NIST Technical Note 1747 Factors Influencing the Smoldering Performance of Polyurethane Foam

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether polyurethane foam (PUF) could be produced as a Standard Reference Material for ultimate use in a standard test intended to ensure the smoldering performance of commercially available upholstered furniture. For this purpose, PUF was produced by a commercial manufacturer and its smoldering propensity was evaluated. The experimental design was organized into four parts or “Iterations”. In Iteration 1, the results showed that smoldering intensity was dominated by foam morphology (cell size, strut thickness and length, open vs. closed cell structure, etc.), which overrode effects of chemical composition for the range of polyols and surfactants studied.