New data for sandwich panels on the correlation between the SBI test method and the room corner reference scenario

Assessment of the fire behaviour of sandwich panels is continuously under discussion. The fire behaviour of these panels is a combination of material characteristics such as the core material and mechanical behaviour of the panels such as joints, dilations etc. The use of small or intermediate scale tests can be questioned for such types of products. Within the proposed European product standard for sandwich panels (prEN 14509) the intermediate scale test method SBI (EN 13823) has been suggested as the fire test method to certify panels. The standard does, however, use quite an artificial mounting procedure, which does not fully reflect the end‐use conditions of the panels. In a previous research project conducted by Nordtest it was shown that the correlation between the SBI test method and both the ISO 9705 and ISO 13784 part 1 was insufficient. The test data produced for the SBI test method, however, did not use the above mentioned mounting technique. In this article new data for a number of products are added to the database using the mounting procedure of the product standard. The data are compared with the previous data and show that the mounting method of the product standard results in slightly more severe conditions but that there are still discrepancies with the full‐scale test results. The data also show an unacceptable level of repeatability due to the fact that small dilations result in a wide variation of classification result. The new data together with the old data show once more that it is dangerous to make a fire safety assessment of a sandwich panel based on small or intermediate scale tests. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing the reaction to fire of cables by a new bench‐scale method

The recently approved EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR) applies to cables as construction products. The difficulty of predicting the fire performance of cables with respect to propagation of flame and contribution to fire hazards is well known. The new standard EN 50399 describes a full‐scale test method for the classification of vertically mounted bunched cables according to CPR. Consideration of the material, time, and thus cost requires an alternative bench‐scale fire test, which finds strong demand for screening and development purposes. The development of such a bench‐scale fire test to assess the fire performance of multiple vertically mounted cables is described. A practical module for the cone calorimeter is proposed, simulating the fire scenario of the EN 50399 on the bench scale. The efficacy of this module in predicting full‐scale CPR test results is shown for a set of 20 different optical cables. Key properties such as peak heat release rate (PHRR), fire growth rate (FIGRA), and flame spread are linked to each other by factors of around 5. In a case study, the bench‐scale test designed was used to investigate the influence of the main components on the fire behaviour of a complex optical cable. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Critical considerations on the use of a bi‐directional probe in heat release measurements

In various medium to large scale fire test equipment, such as the ISO room corner (RC) test and more recently the single burning item (SBI) test, the mass flow measurement of the combustion gases plays a key role in the determination of the heat release rate and smoke production rate. To date a bi‐directional low‐velocity pressure probe has been used to calculate this flow based on a differential pressure measurement on the axis of the exhaust duct. The objectives of this paper were to evaluate this bi‐directional probe—and the modified SBI version—when used for measuring flows in exhaust ducts. Recommendations are given on the future use of pressure probes measuring exhaust gas mass flows. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative study of test methods for assessment of fire safety performance of bus interior materials

This work concerns the assessment of fire performance of interior materials in buses. The widely used test method ISO 3795/FMVSS 302 has received much criticism mainly based on the fact that the test is a small‐scale method not suited for bus fires induced by for example fire in the engine compartment or fire in a tyre. Furthermore, test specimens are oriented horizontally, whereas much fire spread in a real bus fire occurs on vertically oriented products. Seventeen products were investigated: 11 textiles, four solids and two insulations. Three test methods were compared: ISO 3795, ISO 6941 and ISO 5658‐2. Given the existing criteria for interior materials, it was found that ISO 6941 and ISO 5658‐2 place harder requirements on the materials. When the three methods were compared, it was found that ISO 3795/FMVSS 302 and ISO 6941 are insufficient for simulating bus fires typically occurring today. Such fires are often initiated by a fire in the engine compartment or in a tyre and can hardly be simulated by small‐scale methods as ISO 3795/FMVSS 302 or ISO 6941 even if the ISO 6941 method to some extent gives results similar to the established large‐scale ISO 5658‐2 method. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of fire retarded and non‐fire retarded wood‐based wall linings exposed to fire in an enclosure

