Charring cylinders in cone calorimetry: How heat is distributed? – A survey towards fire performance of electrical cables

This article addresses the need for improved methods to evaluate cable flammability and the fire risk associated with electrical cables in nuclear power plants (NPPs) and industrial sites. A numerical technique for simulating the combustion behavior of charring polymers in cone calorimetry tests is presented. The existing numerical models for simulating cable cone calorimetry have limitations due to simplified assumptions and inaccurate geometric representations. The proposed simulation framework, validated previously for non-charring polymers, incorporates realistic geometry and flux distribution. In this study, birch rods were used as charring polymer samples, and cone calorimetry measurements were performed under 50 kW ∙ m–2 irradiation. The computational model demonstrated good agreement with experimental results, accurately predicting char-front penetration and providing detailed information on the incident and convective heat flux distributions. These findings contribute to enhancing models for cable fire performance evaluation and safety measures in NPPs.