Flame Retardant Paper & Paperboard Flammability Tester: Proving Paper Stops Burning — BRT ZBY

Paper burns fast. Flame-retardant paper is supposed to stop — but how do you prove it?

From food packaging and decorative wall panels to industrial insulation paper, flame-retardant paper and paperboard sit in some of the most fire-sensitive corners of daily life. Yet paper is one of the hardest materials to make genuinely fire-safe: it ignites easily and, once burning, can spread a flame in seconds. That is why flame-retardant paper products — coated, printed or water-leached — must pass standardized flammability testing before they can be certified for use.

As a professional manufacturer of flammability testing instruments, Baoruitong Automation Equipment Co., Ltd. (BRT) presents the ZBY Flame Retardant Paper & Paperboard Combustion Tester, a dedicated vertical flammability test machine developed strictly per GB/T 14656-2009

What Does the Paper Flammability Test Measure?

Per GB/T 14656-2009 (Test method for burning behavior of flame-retardant paper and paperboard), a paper specimen is tested in a vertical position under a controlled flame, and the instrument precisely records the two core flammability indicators:

  • Afterflame time — how long the specimen continues to burn after the ignition source is removed
  • Afterglow time — how long the specimen continues to glow without a visible flame

These numbers provide standardized, reliable data that paper factories, packaging material manufacturers, fire safety inspection institutions and paper material R&D laboratories use to verify the flame-retardant qualification of paper products — including samples after water leaching treatment.

ZBY: Built for Precise, Repeatable Paper Flame Testing

Full compliance with GB/T 14656-2009

  • Fully matched burner size, ignition time and specimen requirements, with test results recognized for flame-retardant paper product certification and quality inspection

Ultra-high precision timing system

  • ±0.01 s high-precision fixed 12-second flame application timing
  • Independent digital screen displays afterflame and afterglow duration in real time up to 99 minutes 99 seconds, eliminating manual reading error

Multi-gear adjustable burner structure

  • Bunsen burner (inner diameter 10 mm ± 0.2 mm) supports 0°–45° tilt adjustment in 5° steps (8 adjustable gears)
  • Freely adjustable blue flame height from 15 mm to 175 mm, matched with a dedicated flame height calibration ruler

Single-chip intelligent automatic control

  • Integrated MCU control module with automatic timing cycle and manual ignition design, providing stable propane gas supply and consistent flame conditions for repeatable test data

Large transparent sealed observation cabinet

  • Vertical closed combustion chamber with a big tempered glass viewing window — operators can clearly observe paper burning, flame spread and glowing combustion without opening the cabinet door

Compact desktop integrated design

  • Small footprint (670 × 300 × 800 mm) and lightweight at around 40 kg, with power consumption under 100 W — easy to install and move in paper factories, small QC labs and third-party testing centers

Wide applicable sample range

  • Suitable for all flame-retardant paper, paperboard, coated, printed and water-leached paper materials with thickness ≤ 1.6 mm, covering packaging, decorative and industrial flame-retardant paper products
  • Standard specimen size: 210 mm × 70 mm; test fuel: liquefied propane with purity ≥ 95%
  • Working environment: −10 °C to 30 °C, relative humidity ≤ 85%; power supply AC 220 V ± 10%, 50 Hz

Who Needs the ZBY Paper Combustion Tester?

  • Flame-retardant paper, paperboard and packaging material manufacturers — verifying production lots before shipment
  • Coated & printed fire-resistant paper production factories — including water-leached sample testing
  • Paper product quality supervision and inspection institutions
  • Third-party fire safety testing laboratories
  • Pulp & paper material flame-retardant research institutes

FAQ

What is a flame retardant paper tester? A flame retardant paper tester is a vertical flammability testing instrument that measures the burning behavior of flame-retardant paper and paperboard — primarily afterflame time and afterglow time — under a controlled flame, per standards such as GB/T 14656-2009.

Which standard applies to paper flammability testing? GB/T 14656-2009 (Test method for burning behavior of flame-retardant paper and paperboard) is the core standard, supported by GB/T 5907.1 for fire safety terminology and GB/T 10739-2023 for standard atmosphere conditioning of paper and board.

Which paper materials can be tested? Flame-retardant paper, paperboard, coated, printed and water-leached paper materials with thickness ≤ 1.6 mm — covering packaging, decorative and industrial flame-retardant paper products.

How does the ZBY tester work? A 210 mm × 70 mm specimen is exposed to a fixed 12-second flame from a 0°–45° adjustable burner; the instrument’s ±0.01 s precision timing system automatically records afterflame and afterglow time up to 99 minutes 99 seconds.

Why is afterglow time important for paper? Paper can continue glowing without a visible flame after the flame is removed, which can reignite nearby materials. Measuring both afterflame and afterglow time gives a complete picture of a paper product’s fire risk.

Get a Quote

Need a reliable flame retardant paper tester for paper flammability certification or QC? Contact Baoruitong Automation Equipment Co., Ltd. today for the ZBY datasheet, test procedure guidance and a customized quotation. Every BRT instrument is backed by a 1-year warranty, installation guidance, operation training and long-term after-sales support.

Email: info@brt-test.com | WhatsApp: +86 15604057553 | Web: www.brt-test.com