Full‐scale fire experiments were carried out in an ISO room to study the behaviour of commonly used cellulosic lining materials in real fire conditions. In addition to the temperature measurements recommended by the ISO 9705, temperature recordings were made at each node of grid lines on the wall lining surfaces. Four lining materials were chosen to represent different types of products and the surface spread of classifications determined using the BS 476 Part 7 flame spread test environment. The linings included fire retarded, melamine faced and non‐fire retarded boards which facilitated a comparative study of the behaviour of these materials with respect to ignition, flame spread, heat release rate and time to flashover. Corner fire scenarios were used in all the experiments. A T shape flame spread pattern on the surface of the two adjacent walls was observed prior to flashover. Prior to the onset of flashover conditions, downward opposed flow surface flame spread to the wall/ceiling intersection. For the non‐retarded wood based materials, such as plywood and medium density fibre board, flashover conditions occurred approximately 4 min after the start of the experiment. However, the fire retarded chipboard ignition was delayed by some 11 min 45 s after which flame spread was very rapid with flashover occurring within a further 1 min 45 s. An explanation for this particular behaviour is the considerable pre‐heating which occurred during the pre‐ignition period. For the fire retarded linings, much higher surface temperatures were recorded compared with those for non‐fire retarded linings. It was found that the areas of the fire retarded linings facing the source flame suffered extensive pyrolysis and charring which penetrated to the rear surface of the lining. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temperature effects on the mass flow rate in the SBI and similar heat‐release rate test equipment

In various medium‐to‐large‐scale fire test equipments like the ISO room corner test (RC), and more recently, the single burning item test (SBI) the mass flow rate measurement of the combustion gases plays a key role in the determination of the heat‐release rate and smoke‐production rate. With the knowledge of the velocity profile and the temperature of the flow, the mass flow rate is obtained by measuring the velocity on the axis of the duct. This is done by means of a bi‐directional probe based on the pitot principle. However, due to the variation of the mean temperature and the temperature gradient in any cross section of the duct, introduced by ever changing combustion gas temperatures, the velocity nor the density profile are constant in time. This paper examines the resulting uncertainty on the mass flow rate. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of the combustion products in large‐scale fire tests: comparison of three experimental configurations

The storage of large amounts of polymers and other bulk chemicals is a potential hazard in the case of fire. There is at present a lack of knowledge about the implications of such fires. In particular the role of the ventilation conditions on fire chemistry has warranted investigation. A set of indoor, large‐scale combustion experiments, conducted on five different materials is described in this article. The main test series was conducted using the ISO 9705 room, where both well‐ventilated and under‐ventilated conditions were attained by restricting the opening of the room. The degree of ventilation was determined using a phi meter. Furthermore, in addition to measuring the traditional fire‐related parameters, extensive chemical characterization of the combustion products was made. Two additional series of experiments were also performed. In one series of tests the size of the enclosure was increased and the fuel was placed in a storage configuration to simulate a real storage situation. In the other test series, three of the materials were tested as large‐scale open pool fires. The results from the three configurations are compared regarding yields of combustion products as a function of the degree of ventilation. For a number of toxic combustion products a clear dependence of the production on the equivalence ratio was found. Further, placing the fuel in a storage configuration did not significantly change the outcome of the combustion. Thus, the ISO 9705 room is of a size and scale that can be taken as a model for representing real‐scale fires. Additionally it has been demonstrated that an advantage of the ISO 9705 room is the ability to alter the ventilation conditions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a velocity pressure probe

