Professor Björn Sundström
•   Director of the Department of Fire
Research at SP, Technical Research
Institute of Sweden
•   He developed proposals for European
Union regulations regarding reaction to fire of construction products. He received the Interflam award in 1996.
•   He is an appointed expert in the
European Group of Fire Experts for the CPR and participates in various committees on EU fire research and standardisation

SP  Technical  Research  Ins0tute  of  Sweden
Björn  Sundström
SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut

More  than  130  staff:  More  than  20  PhD/Lic  (4  professors),  ~10  PhD-­‐students,  more   than  40  engineers  (M.Sc.  and  others),  ~40  technicians  and  administra0ve  personnel
Björn  Sundström
SP  Fire  Research

Before  year  ≈2000  when  standards  for  reac0on  to  fire  were  NOT   harmonised  in  Europe
Best
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
Before the CPD
10
8
6
4
2
0
Worst
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Type of surface lining
Germany
Belgium
Denmark
France
Holland
England

AVer  year  ≈  2000  when  standards  for  reac0on  to  fire  WERE   harmonised  in  Europe
After the CPD
24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Type of surface lining
Germ any
Belgium
Denm ark
France
Holland
England
+ 24 more countries

The  Single  Burning  Item,  EN  13823,  for  tes0ng  of  linings   became  the  major  harmonised  standard  for  classifica0on   according  to  the  so  called  Euroclasses,  Com  decision
2000/147/EC

The  problem  of  valida0on
You  cannot  predict  fire  growth  based  on  first  principles  because:
The  absolute  values  of  SBI  test  data   are  rela6ve  to  the  test  set  up   and  not  giving  any  fundamental  fire  data  like  pyrolysis  rate  as   func0on  of  heat  aDack,  composi0on  of  pyrolysis  gas,  thermal   proper0es,  reac0on  orders  etc.
In  fact  there  are  not  really  any  standards  that  can  measure
fundamental  fire  data  on  building  products.   and
Computer  models  are  not  advanced  enough  to  generally  predict   fire  growth  using  fundamental  data.
SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut

Room  Corner  Test
ISO  9705/  EN  14390
Reference  Scenario

SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut

Real fire situations
Step 1
Reference scenarios that represent the real fire situations.
Step 2
Small or medium scale standard tests that reflect the burning behaviour in the reference scenario.
Regulatory need Performance criteria
Classification criteria
SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut

Heat Release Rate
(W)
Time (s)

FIGRA,  FIre  Growth  RAte,  maximum  value  of  HRR/
Heat Release Rate
(W) elapsed  test  0me
FIGRA shown as the slope of the straight line
Time (s)

European  class  limits  for  surface  linings  for  the  FIGRA   parameter  for  the  SBI  test
Euro class
A1
Limit value for FIGRA
(W/s)
20
Behaviour in the reference scenario ISO 9705/ EN 14390
No contribution to the fire
Typical product
Concrete, steel, masonry
A2
B
120
120
No flashover. Very limited contribution to the fire
No flashover
Plasterboard
Plasterboard
C
D
E
250
750
-
No flashover for 100 kW ignition source. Flashover for 300 kW source
Flashover after more than 2 min for
100 kW ignition source
Flashover before 2 min for 100 kW ignition source
Wall covering on plasterboard
Ordinary wood

Linings  –  Room  Corner  Test

SBI  for  tes0ng  and   classifica0on
Pipe  insula0on
Room  Corner  Test    with   pipe  installa0on  as   reference  scenario

EN  50399-­‐2-­‐1/2  for   tes0ng  and   classifica0on
Horizontal  and  ver0cal    reference   scenario  with  installa0ons

SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut
Facades  the  large  scale  scenario   is  also  the  classifica0on  test

More  to  do
§   Tents.   Fire  growth  in  tents  may  depend  on  if  a  hole  in  the  fabric  appears  and  thus  crea0ng   fire  ven0la0on.  The  SBI  test  is  not  modelling  that  effect.
§   Facades.   The  fire  scenario  is  flashover  in  a  compartment  followed  by  the  outburst  of  large   flames  aDacking  the  façade  or  a  something  burning  close  the  façade  like  a  waste  container.
The  fire  spread  along  the  facade  to  subsequent  floor  depends  on  material  as  well  as  details   in  moun0ng,  mechanical  proper0es  penetra0ons  etc.  Large  scale  classifica0on  test  is   necessary.
§   Sandwich  panels.   Fire  growth  is  strongly  depending  on  mechanical  proper0es  and  travel  of   pyrolysis  gases  in  the  structure.  Very  difficult  to  model  in  SBI  scale.  ISO  13784  in  large  scale   is  designed  for  these  products.
SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut

§   Validity  of  the  system  is  the  cornerstone  for  es0ma0ng   product  safety
§   Changes  in  the  actual  classifica0on  tests  need  to  be  jus0fied   in  terms  of  validity  as  well  as  reproducibility  of  the  test  data
§   The  reference  scenarios  in  the  European  system  for  products   reac0on  to  fire  classifica0on  are  necessary  for  the  valida0on   of  product  performance
SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut

SP  Sveriges  Tekniska  Forskningsins0tut