[Beowulf] materials for air shroud?

[Lux, Jim (337C)]

Paper doesn't catch fire at 451F.. it does start to turn brown. (Sorry Ray..)
(I cook bacon on a rack over paper in a 450 degree oven.. and I doubt the temperature control is that tight)

Flammability is an issue.. paper is rougher than most plastics, so a spark can lodge or a small fiber could catch.  You could fireproof the paper pretty easily with a variety of treatments.


Jim Lux
+1(818)354-2075 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Mathog [mailto:mathog at caltech.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 12:15 PM
> To: Lux, Jim (337C); beowulf at beowulf.org
> Subject: RE: [Beowulf] materials for air shroud?
> 
> > Cardboard? Card stock? Masking tape? White glue? (that's what I
> > usually use for cooling ducts.. easy to cut, glue, tape..)  It's no
> > more flammable than plastic, and it doesn't melt and get soft.
> 
> That never crossed my mind.
> 
> You sure about the flammability?  I believe it for the ignition due to
> temperature (Fahrenheit 451 and all that).  However, I have a gut
> feeling (but no data) that sparks are fairly likely to ignite cardboard,
> and less likely to ignite a solid plastic sheet (polyethylene or
> polypropylene, for instance).  Not that I'm expecting sparks, but that
> is a real possibility when a power supply fails.  Maybe even a brief
> flame.  Of course paper won't hold up well compared to plastic if it
> gets wet.  Moisture resistance is not important here though - if the
> insides of the computer are dripping, air shroud failure is the least of
> my worries.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> David Mathog
> mathog at caltech.edu
> Manager, Sequence Analysis Facility, Biology Division, Caltech