In intermediate and large scale fire test applications, a bi‐directional low‐velocity pressure probe is used to obtain the volume flow. The probe was presented by McCaffrey and Heskestad in 1976 and has found its way to several international standards including the Room Corner test and the Single Burning Item test (SBI). The probe is considered ‘state of the art’ for measuring flow rate in fire test applications. The main disadvantage however is that the probe factor changes with pitch and/or yaw angle variations. The modified SBI pressure probe is less sensitive to angular variations but then again is Reynolds dependent. A new pressure probe design has been developed that combines a low angular sensitivity with a Reynolds independency over a wide range. Although the probe has been developed for intermediate and large scale fire test applications, its use is not limited thereto. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing cone calorimeter acceptance criteria for materials used in high speed craft

This paper presents an overview of a research programme to develop reaction‐to‐fire acceptance criteria for materials tested in the cone calorimeter. This work, sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, includes the testing of eight composite materials and one textile wall covering in several standard test methods. Materials were tested in the ISO 9705 room corner test, the cone calorimeter, the International Maritime Organization's surface flammability test apparatus, the smoke chamber, and in real‐scale configurations as furniture items and overhead luggage racks. Summary data from these tests are presented, with particular emphasis on correlations between the room corner test and the cone calorimeter. Data from this research programme were used to develop cone calorimeter acceptance criteria for materials used in furniture and other room contents in high‐speed craft. Future work will include more data analysis and fire growth modelling in order to further develop acceptance criteria for other materials, especially compartment linings. This programme has served as an example of how well‐planned and coordinated research can be effective tool in the evaluation of existing regulations and the development of new safety standards, helping to ensure public safety through technically justified standards. Published in 2000 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Burning characteristics of building products in the light of European harmonization

Countries in the EU are in the process of changing over to a harmonized reaction‐to‐fire classification based on the Construction Products Directive (CPD, 89/106/EC) relating to construction products. It aims to remove technical barriers to trade arising from national laws and regulations, thus enabling the creation of a single European market in construction products. To scrutinize scenario‐dependent effects on burning characteristics, representative building products have been tested using alternative test methods simulating more or less identical fire stages. The test methods were the SBI test and ISO 5658‐4. Comparison of the methods also allowed evaluation with regard to the valid risk assessment of the classification system to be expected. A correlation between different test procedures may be expected as far as the main fire parameters are concerned. The quantitative generation of smoke is, however, primarily a function of the burning rate. Qualitatively smoke density depends on the decomposition conditions — temperature and ventilation — so the time during which a product is involved in the fire is essential for the assessment of smoke density. To quantify the relevant parameters, systematic investigations were made with beech using test procedures ASTM E 662 and DIN 53436/7. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study on fire hazard of typical curtain materials in ISO 9705 fire test room

Curtain materials are commonly used as decoration, shade, or screen. They are flammable and are usually across a large part of a room, leading to the risk of a high fire hazard. Once ignited, the upward fire spread would accelerate the fire development in an enclosure. In this paper, fire hazard of three typical curtain materials with different pleat rates were tested in an ISO 9705 fire test room. Fire parameters such as temperature field, flame spread rate, heat release rate (HRR), and emitted gases, and the influences of pleat rate and cotton content on flame spread rate were investigated. The correlation between flame spread rate and HRR was discussed. The results show that the upward flame spread has an accelerating rate, and an inverted‐triangle burning area would emerge during the combustion. Some horizontal fibrillar structures appear in this burning area. Pleat rate and cotton content have considerable influence on the curtain fire behavior. The flame spread rate shows a linear response to HRR at the early stage. In addition, a function between average flame spread rate and pleat rate for engineering estimation is proposed, and a linear relationship between HRR/m_CO and m/m_CO has been obtained. The study results provide valuable reference to building fire simulation and safety design. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On non‐combustibility of commercial building materials

