Flammability: Testing Burn Rate with Improper Sample Size fmvss 302

[julia.artos]

Hello everyone,
I hope i can find an answer to my question.
Im working at a testlab and we test the burn rate of plastics according to fmvss 302 and other norms.
Can i give our customers a burn rate, if the sample has dimensions like 20mm x 60 mm? If you subtract the first 38 mm, that are not measured, then the remaining 22 mm are used for burn rate calculation. Is this statistically firm?
Standart would be 100 mm x 356 mm.
Im concerned mostly about the lenght.

What happens, if we determine a burn rate like this and something happens? Our customers could send us trial records to determine flammability, but we would have to give them reasons.

 

[Hershal]

Typically flammability standards specify the sample size, for example a mini-calorimeter may use a 25mm by 25mm sample. If the applicable standards specify the size then trim the sample to that size.

For fmvss, Federal DOT should specify the size.

Hope this helps.