Properties and mechanism of flame retardance and smoke suppression in asphalt binder containing organic montmorillonite

To investigate the performance and mechanism of flame retardance and smoke suppression of organic montmorillonite (OMMT) modified asphalt, limiting oxygen index (LOI) and dynamic flame-retardant performance tests were performed. The pyrolysis characteristics of modified asphalt were analyzed using thermalgravimetric-Fourier transform infrared (TG-FTIR) analysis. The results show that the OMMT particle size has little effect on modified-asphalt performance. OMMT increases the ignition time and ignition temperature, and it reduces heat release during combustion. OMMT also significantly inhibits smoke emission during pyrolysis and combustion of modified asphalt. Finally, a flame-retardant and smoke-suppression mechanism model of OMMT-modified asphalt was established.