Cone Calorimeter – Cone calorimetric test equipment
Category：Flammability Tester
Introduction
The Cone Calorimeter is a precision fire-testing instrument designed to evaluate material combustion behaviors based on oxygen-consumption calorimetry. It measures critical fire-reaction parameters such as heat release rate (HRR), mass loss, ignition time, smoke production, CO/CO₂ generation, and gas flow.
Using a modular design, the system allows users to begin with essential components—such as heat-release measurement or smoke analysis—and expand later into a full-feature fire-testing platform. This flexibility makes it ideal for research, certification, and quality-control laboratories across industries including construction, rail transit, marine, aerospace, automotive, and polymer materials.
Application
The Cone Calorimeter is widely used to evaluate fire performance of materials and products under controlled heat-flux exposure. It provides accurate characterization of heat release, smoke generation, ignition properties, toxic gas production, and combustion behavior.
Common applications include building materials, foams, plastics, composites, textiles, cable insulation, transportation materials (railway, maritime, automotive interiors), aerospace composites, polymer research, and fire-retardant development.
Its measurement data is essential for predicting fire hazards, conducting flame-retardant assessments, verifying regulatory compliance, and supporting fire-safety engineering analysis.
Standards
The system complies with major international fire-reaction standards, including:
ASTM E1354 – Heat and Visible Smoke Release Rates
ISO 5660-1 – Heat release, smoke production, and mass loss rate
ASTM E1474 – Flame spread evaluation
ASTM F1550 – Flame spread of plastics in furniture
ASTM E1740 – Large-panel cone calorimeter testing
ASTM D6113 – Fire performance of materials
IMO MSC 40(64) – Marine fire test procedures
BS 476-15 – Fire tests for building materials
NFPA 264 / NFPA 271 – Fire and smoke measurement standards
ULC-S135-04 – Canadian fire test standard
CSN EN 45545-2+A1 – Railway vehicle fire protection
CSN EN 13501-1+A1 – Classification of building products
Features
Ignition System
10 kV spark igniter with fire-off safety system; position automatically detected via mechanical linkage.
Fully automated ignition, timing, gas control, and flame-off functions.
Exhaust System
Stainless-steel design including hood, pipes, diffusion plate, orifice flow meter, and axial-flow fan.
Long-life stainless-steel smoke collection cover, sampling needle, and exhaust fan.
Gas Sampling System
Ring sampler with 12 evenly distributed pores opposite airflow direction.
Three-stage 0.5 μm precision filtration with particle filter, CO₂ filter, and water trap.
Refrigerated cold trap with 0–5 °C temperature control.
Dust filter installed 685 mm from smoke-collecting hood.
Measuring System
Paramagnetic O₂ analyzer (0–25%), Servomex sensor with linear response.
Laser system for smoke-density measurement.
High-precision load cell for dynamic mass-loss monitoring.
PID temperature control with three thermocouples for cone-heater measurement.
User Operating System
LabVIEW-based professional control platform; intuitive and user-friendly.
PID temperature controller integrated with programmable control module.
PLC-based acquisition and airflow regulation; automatic sample ID management and database recordkeeping.
Technical Parameters
| Item | Parameter | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Power supply | – | 208–230 V, 50/60 Hz, 50 A, single phase |
| Cone heater | – | 5000 W Inconel heater, 0–120 kW/m² |
| Sample size | – | 100 mm × 100 mm × ≤50 mm |
| Ignition | – | 10 kV automatic spark igniter |
| Temperature control | – | PID, 3× K-type thermocouples |
| Exhaust system | – | Stainless-steel hood, duct, orifice meter, axial fan |
| Gas sampling | – | 12-pore ring sampler, 0.5 µm triple filtration, 0–5 °C cold trap |
| Gas analyzers | – | O₂ paramagnetic (0–25%); CO₂ NDIR (0–10%); CO NDIR (0–1%) |
| Smoke measurement | – | He-Ne laser photometric system |
| Load measurement | – | Sartorius load cell, 0.01 g resolution |
| Data acquisition | – | 16-bit A/D, 4 scans/sec |
| Control system | – | LabVIEW + PLC, touchscreen control |
| Data output | – | Excel reports, customizable formats |
| System configuration | – | 19″ rack modules; customizable full-system layout |
Accessories
• 10 kV electronic igniter
• Stainless-steel exhaust hood and ducting
• Orifice plate flow-measurement module
• Laser smoke-density measurement system
• Paramagnetic oxygen analyzer
• CO and CO₂ NDIR analyzers
• Load-cell weighing module
• Cold trap (0–5 °C)
• Gas-sampling ring with 12 sampling ports
• LabVIEW control software and PLC system
• Sample holder and retainer frame
• Data-acquisition platform and reporting package
FAQ
(1) What is this product?
The Cone Calorimeter is an instrument used to evaluate fire performance of materials by measuring heat release, mass loss, and smoke production during combustion.
(2) What is this product used for?
You can use it to assess building materials, furniture, textiles, plastics, and fire-retardant materials for fire behavior, heat release rate, and smoke generation.
(3) How does this product work?
It ignites samples in a controlled environment and measures heat release, mass loss, smoke, and gas concentrations using thermocouples, load cells, gas analyzers, and data acquisition systems.
(4) Why is this product important?
It provides precise, standardized, and repeatable fire performance data, supporting safety assessment, regulatory compliance, and material development.
(5) Which industries is this product suitable for?
This instrument is suitable for building materials, furniture, textile, plastics, fire-retardant material development, research laboratories, and certification agencies.
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