A new test methodology for studying the response of walls to real fire environments

A new test methodology was developed to investigate the response of walls, partitions, and in-wall systems exposed to real fires. The apparatus includes a 3.5 m long, 2.3 m wide, and 2.3 m high fire compartment within a standard sea container. A wall specimen measuring up to 1.8 m wide, 1.8 m tall, and 0.3 m deep is mounted in a steel frame at one end of the fire compartment. Fire exposures to the wall specimen evolve over time depending on the fuel load and ventilation configuration. Gas temperatures and heat flux were characterized for five different fuel and ventilation configurations. Peak exposures ranged from 30 to 75 kW/m² for about 20 minutes. Five additional tests were conducted using a single fuel and ventilation configuration to assess the repeatability of the test methodology. It was found that a 19.3 minute growth period occurred plateauing at a ceiling temperature of 708°C for 8.4 minutes, on average. Compartment gas temperatures were found to be repeatable, having a sample standard deviation less than 32°C for symmetric data. Repeatability improved when account was taken for the rapid fire growth inflection point. The utility of the approach for studying fire performance of building elements was demonstrated.