An Assessment of the Use of Flame Retardant Plastics for Museum Applications

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorMowrer, Fredericken_US
dc.contributor.advisorBrostoff, Lynnen_US
dc.contributor.authorLeikach, Danielle Carynen_US
dc.contributor.departmentFire Protection Engineeringen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2008-04-22T16:09:32Z
dc.date.available2008-04-22T16:09:32Z
dc.date.issued2007-12-18en_US
dc.description.abstractHalogenated flame retardant plastic sheeting may help to reduce flame spread in museums; however, the plastics contain chemicals that may be harmful to museum objects in situ, particularly metals. This study assesses historical and contemporary problems and benefits associated with flame retardant plastics with respect to museum applications. This issue was addressed by pairing statistical data on museum fires with standard and novel methods for assessing corrosivity, while also creating a format for future assessments of fire-safety related practices as they are applied in museum settings. Flame retardant plastics were found to cause small rates of corrosion in copper, approximately 1.2 milli-inches per year (mpy), compared to pure polyethylene which corrodes at approximately 0.83 mpy. Conventional testing methods show that flame retardant plastics can be considered safe for limited museum use and that they delay ignition from small heat sources, but they must be assessed for each individual scenario.en_US
dc.format.extent8397454 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/7824
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEngineering, Generalen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEngineering, Materials Scienceen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledfireen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledmuseumen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledpolyethyleneen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledflame retardant plasticen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledbrominated flame retardantsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledOddy testen_US
dc.titleAn Assessment of the Use of Flame Retardant Plastics for Museum Applicationsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
umi-umd-5109.pdf
Size:
8.01 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

UMD Theses and Dissertations
Fire Protection Engineering Theses and Dissertations