https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202637701009
Experimental study of flammability behavior of CFRP based on the addition of rice husk ash silica for an Automotive Component
1 Fire Safety Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
2 Institute of Microengineering and Nanoelectronics (IMEN), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published online: 2 July 2026
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of rice husk ash (RHA) silica addition on the fire resistance of CFRP composites. CFRP specimens were fabricated using the hand lay-up method with five RHA silica contents in the thermoset matrix: 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30%. Fire performance was evaluated through ignition time, burning rate, and mass loss rate (MLR) measurements. The results showed that increasing the RHA silica content significantly improved the fire resistance of CFRP. The ignition time increased from 22.36 s for neat CFRP to 64.20 s for CFRP containing 30% RHA silica, while the burning rate decreased from 22.9 mm/min to 5.3 mm/min. The enhanced fire performance is attributed to the thermal barrier effect of silica, which slows heat transfer and combustion propagation. These findings demonstrate that RHA silica is an effective, sustainable flame-retardant filler for CFRP composites and has strong potential for automotive components exposed to elevated temperatures or engine-related heat sources, improving both safety and service reliability.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2026
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
