Development of a Model of the ASTM E 84 Steiner Tunnel Test

Janssens, Marc L.; Huczek, Jason; Sauceda, A.

doi:10.3801/iafss.fss.9-279

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The Malveria fire test included a ceiling partially covered with a combustible cork. The previously discussed ceiling flame spread experiments carried out by Hinkley et al 37 investigated the usage of different standard, impregnated, and intumescent‐coated MDF fibreboard, whereas the significantly smaller‐scale experiments carried out by Hasemi et al 53 investigated flame spread under varying conditions for a standard MDF ceiling.…”

Section: Discussion Of Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of fire experiments in mass timber compartments: Current understanding, limitations, and research gaps

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of mass timber in buildings instead of non‐combustible materials has benefits in sustainability, aesthetics, construction times, and costs. However, the uptake of mass timber in modern construction for medium and high‐rise buildings is currently hindered by uncertainty regarding safety and structural performance in fire. We attribute this to a lack of data. Insufficient understanding means that for building designs beyond the current range of experiments the fire performance is unknown. To address this uncertainty, we review the available data in the scientific literature from 63 compartment fire experiments with timber, the majority of which use cross‐laminated timber (CLT). We found that most experiments reached temperatures 80–180°C greater than in non‐combustible compartments. Timber ceilings have on average a 16% lower char rate than timber walls. The heat release rate contribution of timber has a positive linear relationship with charring rate, however is susceptible to significant uncertainty and variability. There are limits to the data available, particularly in large open‐plan compartments of floor areas larger than 100 m2 where a wider range of heating conditions occur. Other topics where further understanding is required are compartments with exposed timber areas greater than 75%, compartments with smaller opening areas, and the hazard of smouldering following the flames. Therefore, additional research is needed to design beyond the limits, specifically in compartment size, ventilation, and timber exposure. This paper identifies correlations in the current body of experimental research to improve fire‐safe design of timber buildings.

show abstract

Section: Discussion Of Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of fire experiments in mass timber compartments: Current understanding, limitations, and research gaps

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…9,10 Of final note, researchers from Southwest Research Institute in 2008 published a conference proceeding where they provided some thermal and fire behavior modeling of a material tested in the E84 test. 24 Aspects of the heat flux the sample encounters at a distance from the burner at the start of the test, predicted ignition times, flame spread behavior, and possible smoke development were covered in the model. In general, the model tended to be more conservative than actual measurements, and in some cases predicted that the material tested would have a good flame spread behavior or smoke release, when in reality the measurements performed better than the model.…”

Section: Research On Astm E84mentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting the “Steiner Tunnel” test method covered under ASTM E84: An overview and analysis of the test method

Morgan

2023

Journal of Fire Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The “Steiner Tunnel” test, which is standardized under ASTM E84 and UL 723, is used to comparatively assess surface-burning characteristics, namely, flame spread and smoke release from a wide range of building materials and assemblies. While the method is well known to fire safety engineers, it is not as well understood by material scientists who develop new fire safe materials that will meet this test. Understanding how the test measures flammability and smoke is critical to designing materials that can meet requirements that reference E84 and UL 723. This article primarily discusses the ASTM E84 test, discusses the history of the method, how it measures flame spread and smoke release, and how mounting samples in the test method affects flame spread and smoke release. Finally, there is discussion on test methods that could be used for qualitative screening tools for materials developed for the E84 test.

show abstract

“…However, the regulated test conditions, such as the compartment size, the thermal properties of the wall, and the ignition heat source, are not equal for each test standard [16][17][18][19]. It means that FIGRA for evaluating the flame-retardant performance of the pipe insulation depends on the test conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis on the Fire Growth Rate Index Considering of Scale Factor, Volume Fraction, and Ignition Heat Source for Polyethylene Foam Pipe Insulation

Park

Lim²,

You

2020

Energies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fire growth rate index (FIGRA), which is the ratio of the maximum value of the heat release rate (Qmax) and the time (tmax) to reach the maximum heat release rate, is a general method to evaluate a material in the fire-retardant performance in fire technology. The object of this study aims to predict FIGRA of the polyethylene foam pipe insulation in accordance with the scale factor (Sf), the volume fraction of the pipe insulation (VF) and the ignition heat source (Qig). The compartments made of fireboard have been mock-up with 1/3, 1/4, and 1/5 reduced scales of the compartment as specified in ISO 20632. The heat release rate data of the pipe insulation with the variation of Sf, VF, and Qig are measured from 33 experiments to correlate with FIGRA. Based on a critical analysis of the heat transfer phenomenon from previous research literature, the predictions of Qmax and tmax are presented. It is noticeable that the fire-retardant grade of the polyethylene foam pipe insulation could have Grade B, C, and D in accordance with the test conditions within ±15% deviation of the predicted FIGRA. In case of establishing the database of various types of insulation, the prediction models could apply to evaluate the fire-retardant performance.

show abstract

Development of a Model of the ASTM E 84 Steiner Tunnel Test

Cited by 4 publications

References 7 publications

Review of fire experiments in mass timber compartments: Current understanding, limitations, and research gaps

Review of fire experiments in mass timber compartments: Current understanding, limitations, and research gaps

Revisiting the “Steiner Tunnel” test method covered under ASTM E84: An overview and analysis of the test method

Analysis on the Fire Growth Rate Index Considering of Scale Factor, Volume Fraction, and Ignition Heat Source for Polyethylene Foam Pipe Insulation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About