College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Term of Award

Summer 2026

Degree Name

Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Committee Chair

Hayri Sezer

Committee Member 1

Hossain Ahmed

Committee Member 2

Jose Jimenez Lugo

Committee Member 3

Shijin P. Kozhumal

Abstract

Gypsum boards (drywalls) are commonly used in building construction due to their fire-resistant properties. When exposed to fire, gypsum undergoes calcination, which leaves fire patterns on the gypsum board that can be used by fire investigators to determine the origin and cause of fires. Numerical prediction of gypsum calcination under fire exposure requires reliable gypsum thermochemistry models and material and thermophysical property data. While previous studies resulted in simplified correlations between the depth of calcination and incident heat flux, these correlations were limited for regular gypsum board. Different variants of drywalls (e.g., moisture and mold-resistant, Type C, Type X and sound-break drywall) contain various additives like glass fibers, vermiculite, borates etc. that may affect their behavior when exposed to fire.  A multi-scale characterization of these drywalls was performed through Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Chemical decomposition kinetics were obtained using model fitting approach and Arrhenius parameters were optimized using TGA data of multiple heating rates for accurate representation of data. The thermochemistry model was developed using the mass, momentum and energy conservation equations and was validated by comparing temperature predictions with Radiant Burner experimental measurements of temperature evolution across drywall’s thickness. Controlled experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of uniform heat fluxes on gypsum calcination, and the sensitivity of modeling parameters was assessed revealing porosity as the dominant factor influencing the internal temperature rise.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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Available for download on Thursday, June 10, 2027

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