Fire, Thermal & Acoustic Insulation
New European Resistance To
Fire Standards
Introduction
• Brief introduction to CEN
• Brief introduction to
reaction to fire standards
• Resistance to fire
standards
• Examples of fire tested
systems
Background
• The European Union is promoting a free flow of
goods within the Union
• The free flow of goods was limited due to
technical barriers between the national member
states
• Harmonize standards within the European Union
to enable a free flow of construction products
• ‘Real fire experience' should be the basis for
adopting new fire tests
Background
Background
UK Fire Statistics 2002 – 623 attributed deaths in 1999
Historically, UK has not required limits in smoke generation from building products
Between 1987 –97, a 100% increase occurred in those effected by gas or smoke
CEN
European Committee for Standardisation
CEN, the European Committee for
Standardization, was founded in
1961 by the national standards
bodies in the European Economic
Community:
• 28 National Members and their
respective experts vote for and
implement European Standards
• 8 Associate Members and two
Counsellors
• CEN Management Centre, Brussels
CEN Membership
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Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
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Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Construction Product Directive
• The European Commission gives
mandates to CEN
• The commission issues mandates in
accordance with the Construction Product
Directive, in order to ensure that the
standards fulfil the essential requirement
Essential Requirements In CPD
• Mechanical resistance and stability
• Safety in case of fire
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Hygiene, health and the environment
Safety in use
Protection against noise
Energy economy and heat retention
Safety In Case Of Fire
Construction works must be designed and built in
such a way that in the event of an outbreak of fire:
• the load-bearing capacity of the construction can be
maintained for a specific period of time
• the generation and spread of fire and smoke within
the works are limited
• the spread of the fire to neighbouring construction
works is limited
• occupants can leave the works or be rescued by
other means
• the safety of rescue teams is taken into
consideration
CEN TC 127
• CEN is organised in Technical Committees
• TC127 is responsible for the development
and maintenance of the standards for fire
safety in buildings
• CEN TC127 is organised into working
groups taking care of specific items
• The working groups have members from
laboratories, industry and authorities
New EN Fire Testing Standards
• CEN TC 127 has compiled a set of
harmonised fire testing and classification
standards which enables the industry to
fulfil the second essential requirement
• The work is still in progress and new
standards will be produced
• The EN standards will be reviewed every 5
year
New EN Fire Testing Standards
The new standards are prepared using
existing national and ISO standards in
accordance with the Vienna Agreement
Old National Fire Testing Standards
Old national standards such as BS, DIN,
AFNOR etc. will be withdrawn after a
transition period, when an EN standard is
issued, the existing standards will no
longer be maintained or be valid for use
Reaction To Fire / Resistance To Fire
Reaction To Fire
Short introduction
Reaction To Fire
• As part of the new EN
standard system, a
new reaction to fire
classification and
testing system has
been developed
• This new system
replaces the existing
28 national systems
Reaction To Fire
In order to be able to classify a building
product with respect to reaction to fire a
set of test shall be done:
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Non- combustibility test EN ISO 1182
Calorific potential EN ISO 1716
SBI (single burning Item) EN 13823
Small scale Flame EN 11925
Reaction To Fire
Reaction To Fire
After testing a construction product
classification is made in accordance with
EN 13501-1
Class A1 and Class A2
Class B to Class F
Resistance To Fire
Resistance To Fire Basic Standards
• EN 1363-1 1999
Fire resistance tests - Part 1:
General requirements
• EN 1363-2 1999
Fire resistance tests - Part 2:
Alternative and additional procedures
These standards describe the
basic requirements to fire testing
EN 1363-1 1999
• This standard is replacing ISO 834 as
basic for fire tests
• The major difference between ISO 834
and EN 1363-1 are:
– Thermocouples for furnace control
– Pressure in furnace
– The use of rowing thermocouples
– The use of gap gauges
Thermocouples For Furnace Control
• Plate thermocouple
Consequences Of The New Plate
Thermocouples For Furnace Control
• The large exposed
surface of the plate
thermocouple makes
it more sensitive to
radiation than a
conventional TC
• This compensates for
the differences in the
thermal
characteristics of the
furnaces
Consequences Of The New Plate
Thermocouples For Furnace Control
Difference between plate thermometer reading and
thermocouple readings
250
1000
900
Temperature °C
700
ISO
600
150
Avg. Plate
500
Avg. Ø2
Avg. Ø1
400
ø1-Plate
100
ø2-Plate
300
50
200
Temperature Difference °C
200
800
• This graph shows a
test controlled by a
plate thermocouple
• The temperatures
measured by a
conventional TC are
higher therefore the
test is less severe
100
0
0
600
1200
1800
Sec.
