Skip to main content
Log in

Calculation of charring rate and char depth of spruce and pine wood from mass loss

  • Published:
Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A charring rate is a key parameter for the calculation of fire resistance of timber structures and for fire investigation. Charring rates are calculated from the char depth, and the time material is exposed to the heat load. The presented study deals with the calculation of the char depth of Norway spruce (Picea Abies (L.) Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus Sylvestris L.) wood from the mass loss during the test on a cone calorimeter. The samples were loaded with the heat fluxes of 20, 30, 40 and 50 kW m−2 during a period of 10, 20 and 30 min. The samples were extinguished after the stated time intervals and subsequently the char depth was measured. The mutual orientation of the grain and the incident heat flux was parallel. A strong linear relation was found between the char depth and the ratio of the mass loss to density. The average charring rate decreases with the increasing time and increases with the increasing heat flux. The average charring rate of spruce wood was in the interval from 0.73 to 1.5 mm min−1. The average charring rate of pine wood was in the interval from 0.67 to 1.3 mm min−1.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. EN 1995-1-2:2004/AC:2009. Eurocode 5: design of timber structures—Part 1-2: general—structural fire design. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  2. NFPA 921:2017. Guide for fire and explosion investigations. Quincy: National Fire Protection Association; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  3. White RH, Nordheim EV. Charring rate of wood for ASTM E 119 exposure. Fire Technol. 1992;28:5–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Findorák R, Frohlichová M, Legemza J, Findoráková L. Thermal degradation and kinetic study of sawdusts and walnut shells via thermal analysis. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2016;125:689–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Chen T, Wu W, Wu J, Cai J, Wu J. Determination of the pseudocomponents and kinetic analysis of selected combustible solid wastes pyrolysis based on Weibull model. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2016;126:1899–909.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. ISO 834-1:1999. Fire-resistance tests—Elements of building construction—Part 1: general requirements. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Babrauskas V. Charring rate of wood as a tool for fire investigations. Fire Saf J. 2005;40:528–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. ASTM E119-16a. Standard test methods for fire tests of building construction and materials. Philadelphia: American Society for Testing and Materials International; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kristofferson B, Hansen AS, Hovde PJ. Optimization of fire retardant treated wood. In: Proceedings of the 7th fire and materials, San Francisco, USA; 2001. vol. 1, p. 173–84.

  10. Bulien OK. Evaluation of charring rate by a cone calorimeter. Haugesund: Strod/Haugesund University College; 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Tsantaridis LD, Östman BAL. Charring of protected wood studs. Fire Mater. 1998;22:55–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Holmijoki O, Majamaa J, Mikkola E. Bolted steel plate joints in timber structures under fire conditions. In: Marcroft J, editor. Proceeding of international timber engineering conference. London: Timber Research and Development Association; 1991. vol. 4, p. 99–105.

  13. Fisher FL, Fleischmann CM. Ryan fun & fitness center racquetball court floor fire analysis. Vacaville: Fisher Research and Development; 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Harada T. Charring of wood with thermal radiation. II. Charring rate calculated from mass loss rate. Mokuzai Gakkaishi. 1996;42:194–201.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Harada T. Effects of density on charring and mass loss rates in wood specimens. In: Proceedings of the 3rd wood and fire safety, Slovak Republic; 1996. vol. 1, p. 149–56.

  16. Butler CP. Notes on charring rates of wood. Borehamwood: Fire Research Station; 1971.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Xu Q, Chen L, Harries KA, Zhang F, Liu Q, Feng J. Combustion and charring properties of five common constructional wood species from cone calorimeter tests. Constr Build Mater. 2015;96:416–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Lache M. Burning behavior of wood. Inf Holzbautechnik. 1991;5:17–21.

    Google Scholar 

  19. ISO 5660-1:2015. Reaction to fire tests: heat release, smoke production and mass loss rate—Part 1: heat release rate (cone calorimeter method) and smoke production rate (dynamic measurement). 3rd ed. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  20. ISO 18122:2015. Solid biofuels: determination of ash content. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  21. ISO 18123:2015. Solid biofuels: determination of the content of volatile matter. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Shen J, Zhu S, Liu X, Zhang H, Tan J. The prediction of elemental composition of biomass based on proximate analysis. Energy Convers Manag. 2010;51:983–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Frangi A, Fontana M. Charring rates and temperature profiles of wood sections. Fire Mater. 2003;27:91–102.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Schartel B, Bartholmai M, Knoll U. Some comments on the use of cone calorimeter data. Polym Degrad Stab. 2005;88:540–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Carvel R, Steinhaus T, Rein G, Torero JL. Determination of the flammability properties of polymeric materials: a novel method. Polym Degrad Stab. 2011;96:314–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. White RH, Nordheim EV. Charring rate of wood for ASTM E 119 exposure. Fire Technol. 1992;28:5–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Gardner WD, Syme DR. Charring of glue-laminated beams of eight Australian-grown timber species and the effect of 13 mm gypsum plasterboard protection on their charring. Sydney: NSW Timber Advisory Council Ltd; 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Collier PCR. Charring rates of timber. Judgeford: BRANZ; 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Kačíková D, Makovická-Osvaldová L. Wood burning rate of various tree parts from selected softwoods. Acta Fac Xylologiae. 2009;51:27–32.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Lizhong Y, Yupeng Z, Yafei W, Zaifu G. Predicting charring rate of woods exposed to time increasing and constant heat fluxes. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis. 2008;81:1–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Friquin KL. Material properties and external factors influencing the charring rate of solid wood and glue-laminated timber. Fire Mater. 2011;35:303–27.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Li K, Pau DSW, Wang J, Ji J. Modelling pyrolysis of charring materials: determining flame heat flux using bench-scale experiments of medium density fibreboard (MDF). Chem Eng Sci. 2015;123:39–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Zhang L, Li T, Quyn D, Dong L, Qiu P, Li CZ. Formation of nascent char structure during the fast pyrolysis of mallee wood and low-rank coals. Fuel. 2015;150:486–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract No. APVV-16-0223.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jozef Martinka.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Martinka, J., Rantuch, P. & Liner, M. Calculation of charring rate and char depth of spruce and pine wood from mass loss. J Therm Anal Calorim 132, 1105–1113 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-7039-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-7039-8

Keywords

Navigation