Flame spread over the surface of thermal insulation materials in different environments

Experiments were conducted in a plateau area in Lhasa and a plain area in Hefei China to investigate the flame spread characteristics on thermal insulation materials under different environmental conditions (pressure and oxygen concentration). Molded polystyrene foam (EPS) and extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) samples were placed horizontally on a small-scale flame spread experimental bench. Changes in the average length of the pool fire, flame spread speed, average flame height, and length of preheating zone were used to determine the effect of the plateau and plain environments on flame spread characteristics. These parameters were all larger in Hefei than in Lhasa, which indicates the fire hazard in Hefei will be higher than that in Lhasa if insulation materials of the same size are used.