2400
3000
0
3600
The graph is produced by DIFT
Consequences Of The New Plate
Thermocouples For Furnace Control
• The fire exposure in
tests according to EN
1366-1 is more
severe and give a
higher degree of fire
safety
• Every European fire
test laboratory will
produce a uniform
result
Consequences Of The New Plate
Thermocouples For Furnace Control
P
• The required pressure in
the furnace is increased
to 20 Pa 100 mm from
the top of the sample and
a negative 20 Pa 100mm
above the furnace base
of a horizontal sample
• The neutral plane has
consequently been
moved to a lower point
bbb
Consequences Of The New Plate
Thermocouples For Furnace Control
• Constructions sensitive to leakages in
joints will have more severe conditions
• The integrity criteria will fail earlier due to
the higher pressure, as hot gases will be
will be pressed out through any small
leakages
Roving Thermocouple
• In addition to the fixed
thermocouples on the
unexposed surface of the
sample a roving
thermocouple can be
used to determine hot
spots on the unexposed
surface
• Hot spots can now be
detected even if they are
far away from fixed
thermocouples
Integrity Failure
Gap gauges of 6mm
or 25mm wide are
used where cracks
form between
elements in the
sample, in
conjunction with
cotton pads to
determine whether
integrity failure has
occurred
EN 1363-2
This standard describes alternative and
additional procedures to EN 1363-1
– HC curve
– External exposure curve
– Slow heating curve
– Measurement of radiation
(glazed constructions)
– Impact exposure
(sand bag and steel ball)
EN 1363-2
HC
Normal
Slow
External
Specific Resistance To Fire Standards
EN 1364 Fire resistance tests for nonload bearing elements
– Part 1: Walls
– Part 2: Ceilings
– prEN 1364 Part 3 Curtain Wall
(full configuration)
Specific Resistance To Fire Standards
EN 1365 Fire resistance tests for load
bearing elements
– Part 1: Walls
– Part 2: Floors and Roofs
– Part 3: Beams
– Part 4: Columns
– Part 5: Balconies and Walkways
– Part 6: Stairs
Specific Resistance To Fire Standards
EN 1366 Fire resistance tests for service
installations
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Part 1: Ducts (ventilation ducts)
Part 2: Fire dampers
Part 3: Penetration seals
prEN 1366 part 4 Part 4: Linear joint seals
Part 5: Service ducts and shafts
Part 6: Raised access and hollow core floors
Part 7: Conveyor systems and their closures
Part 8: Smoke extraction ducts
PrEN 1366 Part 9 Single compartment smoke extraction ducts
PrEN 1366 Part 10: Smoke control dampers
Specific Resistance To Fire Standards
EN 1634 Fire resistance tests for door and
shutter assemblies
– Part 1: Fire doors and shutters
– Part 3: Smoke control doors and shutters
Specific Resistance To Fire Standards
ENV 13381 Test methods for determining the
contribution to the fire resistance of
structural members
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Part 2: Vertical protective membranes
Part 3: Applied protection to concrete members
Part 4: Applied protection to steel members
Part 5: Applied protection to concrete/profiled
sheet steel composite members
– Part 6: Applied protection to concrete filled
hollow steel columns
– Part 7: Applied protection to timber members
Specific Resistance To Fire Standards
• All standards have a clear description of
direct field of application of a test result
• All standards will be followed up with a
EXtended field of APplication standard
(EXAP), which gives rules for the
extension of the field of application
• The EXAP standard will reduce the need
for Engineering assessments, and give
uniform evaluation criteria
Specific Resistance To Fire Standards
• Almost every part of the construction and
services industry are covered by its own
standard
• The large number of standards minimize
the need for ad-hoc testing of specific
constructions
Classification Of Fire Resisting
Constructions
After a successful fire test the construction
can be classified in accordance with one
of the following standards
Classification Of Fire Resisting
Constructions
EN 13501 consists of the following parts:
– Part 1: Classification using data from reaction to fire
tests
– Part 2: Classification using data from fire resistance
tests, excluding ventilation services
– Part 3: Classification using data from fire resistance
tests on components of normal building service
installations
– Part 4: Classification using data from fire resistance
tests on components of smoke control systems
Classification Of Fire Resisting
Constructions
R - Mechanical resistance
– limiting deformation
– limiting rate of deformation
E - Integrity
– ignition of cotton pad
– cracks and openings
– occurrence of sustained flaming on the unexposed
side
I - Insulation
– average temperature rise
– maximum temperature rise
Classification Of Fire Resisting
Constructions
W - Radiation
– maximum radiation level
S - Smoke leakage
– limiting leakage rate
M - Mechanical action
– resistance to impact
C - Self-closing
– self closure in the event of fire
Classification Of Load Bearing
Walls With Fire Separating Function
Classification Of Load Bearing
Floors And Roofs
With Fire Separating Function
EN 1364 Resistance Tests
For Non-Load Bearing Elements
Part 1: Walls
Fixing to three sides of the frame:
• A free edge giving the wall assembly a
three dimensional deflection as in practice
• This gives a more severe condition than if
the wall only was fixed to two sides which
only gives a two dimensional deflection
EN 1364 Resistance Tests For NonLoad Bearing Elements Part 1: Walls
Ceilings
prENV 13381-2 or EN 1364-1
Suspended ceilings can be handled in two
different configurations.
Deck
prENV 13381-2
EN 1364-1
Suspended ceiling
Ducts EN 1366-1
• Ventilation ducts are required to be tested
for fire inside, outside, horizontal and
vertical a total of 4 tests to obtain a full
classification
• If ventilation ducts are to be used for
smoke and heat extraction further testing
is necessary
Ducts EN 1366-1
Furnac e wall
500
Duct with 900 elbo w
2000
Fire stop ping as
in practice
500
Rigid restra int, if a pp lica ble
500
Sea le d end
Joint
Mea surem ent
of elo ng atio n
or shortening
Insulation
Fa n
T-piece
Furnac e cha mb er
300 Lightweight p artition
Restraint force
m easuring de vic e, if
a pp lic ab le
Opening
Fa n
500
2000
500
2500
2500
Example Duct A Horizontal
Example Duct A Horizontal
New European Resistance To Fire
Standards
Summary