Life cycle assessment of glass/polyester laminates used in the shipbuilding industry and its fire behavior

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the environmental performance of the manufacturing process of glass/polyester laminates as well as estimate their fire behaviour and smoke release. The Life Cycle Assessment was conducted according to the ISO14040/44 standard by using the CML-IA 2000 Baseline Midpoint method. The cone calorimeter study was conducted using a cone calorimeter method according to ISO 5660. The tests were performed under 25 kW/m2 heat flux 50 kW/m2. The results showed that according to the requirements of the Fire Test Procedure (FTP) Code examined, laminates in this form cannot be used in some applications. The LCA study showed that the highest impact is attributed to marine aquatic ecotoxicity (88.3%), with the highest contribution of the unsaturated polyester resin and the glass fibre.