Performance analysis of inorganic materials for fire protection of industrial equipment

Fires may impact on process and storage equipment causing severe damages and potential accident escalation. Passive protections, based on the application of fireproofing coatings, are usually implemented in order to prevent or mitigate such events. The choice and the design of this type of barriers is a critical task due to the extreme heat exposure conditions. Besides, the behaviour of the protective material may significantly change during the fire exposure and relevant thermal properties (thermal conductivity and density) are subjected to strong modifications. In the present study, a methodological approach, integrating experimental and modelling activities, was proposed for the assessment of inorganic fireproofing materials. The typical coating materials, applied in both industrial and transport units were selected. The variation of the most relevant thermal properties of the coatings were derived obtaining detailed correlation models for their description. A Finite Element Model (FEM) was developed in order to reproduce the behaviour of real scale insulated equipment exposed to fire. Specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) allowed optimizing the design of the fireproofing material.