Experimental study on the influence of different thermal insulation materials on the fire dynamics in a reduced-scale enclosure

Abstract

Four scaled (1:5) fire experiments with two identically classified types of commercially available sandwich panels incorporating either stone wool (SW) or polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam as cores were conducted using a modified version of the ISO 13784-1 (Reaction to fire tests for sandwich panel building systems-Part 1: Small room test) standard. This was to assess the suitability of scaled experiments for assessing sandwich panel fire behavior. In the modified version of the test standard (scaled and full experiments), the fire severity was increased to simulate fires that could occur in commercial premises. This was achieved by prolonging and doubling the heat release rate output of the gas burner at the end of the experiments. Furthermore, non-structural damages such as screw-hole damages were applied to the enclosures to reflect real life observations. The results showed differences in the fire behavior, depending on whether the enclosures were constructed of panels filled with SW or PIR insulation material. The mass losses of the insulation materials showed significant contribution from the PIR cores, regardless of fire load and the non-structural damage. The qualitative behavior with respect to the "flashover" failure criterion, as stated in the ISO 13784-1, was successfully obtained in all of the scaled experiments. As such, the scaled experiments mimicked the behavior of the full scale SW experiments to a satisfactory degree. However, the PIR compartments failed considerably earlier in the full scale tests than in the scaled experiments. Therefore, it can be concluded that when the energy contribution from the core material remained negligible compared to the gas burner, the measured parameters matched quite well. Therefore, if the insulating core material does not dominate the fire dynamics of the compartment and the energy from the gas burner dictates the fire scenario then the scaled setup will predict the temperature in the full scale compartment. Based on this and with further development with respect to, especially, time, this kind of scaled experiments could be a valuable testing method for assessment of the behavior of sandwich panel, and therefore merit further studies and eventually increased use.

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

“…In accordance with the previous research, it can be predicted that FIGRA would not be equal for the same material due to the thermal conditions. However, to the authors' knowledge, there have been no research to predict FIGRA since the values of Q max and t max cannot be closed with previous investigations [20][21][22][23][24]. Especially, if the value of FIGRA for a highly combustible material is evaluated too low at a specified test condition, it can cause a risk for the material to be used for building construction.…”

“…In addition, the fire growth rate decreases in proportion to the size of volume space, in the research of R.R. Leisted et al with the analyze of the temperature distribution by the time in the case of polyisocyanurate or stone wool in the 1/5 reduced scale compartment of ISO 13784-1 [22].…”

Fire behavior of flame retarded sandwich structures containing PET foam cores and epoxy face sheets

“…Common tests for sandwich materials are proceeded in real case scenarios or downscaled related test setups for sandwich panels, such as ISO 13784 (Reaction to fire tests for sandwich panel building systems) 28–30 . For the construction sector, more standards such as DIN EN ISO 1524 or 1716 and DIN EN 13823 or 11 925 are established.…”

“…27 Common tests for sandwich materials are proceeded in real case scenarios or downscaled related test setups for sandwich panels, such as ISO 13784 (Reaction to fire tests for sandwich panel building systems). [28][29][30] For the construction sector, more standards such as DIN EN ISO 1524 or 1716 and DIN EN 13823 or 11 925 are established. Evaluating the fire behavior by cone calorimetry is a versatile lab scale method to determine specific flammability and combustion characteristics which is established in the fire science today.…”

Testing for knowledge: Application of machine learning techniques for prediction of flashover in a 1/5 scale ISO 13784‐1 enclosure

“…Here 17,18 showed that fires in commercial premises were often much higher than the prescribed 300 kW and had a longer duration than 30 minutes. Therefore, Leisted 15 added two gas burner regimes with a third burner intensity and two regimes with a continuous burner output to allow for more (severe) testing conditions.…”