Flame retardant performance of oriented strand board treated with boric acid-borax and polymeric betaine by cone calorimeter.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of polymeric betaine (PB) on the fire retardant performance of oriented strand board(OSB) treated with 12% of boric acid-borax (1∶1). The panels were produced with phenol formaldehyde resin. The fire retardant performance of OSB was studied by cone calorimeter. The flammability parameters, including average heat releasing rate (av-HRR), total heat release (THR), average mass loss rate (MLR), total smoke release (TSP) and average specific extinction area ( av-SEA) were recorded simultaneously. The results showed that most combustion parameters of OSB decreased by the treatment. Especially for the OSB treated with PB and boric acid- borax, the av-SEA and TSP decreased dramatically ,which indicated a synergistic effect between PB and boric-acid-borax in OSB. Meanwhile, the formation of charcoal was promoted with the presence of PB.