PRELIMINARY REPORT ON LABORATORY FIRE TEST APPARATUS FOR EVALUATING THERMAL SHIELD MATERIAL

RPI-AAR Report RA-01-2-7, "Summary of Ruptured Tank Cars Involved in Past Accidents," tabulated 84 cases of major ruptures and 14 cases of minor (local) ruptures of tank cars since 1958. Of these, the cause of rupture was known for 75 cases. Of these 75 cases, 66 were caused by fire impingement. As discussed in that report, there is strong evidence that most of these were a result of the unwetted (vapor space) steel being overheated and weakened. One method of reducing the probability of tank car ruptures due to fire exposure is to reduce the heat input to the steel with an intumescent paint, an ablative coating, a high temperature insulation, or some combination thereof. These are termed "Thermal shield materials" under the RPI-AAR Project, but, for brevity, will be called "coatings" in the remainder of this report. The original objective of the laboratory tests described in this report was to compare and screen such coatings in order to find attractive candidates early in the program for selection for subsequent 1/5 and full scale fire tests. The test apparatus was designed to simulate the behavior of the unwetted steel portion of a tank car when exposed to fire. Most of the thermal coatings tested were obtained from commercially available sources. This report is a synopsis of the test work completed to date.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • An RPI-AAR Cooperative Project.
• Corporate Authors:

  Association of American Railroads Research Center

  3140 South Federal Street
  Chicago, IL  United States  60616
• Authors:
  • BROWN, F
• Publication Date: 1972-5

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 65 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coatings; Fires; Heat transfer; Metal coatings; Paint; Safety; Tank cars; Vehicle design
• Old TRIS Terms: Tank car design; Tank car safety research and test project; Thermal shields
• Subject Areas: Design; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00080282
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Association of American Railroads
• Report/Paper Numbers: R-138
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 29 1976 12:00AM