Non‐combustibility is discussed on the basis of experimental data for 66 commercial building materials obtained from two standard test methods: EN ISO 1716 oxygen bomb calorimeter and EN ISO 1182 cylindrical furnace. The sample materials are divided into five categories: concrete and ceramics, thermal/acoustic insulation materials, wall or ceiling boards, mortars and adhesives and thin coatings. To better distinguish between non‐combustible and combustible materials, an effective modified heat of combustion is defined and calculated for all materials tested in both methods. The materials studied exhibited very different mass loss values and a low tendency to auto‐ignite in the cylindrical furnace. Revised criteria for class A1 are proposed for better accuracy of reaction‐to‐fire assessment. It is proposed to use the oxygen bomb calorimeter with only one limit for the heat of combustion, that is, a value of 5 MJ/kg for all materials. The proposed approach is a very efficient tool for fast and inexpensive screening for non‐combustibility of building products and is expected to be a more precise method to distinguish between non‐combustible and combustible materials. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Particles from fires—a screening of common materials found in buildings

Small combustion generated particles are known to have a negative impact on human health and on the environment. In spite of the huge amount of particles generated locally in a fire accident, few investigations have been made on the particles from such fires. In this article, 24 different materials or products, typically found in buildings have been exposed to burning conditions in order to examine their particle generating capacity. In addition, a carbon fibre based composite material was tested in order to investigate if asbestos‐resembling particles could be generated in a fire situation. The majority of the experiments were performed in the small‐scale cone calorimeter, and some further data were collected in intermediate scale (SBI) and full scale (room‐corner) tests. Additional testing of the composite material was made in a small‐scale tubular reactor. The amount of particles and particle size distributions were measured by the use of a low‐pressure impactor and particle aerodynamic diameter sizes from 30 nm to 10 μm were measured. The results from the project show that the yield of particles generated varied significantly between materials but that the shape of mass and number size distributions were very similar for all the materials tested. The maximum amount of particles was obtained from materials that did not burn well (e.g. flame retarded materials). Well‐burning materials, e.g. wood materials, tend to oxidize all available substances and thereby minimize the amount of particles in the smoke gas. It was found that asbestos‐resembling particles could be produced from under‐ventilated combustion of the composite material tested. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prediction of heat release in the single burning item test

This paper presents a modification of an existing mathematical model that uses cone calorimeter test results to predict heat release rate in the single burning item (SBI) test. A method for classification of cases based on multivariate statistical analysis is incorporated in the modified model. This makes it possible to determine the development of the heat release curve in the SBI test with better precision than the original version was able to. The model has been applied to 100 cases of cone calorimeter test results from 33 different products. For most of the products the predicted shape and level of the heat release curves are close to measurements in the SBI test. Using the predicted heat release results as input to calculation of FIGRA_0.2MJ and THR_600s within the new European system for reaction‐to‐fire classification, we were able to predict membership of the correct class in 90% of the analysed cases. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat release rate and computer fire modelling vs real‐scale fire tests in passenger trains

The materials and products used in passenger trains may not be the first ignited element, but during the fire development, these materials, especially ceiling linings and wall coverings, contribute significantly to the fire growth. The fire safety requirements in passenger trains consist mainly of bench‐scale tests, with particular focus on the sample geometry, position and fire exposition. When this information is extrapolated to real end use conditions limitations appear. In this paper, a discussion of the use of fire dynamics simulator model and heat release rate experiments in cone calorimeter (bench‐scale test) is presented in order to represent the fire development in a passenger train compartment. For the study, two fire scenarios were selected: (1) the single burning item SBI test (modified) and (2) a passenger train compartment. Initially, the limitations of the assumptions and hypothesis made when producing the model were analyzed and the research team carried out a sensitivity study of the model results considering different grid sizes. In order to validate the model, both bench‐ and full‐scale fire tests were considered based on the results provided by the European research program FIRESTARR. The limitations and uncertainties in the results demonstrate the importance of two basic factors: the incident heat flux in the cone calorimeter tests and the prescribed ignition temperature. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of a one‐dimensional thermal flame spread model on predicting the rate of heat release in the SBI test

