Development of a testing methodology for the determination of fire hazard indicators of paints and coatings using numerical simulation

Abstract

A two-stage testing methodology for the determination of fire hazard indicators of paints and coatings is proposed, targeting R&D specialists and technologists at paint manufacturers. The methodology integrates a preliminary computational-experimentalStage I—TGA/DSCanalysis with metrological traceability, isoconversional pyrolysis kinetics, inverse model optimisation via PROPTI+FDS, and CFD simulation of a virtual cone calorimeter in FDS v.6 with V&V following NIST SP 1018 and MaCFP benchmarks — as a precursor to mandatory physical testing (Stage II). A four-class classification of paints by pyrolysis complexity, NAE metric with MaCFP Workshop 3 thresholds, LoC system, sensitivity index Si, and a formalised uncertainty budget (separating kinetic input data, model, and numerical solver contributions) are introduced. The methodology addresses the inapplicability of GOST 30244-94 to liquid paint formulations and may reduce physical testing by40-60% during iterative formulation development.