What is a Cone Calorimeter/Cone calorimetric test equipment?

The Cone Calorimeter is a precision fire-testing instrument designed to evaluate material combustion behaviors based on oxygen-consumption calorimetry. It measures critical fire-reaction parameters such as heat release rate (HRR), mass loss, ignition time, smoke production, CO/CO₂ generation, and gas flow.Using a modular design, the system allows users to begin with essential components—such as heat-release measurement or smoke analysis—and expand later into a full-feature fire-testing platform. This flexibility makes it ideal for research, certification, and quality-control laboratories across industries including construction, rail transit, marine, aerospace, automotive, and polymer materials.

Application

The Cone Calorimeter is widely used to evaluate fire performance of materials and products under controlled heat-flux exposure. It provides accurate characterization of heat release, smoke generation, ignition properties, toxic gas production, and combustion behavior.

Common applications include building materials, foams, plastics, composites, textiles, cable insulation, transportation materials (railway, maritime, automotive interiors), aerospace composites, polymer research, and fire-retardant development.

Its measurement data is essential for predicting fire hazards, conducting flame-retardant assessments, verifying regulatory compliance, and supporting fire-safety engineering analysis.

Standards

The system complies with major international fire-reaction standards, including:

ASTM E1354 – Heat and Visible Smoke Release Rates

ISO 5660-1 – Heat release, smoke production, and mass loss rate

ASTM E1474 – Flame spread evaluation

ASTM F1550 – Flame spread of plastics in furniture

ASTM E1740 – Large-panel cone calorimeter testing

ASTM D6113 – Fire performance of materials

IMO MSC 40(64) – Marine fire test procedures

BS 476-15 – Fire tests for building materials

NFPA 264 / NFPA 271 – Fire and smoke measurement standards

ULC-S135-04 – Canadian fire test standard

CSN EN 45545-2+A1 – Railway vehicle fire protection

CSN EN 13501-1+A1 – Classification of building products

Features

Ignition System

10 kV spark igniter with fire-off safety system; position automatically detected via mechanical linkage.

Fully automated ignition, timing, gas control, and flame-off functions.

Exhaust System

Stainless-steel design including hood, pipes, diffusion plate, orifice flow meter, and axial-flow fan.

Long-life stainless-steel smoke collection cover, sampling needle, and exhaust fan.

Gas Sampling System

Ring sampler with 12 evenly distributed pores opposite airflow direction.

Three-stage 0.5 μm precision filtration with particle filter, CO₂ filter, and water trap.

Refrigerated cold trap with 0–5 °C temperature control.

Dust filter installed 685 mm from smoke-collecting hood.

Measuring System

Paramagnetic O₂ analyzer (0–25%), Servomex sensor with linear response.

Laser system for smoke-density measurement.

High-precision load cell for dynamic mass-loss monitoring.

PID temperature control with three thermocouples for cone-heater measurement.

User Operating System

LabVIEW-based professional control platform; intuitive and user-friendly.

PID temperature controller integrated with programmable control module.

PLC-based acquisition and airflow regulation; automatic sample ID management and database recordkeeping.

Technical Parameters

Accessories

• 10 kV electronic igniter

• Stainless-steel exhaust hood and ducting

• Orifice plate flow-measurement module

• Laser smoke-density measurement system

• Paramagnetic oxygen analyzer

• CO and CO₂ NDIR analyzers

• Load-cell weighing module

• Cold trap (0–5 °C)

• Gas-sampling ring with 12 sampling ports

• LabVIEW control software and PLC system

• Sample holder and retainer frame

• Data-acquisition platform and reporting package

Testing Principle

The core principle of the Cone Calorimeter is based on the oxygen consumption principle, which states that there is a fixed relationship between the amount of oxygen consumed during combustion and the amount of heat released by the material.

The specific testing process is as follows:

1. Thermal Radiation Simulation

The specimen is exposed to uniform thermal radiation generated by a conical electric heater, simulating the thermal effects of real fire exposure.

2. Oxygen Consumption Measurement

During combustion, the sample consumes oxygen from the surrounding air and produces combustion products such as:

carbon dioxide,

water vapor,

and other gases.

3. Heat Release Calculation

By measuring the amount of oxygen consumed and combining it with:

the known heat radiation power,

and the combustion characteristics of the material

(the oxygen consumption combustion heat value of most materials is approximately 13.1 MJ/kg, with a deviation of about 5%),

the system calculates key fire performance parameters such as:

Heat Release Rate (HRR),

and Total Heat Release (THR).

Test Procedures

Place the specimen in the sample holder and input test parameters via the touchscreen control system.

The system automatically performs ignition, heat-flux adjustment, and timing.

Real-time measurement of HRR, oxygen consumption, smoke density, mass loss, CO/CO₂ concentration, and temperature.

Data acquisition system stores all curves and numerical results in the integrated database.

Export test report through automated Excel reporting functions.

After testing, allow system purge and remove combusted residue.

Maintenance Information

Regularly inspect ignition electrode, spark generator, and flame-off mechanism.

Clean the exhaust hood and ducting to prevent soot buildup.

Calibrate oxygen, CO, and CO₂ analyzers periodically for accuracy.

Check load cell, thermocouples, and flow-measurement system for stability.

Inspect cold trap and refrigeration unit to ensure correct 0–5 °C operation.

Replace filters in the gas-sampling train as required.

Back up database files and update the LabVIEW system regularly.

Ensure all stainless-steel components remain clean and corrosion-free for long service life.

Testing Advantages

Cone calorimeter testing offers the following significant advantages:

1. High Accuracy

By adopting advanced measurement technologies and data processing methods, the system can accurately measure key parameters such as the heat release rate (HRR) of materials during combustion.

2. High Reliability

Through simulation of realistic fire conditions, the test can effectively reflect the actual combustion behavior and fire performance of materials under fire exposure environments.

3. Multi-Functionality

In addition to heat release rate, the system can also measure:

mass loss rate,

smoke generation rate,

and other combustion-related parameters,

providing comprehensive data for overall material performance evaluation.

4. Wide Applicability

The test is suitable for evaluating the combustion performance of various materials, including:plastics,wood,textiles and many other combustible materials.
In summary, the cone calorimeter is based on the oxygen consumption principle and serves as a key instrument for evaluating the fire resistance and combustion performance of materials.It can measure critical parameters such as:heat release rate (HRR),ignition time,mass loss rate as well as smoke production and toxic gas emissions.These data provide essential support for:material science research,fire safety assessment and the classification of flame-retardant performance levels.