Possibilities of using limited oxigen index (LOI) in the process of fire protection qualification

Abstract

We can notice in our world day by day that new and new materials are developed for the market without knowing their exact features under fire stress; moreover we have not got a method to measure or examine some features precisely. Authors present a new fire investigating method in this paper called limited oxygen index (LOI). Traditionally materials are investigated by methods where the rate of oxygen is 21 per cent. Method used by authors, called LOI is different from the traditional methods because it is able to measure the flammability of materials even in different oxygen rate conditions. With this method we can measure the flammability of such materials which cannot burn in normal conditions meaning
that, oxygen rate is 21 per cent. Because of the wide and quick spreading of new materials and also the stricter requirements against them LOI can be more dominant in the future classifying materials in fire protection view. Authors prove that using LOI method we can determine the flammability of materials more precisely.