Fire test

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Fire test in Sweden, showing rapid fire spread through burning of cable jackets from one cable tray to another Cable tray fire sweden.jpg
Fire test in Sweden, showing rapid fire spread through burning of cable jackets from one cable tray to another

A fire test is a means of determining whether fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a building code or other applicable legislation. Successful tests in laboratories holding national accreditation for testing and certification result in the issuance of a certification listing.

Contents

Components and systems subject to certification fire testing include fire rated walls and floors, closures within them such as windows, fire doors, fire dampers, structural steel, and fire stops. Fire tests are conducted both on active fire protection and on passive fire protection items. There are full-scale, small-scale and bench-scale tests.

Fire testing considers all applicable provisions of the product certification.

Examples of fire testing for products and systems

Organisations that perform fire testing

Ad hoc fire testing

A fire test can also mean an ad hoc test performed to gather information in order to understand a specific hazard, such as a construction or storage configuration. Tests can be bench scale (e.g., flammable liquid flash point), medium scale (e.g., storage commodity classification), or full scale (e.g., replication of an entire rack storage configuration). [7] Typical information gathered from full-scale testing is heat release rate vs. time, smoke production and species composition, radiant heat, and interaction with fire control or suppression systems.

Fire test examples

Many fire tests are run by official laboratories for the purpose of product certification. However, some manufacturers of fire protection products also maintain their own facilities and run tests for R & D purposes before going to the expense and exposure of a test at a third party facility.

Some universities have functioning fire research groups which are equipped to run fire tests on building materials.

See also

Related Research Articles

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The UL enterprise is a global safety science company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, composed of three organizations, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL Solutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash point</span> Lowest temperature at which a volatile materials vapors ignite if given a source

The flash point of a material is the "lowest liquid temperature at which, under certain standardized conditions, a liquid gives off vapours in a quantity such as to be capable of forming an ignitable vapour/air mixture".

The autoignition temperature or self-ignition temperature, often called spontaneous ignition temperature or minimum ignition temperature and formerly also known as kindling point, of a substance is the lowest temperature in which it spontaneously ignites in a normal atmosphere without an external source of ignition, such as a flame or spark. This temperature is required to supply the activation energy needed for combustion. The temperature at which a chemical ignites decreases as the pressure is increased.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safe</span> Secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects

A safe is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and door may be cast from metal or formed out of plastic through blow molding. Bank teller safes typically are secured to the counter, have a slit opening for dropping valuables into the safe without opening it, and a time-delay combination lock to foil thieves. One significant distinction between types of safes is whether the safe is secured to a wall or structure or if it can be moved around.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire safety</span> Practices to reduce the results of fire

Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread and impact of a fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire door</span> Fire resistant door

A fire door is a door with a fire-resistance rating used as part of a passive fire protection system to reduce the spread of fire and smoke between separate compartments of a structure and to enable safe egress from a building or structure or ship. In North American building codes, it, along with fire dampers, is often referred to as a closure, which can be derated compared against the fire separation that contains it, provided that this barrier is not a firewall or an occupancy separation. In Europe national standards for fire doors have been harmonised with the introduction of the new standard EN 16034, which refers to fire doors as fire-resisting door sets. Starting September 2016, a common CE marking procedure was available abolishing trade barriers within the European Union for these types of products. In the UK, it is Part B of the Building Regulations that sets out the minimum requirements for the fire protection that must be implemented in all dwellings this includes the use of fire doors. All fire doors must be installed with the appropriate fire resistant fittings, such as the frame and door hardware, for it to fully comply with any fire regulations.

In analytical chemistry, ashing or ash content determination is the process of mineralization by complete combustion for preconcentration of trace substances prior to a chemical analysis, such as chromatography, or optical analysis, such as spectroscopy.

Moisture vapor transmission rate (MVTR), also water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), is a measure of the passage of water vapor through a substance. It is a measure of the permeability for vapor barriers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireproofing</span> Rendering something (structures, materials, etc.) resistant to fire, or incombustible

Fireproofing is rendering something resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a noun, verb or adjective; it may be hyphenated ("fire-proof").

A firestop or fire-stopping is a form of passive fire protection that is used to seal around openings and between joints in a fire-resistance-rated wall or floor assembly. Firestops are designed to maintain the fire-resistance rating of a wall or floor assembly intended to impede the spread of fire and smoke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passive fire protection</span> Component or system to passively prevent the spread of fire

Passive fire protection (PFP) is components or systems of a building or structure that slows or impedes the spread of the effects of fire or smoke without system activation, and usually without movement. Examples of passive systems include floor-ceilings and roofs, fire doors, windows, and wall assemblies, fire-resistant coatings, and other fire and smoke control assemblies. Passive fire protection systems can include active components such as fire dampers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combustibility and flammability</span> Ability to easily ignite in air at ambient temperatures

A combustible material is a material that can burn in air under certain conditions. A material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grease duct</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cone calorimeter</span>

A cone calorimeter is an instrument used to study the behavior of fire in small samples of condensed phase materials. It is widely used in the field of fire safety engineering and in oxygen consumption calorimetry.

Flame spread, or surface burning characteristics rating, is a ranking derived by laboratory standard test methodology of a material's propensity to burn rapidly and spread flames. There are several standardized methods of determining flame spread,

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fire damper</span> Type of passive fire protection

Fire dampers are passive fire protection products used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) ducts to prevent and isolate the spread of fire inside the ductwork through fire-resistance rated walls and floors. Fire/smoke dampers are similar to fire dampers in fire resistance rating, and also prevent the spread of smoke inside the ducts. When a rise in temperature occurs, the fire damper closes, usually activated by a thermal element which melts at temperatures higher than ambient but low enough to indicate the presence of a fire, allowing springs to close the damper blades. Fire dampers can also close following receipt of an electrical signal from a fire alarm system utilising detectors remote from the damper, indicating the sensing of heat or smoke in the building occupied spaces or in the HVAC duct system.

Fire-safe polymers are polymers that are resistant to degradation at high temperatures. There is need for fire-resistant polymers in the construction of small, enclosed spaces such as skyscrapers, boats, and airplane cabins. In these tight spaces, ability to escape in the event of a fire is compromised, increasing fire risk. In fact, some studies report that about 20% of victims of airplane crashes are killed not by the crash itself but by ensuing fires. Fire-safe polymers also find application as adhesives in aerospace materials, insulation for electronics, and in military materials such as canvas tenting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Package testing</span>

Package testing or packaging testing involves the measurement of a characteristic or property involved with packaging. This includes packaging materials, packaging components, primary packages, shipping containers, and unit loads, as well as the associated processes.

The Steiner tunnel test is a widely used method of testing building interior wall and ceiling finishes for their ability to support and propagate fire, and for their tendency to emit smoke. The test was developed in 1944 by Al Steiner of Underwriters Laboratories, and has been incorporated as a reference into North American standards for materials testing as tests ASTM E84, NFPA 255, UL 723 and ULC S102. These standards are in widespread use for the regulation and selection of materials for interior building construction throughout North America.

References

  1. "Flammability Testing of Materials | Fire Testing of Materials".
  2. "SwRI". www.swri.org. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  3. "Groupe CTT". Groupe CTT. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  4. "Services". www.analytics.currenta.com. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  5. "Efectis". Efectis. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  6. "NGCTS". www.ngctestingservices.com. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  7. NFPA 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems 2007 Edition, Annex C Explanation of Test Data and Procedures for Rack Storage