074 - Engineering not magic, intumescent coatings with Andrea Lucherini

Intumescent coatings are not magic. They are a product of amazing engineering, a theatre of thermophysical properties that create an insulative layer that sometimes is the only thing holding fire from destroying a structure. A chemical masterpiece in which the onset of swelling is chosen so that the paint layer is soft just when the chemical compound used to foam starts releasing gasses. Sharing many features with natural carbon-made materials, they char and oxidize. And once you start modelling them, you soon realize how crazy the solid heat transfer can become when you change not only the thermal conductivity but also the size of your body. Boy, what a complexity in a sub-millimetre layer of paint!

To learn all about them, I have invited dr Andrea Lucherini of FRISSBE  and Ghent University, who mastered them in his MSc and PhD. Andrea covers in detail all the mag... I mean engineering that goes into an intumescent coating and shares his own journey in this world.

In this episode, we have referenced episode 70 with Piotr Turkowski - fire resistance. If you have not heard it, it's a good moment to catch up.

Andrea has provided me links to his research, which I highly recommend:
- PhD thesis: https://doi.org/10.14264/uql.2020.1021
- modelling: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2022.107922
- influence of heating conditions and thickness: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.103078
- influence of substrate: https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.2840
- application on timber: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2019.102887
- critical literature review: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2019.105712
- onset of swelling: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2019.03.014
- MSc thesis paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2017.10.004

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