Preparation and performance of waterborne intumescent coatings with mechanical, thermal properties and optimization of flame retardant paints

Abstract

Many industries typically like chemical industry, petrochemical and oil refineries etc. are prone to fire. In such a case intumescent (IMT) paint will provide extra protection to substrate wherever it is applied. The aim of present work was to optimize the fire protection performance and thermal properties of water-based IMT fire protective coatings on steel structures through the use of flame-retardant paints. The IMT coating paint was prepared using water-based styrene acrylic emulsion (SAE), flame-retardant additives (Ammonium phosphate, Pentaerithritol, Melamine and Dicyanadamide and flame-retardant fillers (TiO₂ and CaCO₃). All these ingredients are mixed using mortal pestle. The coating paints with and without fire retardant have been characterized by studying chemical properties by using FTIR, mechanical properties (Flexibility test, Impact resistance test and Pull off test) and thermal properties (Bunsen burner test, furnace test, and Thermogravimetric analysis test). The results demonstrated that mild steel specimens coated with IMT paint exhibited effective fire protection performance; excellent adhesion strength, improved uniform char layer formation, and enhanced thermal stability.It revealed that fire retardant coating had better or same properties than without fire retardant coating. Hence, formulated IMT coating paint proved effective in protecting steel structures against fire.