Quantitative Study on the Effect of Large Fire Thermal Radiation on Combustion Performance of Materials Used in Japanese Railway Rolling Stock

抄録

In Japan, materials used in railway rolling stock are classified according to their behavior during Japanese standard fire tests for railway rolling stock materials in accordance with the relevant Ordinances. Fire test standards were established to contribute to rolling stock safety from fire. However, the thermal radiation cited in standard fire tests is relatively low and some criteria are only qualitative. A number of serious fires over the past few years demonstrated that some test conditions in the standard fire tests were underestimated. Consequently, this illustrated the importance of conducting a quantitative study to examine the effect of thermal radiation from large fires on the combustion performance of materials used in railway rolling stock. Cone calorimeter fire tests were therefore carried out to investigate the impact of large thermal radiation on a series of products used in rolling stock.