A one‐dimensional thermal flame spread model was applied to predict the rate of heat release in the single burning item (SBI) test on the basis of the cone calorimeter data. The input parameters were selected according to the features of the SBI test and using particle board as a model tuning material. The features of the measured and calculated rate of heat release curves were compared for a series of 33 building products. The fire growth rate (FIGRA) indices were calculated to predict the classification in the forthcoming Euroclass system. The model gave correct classification for 90% of the products studied. An essential feature of the model is that only one cone calorimeter test at the exposure level of 50 kW m^?2 is needed. The model, therefore, provides a practical tool for product development and quality control. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of a combustible material in the fire of Hengyang merchant's building

Agaric, a kind of important combustible material in the fire of Hengyang merchant's building, was investigated using different experiment equipments. Its degradation and pyrolysis behavior were studied by means of thermogravimetric and kinetic analysis and pyrolysis gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy analysis. External radiation heat and internal heat were used to ignite the agaric. For external radiation ignition, a series of bench‐scale fire tests were done in cone calorimeter in accordance with ISO 5660. As for the internal heat ignition, a fire test was carried out in a full‐scale room in accordance with ISO 9705. Multi‐parameter measurement, including heat release rate (HRR), mass loss rate (MLR), temperature field and species concentration, has been accomplished. Meanwhile, the process of a full‐scale fire test was numerically simulated. The computational results were consistent with experiment data, which will lay down a good foundation for further study in fire reconstruction of the whole fire. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of mineral fillers on the fire retardant properties of wood‐polypropylene composites

The effects of mineral fillers on the fire retardancy of wood‐polypropylene composites have been studied. Wood‐polypropylene composites containing mineral fillers have been compounded in a conical twin‐screw extruder. A composite manufactured without any mineral filler addition has been used as a reference. The flame resistance properties of the composite materials have been studied using the cone calorimeter. The results show that the introduction of mineral fillers into the wood‐polypropylene composites has a favourable effect on the fire resistance properties of the composite materials. The reaction‐to‐fire properties have been improved according to the fire classification of construction products based on the Euroclass system. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combustion behavior of upholstered furniture. Important findings,practical use,and implications

“Combustion behavior of upholstered furniture (CBUF) ‐ Fire Safety of Upholstered Furniture ‐ EUR 16477 EN” was initiated by the European Commission (EC) since a major contributor to fire deaths in Europe was upholstered furniture. The EC and the participating research partners formulated this project to provide a scientifically sound basis for a European Union Directive. The aim of the directive was to improve fire safety in Europe as well as removing barriers to trade and creating a harmonized open market for upholstered furniture. The furniture directive never came through, but the project reached a significant understanding of how furniture burns, how furniture composition affects the heat release rate, and how well or poorly different models predict full‐scale test results and the developing hazard to people. The results were published as a book and presentations were made at several conferences. This article is a summary of some of the important findings in the CBUF project. It presents guidance for the design of low flammability upholstered furniture and the extent to which small‐scale test results can be used to predict room fire behavior. It presents test procedures and experimental data. However, much of the work that has been conducted is not presented in this article. In particular, background data and reasoning are omitted or reduced in favor of the results and conclusions.     

Experimental study of the burner for FAA fire test: NexGen burner

The NexGen (Sonic) burner is the new burner developed by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, to replace old oil burners used for the required fire certification tests on power plant‐related materials, as it provides the capability to control both air and fuel flow rates. During a fire test, the burner is supposed to simulate a certain fire condition, so the flame properties should be robust and repeatable. The NexGen burner can achieve this due to the precise fuel and air controls. However, the current calibration criterion (ISO2685:1998 and AC20‐135) may not be good enough to ensure consistent flame properties. In the presented work, the sensitivity of the burner performance to air and fuel flow rate, as measured by the temperature and heat flux for calibration purposes, was studied. Additionally, the influence of the turbulator and the thermocouple size used for flame calibration was also studied. The impact of varying fuel/air ratio and thermocouple sizes was studied by conducting fire tests on aluminum samples, to show the inadequacies in the current calibration standards.