FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA):
Test is run with flat sheet at least two inches wide and twelve inches long. The piece is held vertically and a one and one half inch gas flame is applied.
25.853a Flame is applied for sixty seconds. To pass the flame must go out within fifteen seconds.
25.853b Flame is applied for twelve seconds. To pass the flame must go out within fifteen seconds.
25.853a-I Heat release and toxic fume requirements. It requires a highly specific product to pass this.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORATION (DOT):
Requirements apply to automobile interiors. This is a horizontal burn test very similar to Underwriters Laboratories HB.
MVSS 302 Flame may not progress across the test piece at more than four inches per minute. Most plastics will pass this test requirement if they are one eighth inch thick or greater.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD):
Requirements apply to materials used in interior construction. These are different depending on their location. Areas near kitchen range and furnace are tough to meet; most other areas are not. Two test methods are used.
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS (ASTM) E-84 is called the Tunnel Test and is also used by Underwriters Laboratories for building construction materials. This test burns a panel about three feet wide and twenty feet long, which is the ceiling of the tunnel. A large gas flame is ignited at one end, and the rate of flame spread along the ceiling is measured in comparison to red oak. Small numbers are desirable.
Class A = 0-25
Class B = 26-75
Class C = 76-200
Red Oak = 100
ASTM E-162 is called the flame spread index test. It mounts a twelve by eighteen-inch panel at a 45 angle. A "toaster" panel heats the panel and a small flame ignites the panel from the top. The rate of flame travel down the panel is measured.
LIMITED OXYGEN INDEX (LOI) - ASTM D-2863
Test measures the minimum level of oxygen in air that would support burning of the test material. This is conducted in a cylinder where the percentage of oxygen can be varied. A good material requires more than the eighteen percent oxygen that is in the air we breathe.