Brief introduction to PEEK’s flame retardant, low smoke and low toxic gas emission characteristics
PEEK is difficult to burn in general situations. Even when it burns, the amount of smoke and corrosive gas produced is very small. PEEK has the advantages of flame retardancy, low smoke and low toxic gas emission. The details are as follows:
1. Flame retardancy: The flammability of a material is the ability to sustain combustion after obtaining high energy from a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. The recognized standard for measuring flammability is UL94, which is to ignite a vertical sample of a predetermined shape and then measure the time it takes for the material to automatically extinguish. The test result for PEEK is V-0, which is a good grade of flame retardancy.
2. Smoke generation: The standard for measuring smoke generated by burning plastics is ASTM E662. This standard uses the smoke laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) of the United States to measure the visible light dimness of smoke produced by the combustion of standard shape samples in units of specific optical density. The test can be carried out under continuous combustion (with flame) or interrupted combustion (without flame). Among plastics, PEEK has the lowest smoke generation.
3. Toxic gas emission: PEEK is the same as many organic materials. When decomposed at high temperature, PEEK mainly produces carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. The British aircraft test standard BSS 7239 can detect extremely low concentrations of toxic gas emissions. This detection process requires the complete combustion of 100 grams of sample in a 1 cubic meter space, and then analyzes the toxic gas produced. The toxicity index is defined as the ratio of the comprehensive concentration of toxic gas produced under normal circumstances to the dose that can be fatal to a person in 30 minutes. The index of PEEK5600G is 0.22, and no acid gas is detected.
4. Therefore, PEEK can replace aluminum and other metals to manufacture various aircraft parts. Taking advantage of its excellent flame retardant properties, it can be used to manufacture aircraft internal parts to reduce the degree of harm when an aircraft fire occurs.
