A finite element model for the fire-performance of GRP panels including variable thermal properties

A finite element study is conducted to determine the thermal response of a widely used glass reinforced plastic panel exposed to fire. This study is performed based on a formulation developed previously by the authors and improved by including the moisture and temperature-dependent thermal properties and a newly developed time-dependent non-linear mixed boundary condition at the unexposed surface of the panel. In addition, the influence of non-zero final resin mass is considered according to a recently performed thermal gravimetric analysis. In order to derive the appropriate element equations, a mixed explicit-implicit Bubnov-Galerkin finite element approach is adopted. Results of this study are presented for a standard, 10.9 mm, thickness of single-skinned polyester-based glass reinforced plastic panel and comprise temperature profiles, density distributions and moisture profiles. Comparisons are made between the predicted results and those obtained experimentally. The predicted temperatures agreed with the experimental results with an average difference of 21.41 degrees C. A simple comparison of the present value with that of the authors' previous model, 29.66 degrees C, indicates a considerable improvement of 38.53% in the fire-performance prediction of the material. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.