BS Testing
B.S. / European Standards
New European Legislation is about to come into force for fire stopping and reaction to fire
Under the Construction Products Directive 89/106/EEC standards for fire testing must be harmonised so that no technical obstacles exist to inhibit trade between member countries for products in the construction field.
The overall Standard for Fire safety in Buildings is CEN/TC127. The list below is not exhaustive but covers the areas we deal with:-
EN 1363 Fire Resistance Testing Procedure
EN 1365 Fire Resistance test for loadbearing elements
- Part 1 Walls
- Part 2 Floors and roofs
- Part 3 Beams
- Part 4 Columns
EN 1366 Fire Resistance test for service installations
- Part 1 Fire Resistance Ducts
- Part 2 Fire dampers
- Part 3 Penetration Seals
- Part 4 Linear Joint Seals
- Part 5 Service ducts and shafts
- * part 6-10 are not yet mandated by EC.
EN 1634 Fire Resistance tests for doors and shutter assemblies
- Part 1 Fire doors and shutters
- Part 2 Equipment for fire doors
- Part 3 Smoke control doors
ENVYYY5 Contribution to fire resistance of structural members
- Part 1 Horizontal membrane protection
- Part 2 Vertical membrane protection
- Part 3 Concrete elements
- Part 4 Steel elements
- Part 5 Flat concept/profiled composite elements
- Part 6 Concrete filled hollow steel columns
- Part 7 Timber elements
In order to prepare ourselves for this new regime Firetherm has recently undertaken one of the largest tests in the UK industry's history at Warrington.
Nine separate penetrations were tested in one 3m x 3m furnace, from an air duct/dampner construction to 70mm solid copper cored armoured cables, using a mixture of single and double Intubatts and Intucompound mortar.
The test ran to 4hrs and the intention was to gather information for future specifications to achieve fire integrity and insulation for future European and other testing around the world.
Intumescent – when exposed to heat, the property of certain compounds to expand to form a char that can fill voids in constructions and form a barrier that partially reflects the heat of a fire and partially insulates against it.
BS 476. Fire tests on building materials and structures.
Part 1. 1953. Fire tests on building materials and structures (withdrawn).
Part 2. 1955. Flammability test for thin flexible materials (withdrawn).
Part 3. 1975. External fire exposure roof test.
Part 4. 1970. Non-combustibility test for materials.
Part 5. 1979. Method of test for ignitability (withdrawn)
Part 6. 1989. Method of test for fire propagation for products.
A method used to test for combustibility of a material. In order to claim Class ‘0’ a material must also pass the BS 476 pt 7 test ‘Spread of Flame’. Acceptable pass criteria ‘1’ > 12, I > 6.
Part 7. 1987. Method for classification of the surface spread of flame products. A method of test to determine whether materials allow flame to spread across their surface. Class 1 is the highest standard, performance is measured in four classes.
- Class 1 Max. 165 mm flame spread in 10 mins
- Class 2 Max. 215 mm flame spread in 10 mins
- Class 3 Max. 265 mm flame spread in 10 mins
- Class 4 Greater than the above.
- Click Here for more details on Class 1 And Class 0.
Part 8. 1972. Test methods and criteria for the fire resistance of elements of building construction (withdrawn).
Part 10. 1983. Guide to the principles and application of fire testing.
Part 11. 1982. Method for assessing the heat emission from building materials.
Part 12. 1991. Method of test for ignitability of products by direct flame impingement.
Part 13. 1987. Method of measuring the ignitability of products subjected to thermal irradiance (ISO 5657).
Part 20. 1987. Method for determination of the fire resistance of elements of construction (general principles).
Part 21. 1987. Methods for determination of the fire resistance of load bearing elements of construction.
Part 22. 1987. Methods for determination of the fire resistance of non-load bearing elements of construction.
Part 23. 1987. Methods for determination of the contribution of components to the fire resistance of a structure.
Part 24. 1987. Method for the determination of the fire resistance of ventilation ducts (ISO 6944).
More to follow soon!
