Recent developments in fire retardant glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite and geopolymer as a potential fire-retardant material: A review

Glass fibre reinforced epoxy composites have been used in building area (cold store construction), aeroplanes, land and water vehicles, etc., due to their high-specific rigidity and strength, high damping, great resistance to corrosion, and inferior thermal expansion. Unfortunately, epoxy is flammable whilst releasing a substantial amount of smoke and gases, and therefore presenting a possible risk to lives as well as property. The reduction of their fire risks is normally fulfilled by enhancing the fire performance of composite components including the incorporation of fire retardant (FR) into the polymer matrix and by providing protective FR coatings around the composite. To date, two types of FR have been incorporated into the composite system including additive and reactive FR to improve the fire performance of the composite. This review focuses on the research works over the last ten years in improving fire retardancy of glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite through the incorporation of both types of FR. This work also summarises research works regarding geopolymer which is applied on enhancing fire retardancy of epoxybased material. Finally, this work presents some future research opportunities as regards to the potential of geopolymer to be utilised as one of FRs to improve fire retardancy of glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Glass fibre reinforced epoxy composites are widely used in various industries due to their excellent properties, but the flammability of epoxy poses a fire risk. The incorporation of fire retardants and protective coatings can effectively enhance the fire performance of the composites.