Intumescent, catalyzed flame retardant systems for polyamide‐based powder bed fusion

Roumeliotis P, Schlicht S, Drummer D (2025)


Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Book Volume: 31

DOI: 10.1002/vnl.22212

Open Access Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/vnl.22212

Abstract

Flame-retardant properties of polymer components are essential to a broad variety of applications. However, the processing of flame-retardant thermoplastics in laser-based powder bed fusion remains challenging. To overcome prevailing limitations, a new polyphosphate-based intumescent flame-retardant system for polyamide 12 (PA12) based powder bed fusion was developed. For this purpose, PA12 was successfully manufactured in selective laser sintering (SLS) with different combinations of a multi-component flame-retardant system, consisting of ammonium polyphosphate (APP), pentaerythritol (PER) and manganese(II) oxide as a catalyst with four different energy densities in the range of 0.25–0.40 J mm−3. Relying on thermal and microscopic investigations, the process window was observed to remain unaffected by the intumescent flame-retardant system. All samples show a similar thermal degradation behavior, independent of the energy density during the manufacturing process, implying no chemical nor physical alterations of the flame-retardant additives induced by higher energy densities. The flame behavior was analyzed using limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL-94, and cone calorimeter measurements in combination with thermographic imaging. Maximum LOI values of 32.2% and a UL94 rating of V0 for specimens of 2.5 mm thickness were achieved. Cone calorimeter results show a significant reduction of 39% in peak heat release rate (pHRR) compared to a benchmark flame-retardant system, significantly enhancing flame-retardant properties over existing systems across all assessed metrics.

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How to cite

APA:

Roumeliotis, P., Schlicht, S., & Drummer, D. (2025). Intumescent, catalyzed flame retardant systems for polyamide‐based powder bed fusion. Journal of Vinyl & Additive Technology, 31. https://doi.org/10.1002/vnl.22212

MLA:

Roumeliotis, Paul, Samuel Schlicht, and Dietmar Drummer. "Intumescent, catalyzed flame retardant systems for polyamide‐based powder bed fusion." Journal of Vinyl & Additive Technology 31 (2025).

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