The Fire Performance of GRE Pipes in Empty and Dry, Stagnant Water Filled, and Flowing Water Filled Conditions

摘要

Fibre reinforced composites exhibit many advantages over traditional construction materials with respect to maintenance costs, weight, corrosion resistance, and ease of fabrication and erection. To date there has been considerable interest in the use of these materials for offshore installations, particularly for fire-water deluge systems. However, all FRP composites incorporate a polymer matrix that is flammable so that the fundamental problem behind gaining a wider acceptance of these materials is their performance in fire. This paper reviews a large collection of experimental data obtained from fire tests on FRP pipe work. The paper also defines many conditions under which FRP materials are suitable for fire risk applications, and suggests some practical methods of improving their fire performance. In addition, state of the art numerical methods are described which are capable of predicting the fire performance of FRP pipes with differing internal conditions.