Composites
Resin-infusible grades for surface protection in composite structures

6. Tecnofire® in Composite Buses
Extra fire protection required in doors & wheel wells for example
NABI buses built in Hungary:
Vinyl ester resins via a SCRIMP process
Composite panels meet ASTM E min burn through criteria
30’ Bus Molded Section
An alternative to brominated gel coats
Meeting fire codes without using halogens

7. Tecnofire® in Composite Bridges
Whitestone Bridge
The Bronx, New York City
Steel wind fairings replaced by FRP to reduce the load on the bridge by 6000 tonnes – designed by Gurit and manufactured in the USA
The new fairings covered 20,000m² and were the biggest use of composites in infrastructure at the time (2003)
Each fairing faced with Tecnofire®

8. Tecnofire® In Composites
Specially developed resin infusible grades available
E.g. ATH for smoke and flame spread suppression
Suitable for processing using a selection of standard composite fabrication techniques
Pultrusion, hand lay-up, vacuum bagging, pre-pregging, mandrel wrapping…
Protective layer can be placed close to the fire risk to maximize performance with minimal added weight
Reduce the need for additives & FR resins in the bulk of the composite

9. Gap Filling Applications - Construction
Original applications in construction e.g.
Pipe wraps and collars
Door edge seals
Glazing seals
Joint seals for building panel systems
Grilles and vents
Ironmongery protection
Linear gap seals
Etc.
Tecnofire® can be supplied in rolls, sheets,
narrow coils or cut to shapes

10. Gap Filling Applications – Fire Doors
Tecnofire® 2000 and 2006
Infused with epoxy resin to create a compressed stable laminate
“Stick-on” fire protection for multiple materials
Mostly used in fire doors where it is suitable for automated construction techniques
“Edge banding” a composite return to traditional “gap filling applications”
Intertek certified as part of a fire door assembly
UL10C & NFPA 252

11. Fire Tests Involving Tecnofire®

12. Fire Tests Involving Tecnofire®
Typically controlled by a time/temperature curve and quantify pass/fail requirements

13. Fire Tests Involving Tecnofire®
ASTM E Surface Burn/Flame Spread
ASTM E Smoke Generation
ASTM E Integrity Burn  Movement and Load bearing Ability Post Burn
ASTM E Combustion characteristics
ASTM E84* - Surface Burn Flame Spread & Smoke
ASTM E Furnace Burn  Heat Transfer/Burn Through
* We can supply official test results

14. Fire Tests Involving Tecnofire®
UL 10C* - Positive Pressure  Fire Door Assemblies w/Hose Stream
UL Furnace Burn  Structural Steel; Rapid Rise
NFPA Flame Spread  Wall Assemblies (Exterior)
NFPA Flame Spread Wall Assemblies (Interior) aka Corner Room Test
FAA (FAR) - Interior composite panels (galley)
* we can supply official test results

15. Tecnofire® - Full Scale Testing
E-84 Flame Spread (FSI) and Smoke Developed Index (SDI) Test
Test to measure flame propagation (spread) and how much smoke develops during burn phase.
Tecnofire passed resoundingly, top 1%!

16. Tecnofire® - E84 Fire Test
3 grades of Tecnofire® have been E84 tested
ASTM E84-11a test is a standard test for evaluating the surface flame spread and smoke development characteristics of building materials
The Flame Spread Index (FSI) and Smoke Developed Index (SDI) are measured as part of the testing and form key criteria in the classification of materials
The 2009 International Building Code® sets out the criteria for Classes A, B and C:

17. Tecnofire® - E84 Fire Test
The results from the testing were:
MATERIAL
FLAME SPREAD INDEX (FSI)
SMOKE DEVELOPED INDEX (SDI)
CLASSIFICATION T 5 A T 15
67152F 30
The 3 Tecnofire® grades tested achieved a CLASS A rating for use in walls and ceilings & plenums

18. Tecnofire®- Indicative Testing
Cone Calorimeter Testing – Heat Release Rate
ASTM E1354: Analyzes the behavior of products and materials when exposed to heat and an ignition source. Based on Heat Release Rate science

19. Tecnofire® - Indicative Testing
Firewall Tested at University of Alabama
Cold Side temperature analysis, similar to ASTM E-119.
Measuring Heat Transfer through a wall

20. ASTM E-136 Combustibility Testing
Tecnofire® - Testing
ASTM E-136 Combustibility Testing

21. Tecnofire® - Indicative A-60 Testing
Fire ‘Below Deck’ Simulation
Ex. IMO (International Maritime Organization) 
A-60 Test for Bulkheads and Decking

22. Tecnofire® - Indicative E-119 Test
‘Hand’s On’ Involvement!

23. Tecnofire® - Full Scale E-119 Test (20 Min)
Architectural Testing Inc. – York, PA

24. Tecnofire® with carbon scrim 58 minutes & excellent char formation
UL1709 (Rapid Rise) 2000F
Tecnofire® with carbon scrim
UL1709 Results:
58 minutes & excellent char formation

25. Edge Effects
Edges are usually a weak area of the panel and the first to go in a fire test
Tecnofire® achieved 90 minutes with hose stream – UL10C positive pressure

26. New Developments – Conductive Tecnofire®
Tecnofire® with added conductive fibers such as carbon or metal coated carbon
Provides an EMI shield or static safe surface in addition to the fire protection
Described in GB – granted 2013
If connected to an electrical power source it can be remotely activated without a flame

27. New Developments – Thermoplastics
Tecnofire® with higher initiation temperature
°F (220 – 230°C)
Suitable for thermoplastic composites
PP and PE, for example Twintex
Main applications – temporary buildings, emergency shelters
Tecnofire® has good adhesion to polyolefins

28. New Developments – Aerospace
Lighter / thinner Tecnofire®
Mostly on a carbon fiber base
Improves FST in aerospace composites
Ceramic Fiber/Tecnofire Laminate
Pending Publication:
INVESTIGATIONS INTO LIGHTWEIGHT SOLUTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF FST PROPERTIES OF EPOXY COMPOSITES
Author: Patricia Parlevliet - EADS innovation works - Munich
Conference: ECCM16, Seville, Spain, June 2014

29. New Developments – Lamination
Laminator allows bonding of dissimilar
materials
Examples:
Tecnofire® with self adhesive backing (SAB)
Tecnofire® with insulating (non expanding) materials
Tecnofire® with reinforcing fabrics – multiaxials, wovens
Tecnofire® with foils or films
Powder scattered adhesive bonds layers and maintains permeability for subsequent infusion

30. In Summary
Tecnofire® is a range of highly effective passive fire protection materials
The range includes products suitable for use in composites
Provides fire protection without the detriment to structural integrity or toxicity issues associated with competing solutions
Tecnofire® has passed a broad range of fire tests
New Tecnofire® materials can be developed to meet specific performance or processing requirements

31. Performance. Quality. Choice.
Functional nonwovens designed to deliver optimum performance and processing benefit.
Performance. Quality. Choice.