Ignition and combustion of low-density polyimide foam

The ignition, flaming and smoldering combustion of low-density polyimide foam have been studied using a cone calorimeter. Low-density polyimide foam exhibits a high ignition resistance. The minimum heat flux for the ignition of flaming combustion ranges from 48 to 54 kW/m(2). This minimum heat flux also indicates the heat flux for transition from smoldering to flaming combustion. The flaming combustion results show that the heat release rate of low-density polyimide foam is very low even at a high incident heat flux of 75 kW/m(2). The smoldering combustion results show that the smoldering of low-density polyimide foam becomes significant when the incident heat flux is greater than 30 kW/m(2). The smoldering combustion of low-density polyimide foam cannot be self-sustaining when the external heat source is removed. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.