Effect of Bubbling on Ignition of PMMA Slab: Change in Thermo-Physical and Thermo-Radiative Properties

In semi-transparent polymers, ignition is not only dependent on conductive thermal transfer into the material but also on in-depth absorption of the radiation. The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of bubbling on the thermo-physical and thermo-radiative properties of PMMA and how it may affect its ignition. PMMA plates of varying thickness were exposed to the heat flux of two radiative sources with different emission spectra. Exposure was stopped after different periods of time to study bubbling kinetics and bubble size distribution by optical microscopy. Front and back surface temperatures of samples were recorded during heat exposure. The results indicate that the bubble size distribution is closely related to the temperature gradient within the sample. Steep thermal gradients lead to small-sized bubbles underneath the exposed surface, while weak thermal gradients generate a wider size distribution with in-depth bubbling. All thermo-physical quantities k, ρ and Cp were shown to decrease with increasing bubbling degree. Likewise, it was highlighted that bubbling modifies the thermo-radiative properties of PMMA, especially in the near-infrared range. Transmittance decreases while absorbance increases with a bubbling degree. The increase in the absorption coefficient was attributed to multiple scattering by bubbles that expand the pathway of radiation into the materials. It was concluded that changes in both the thermo-physical and thermo-radiative properties with bubbling were likely to account for the delay in ignition observed when using the near-infrared heating source.