Fire-Protective and Flame-Retardant Coatings - A State-of-the-Art Review

This review covers mainly intumescent coatings, with briefer discussions of non-intumescent organic fire-resistive coatings and cementitious inorganic coatings. Emphasis is placed on the more recent developments, and the more recent patent literature is surveyed. Modeling and optimizing are covered both from basic and applied aspects. The chemistry of the production of a foamed char barrier is discussed. Enhancing the performance by adjuvants and choice of binders is shown to be possible. The important interactions of ammonium polyphosphate with other components such as titanium dioxide are described. Testing is briefly discussed, as are some shortcomings of present-day coatings, such as limited water resistance, and some opportunities for improvement.