Abstract
A series of flame retardant epoxy composites were prepared based on bisphenol A epoxy resin, T31 curing agent, intumescent flame retardant and CYH-277 toughener. The combustion and thermal degradation properties of the epoxy composites were evaluated by cone calorimeter test (CCT), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy and smoke density test (SDT) respectively. The CCT results showed that the addition of CYH-277 can decrease heat release rate, total heat release and smoke production rate, reduce the char residue, and delay the ignition time of flame retardant epoxy composites. EP-3 with 14 wt-% CYH-277 toughener comparatively showed the best flame retardancy among all samples. The TGA results showed that CYH-277 toughener had an influence on the initial decomposition temperature rather than on the char residues. In addition, the SDT results showed that EP-1 had the best smoke suppression ability.
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