Thermal behaviour of rigid polyurethane foams

The effects of P- and Cl-containing reactive antipyrenes with different compositions and structures on the mechanism and kinetics of the total thermal decomposition of rigid polyurethane foams, together with the possibility of evaluating their effectiveness as combustion inhibitors, were studied by means of a combined thermal analysis technique. It is shown that dynamic thermal analysis can register the changes resulting in the mechanisms and kinetics of the thermal decompositions of the investigated polyurethanes from comparatively low concentrations and differences in the concentrations and from differences in the chemical compositions and structures of the antipyrenes. The most sensitive characteristics associated with the influence of antipyrenes in this case were the coke residue determined at 850? in an inert medium and the areas of exothermic peaks I and II in the DTA curve in air medium.