Abstract: In order to study the thermal response of glass fiber vinyl ester resin composites in fire, considering the pyrolysis process in fire, the thermal response equations were established, and a finite difference method was used to calculate and analyze the material′s internal time-dependent temperature progressions and carbonization subjected to one-sided heat flux. The theoretical results from the established nonlinear thermal response equations were validated against experimental data and a good agreement is observed. As the heating time increases, the material is completely carbonized, the temperature changes tend to be stable, and the distribution of material temperature with depth position changes from nonlinear to linear. With the increase of the depth, the time for the glass fiber vinyl ester resin composites reaching the pyrolysis temperature increased and the carbonization process slowed down. The residual mass fraction of materials at different depth in the pyrolysis reaction zone is slightly different at the same temperature, the residual mass fraction decreased and the degree of carbonization increased as the depth of the position rose.

Key words: glass fiber vinyl ester resin composites, thermal response, carbonization, thermal decomposition