The Thermal Decomposition and Combustion Behavior of Combustible Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Combustible materials play a vital role across industrial, residential, and defense applications, yet their complex thermal decomposition and combustion behaviors still present pressing challenges for fire safety, environmental protection, and energy efficiency. From polymers and energetic compounds to biomass and other fuels, these materials undergo intricate physicochemical transformations that govern ignition, flame spread, heat release, and the production of hazardous by-products. Although decades of research have yielded valuable progress, our understanding of how material structure, thermal degradation kinetics, and combustion dynamics interact under varying conditions remains incomplete, leaving many open questions of both scientific and practical importance.

This Special Issue seeks to gather cutting-edge insights from experimental investigations, theoretical models, and numerical simulations that can shed new light on the decomposition and combustion of combustible materials. By fostering dialog on fundamental mechanisms, innovative testing methods, material modifications, and real-world applications, this collection aims to advance safer, more efficient, and more sustainable use of such materials. In doing so, it directly resonates with the scope of Fire, which is dedicated to exploring fire dynamics, material flammability, and fire safety science.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to:

• Pyrolysis kinetics and reaction mechanisms of combustible materials;
• Heat and mass transfer processes in thermal decomposition and combustion;
• Combustion characteristics and flame spread behavior;
• Thermal decomposition and combustion safety of hazardous energetic systems, such as lithium-ion batteries, thermite mixtures, and energetic materials;
• Combustion and pyrolysis behavior under special environments, including low-pressure, low-oxygen, and microgravity conditions;
• Fire toxicity and emission analysis during combustion;
• Advanced experimental techniques for thermal decomposition and combustion studies;
• Computational modeling and simulation of combustion processes;
• Strategies for fire safety enhancement and flame retardancy;
• Case studies on real-world fire incidents involving combustible materials.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Mi Li
Dr. Yulun Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fire is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.