Abstract: The combustion characteristics of polyethylene-based aluminum composite panels with different core layer thicknesses were studied by using cone calorimeter. Four heat fluxes of 35, 50, 65, and 80 kW/m2 were selected to obtain the ignition characteristics, fire risk, and smoke toxicity. The results showed that polyethylene-based aluminum composite panels conform to the ignition law of thermal thin materials, and the derived critical ignition heat fluxes of 3, 4, 5 mm thick core layers are 33.9, 25.1, 9.9 kW/m2, respectively. With the increase of heat flux, the heat release rate of aluminum composite panels of each thickness increases obviously, and the heat release rate tends to double peak. With the increase in heat flux and core layer thickness, there was a rapid decrease in the Fire Performance Index (FPI) from 41 to 0.14, accompanied by a rapid increase in the Fire Growth Index (FGI) from 0.02 to 3.19, and the CO release rate also rapidly increases, resulting in a significant increase in fire hazard.

Key words: polyethylene-based aluminum composite panel, combustion characteristics, cone calorimeter, smoke hazard