Evaluating Combustion Characteristics of Impregnated Scots Pine Wood: Effects of Fire-retardant Coatings

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of fire-retardant coating treatments on the combustion resistance of Scots pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) impregnated with various chemicals. Borax, boric acid, zinc chloride, sodium silicate, and ammonium sulfate were used as impregnation materials. Fire-retardant paint and nano-enabled fire-retardant varnish were applied as coating materials. Combustion tests were conducted using a computer-controlled apparatus developed in accordance with the ASTM E69-22 (2022) standard. During combustion, mass loss and maximum temperature values were recorded every 30 s. As a result, impregnation applied to the Scots pine wood material was observed to reduce the mass loss, including 31% borax, 37% boric acid, 43% zinc chloride, 35% ammonium sulfate, and 31% sodium silicate. It was observed that coating formulation to the Scots pine wood decreased mass loss 59% with nano varnish and 71% with fire-retardant paint.