1 Hour Fire Resistance Testing to BS476

The performance of buildings under fire load conditions is an important component in the decision process in providing compliant buildings e.g. for the protection of adjacent property and life, mission critical process operations found in refinery and petrochemical plant, and adjacent infrastructure such as on railway and underground networks.

As part of on-going product development and in response to specific project requirements for fire protection, Portastor has undertaken a series of tests to establish the performance of building constructional elements.

This sees sample constructional elements mounted within a test frame and becoming part of the external face of an industrial gas-fired test furnace which exposes the test face to temperatures in excess of 500°C within the first 4 minutes and on to 950°C at the end of the hour.

The Portastor specimens performed admirably during the tests, achieving a minimum of 1 hour fire resistance for stability, integrity and insulation to walls and roof (the resistance to passage of heat and of sustained flaming/ignition gases across the structure which would represent a likely ignition source) and a full 2 hour fire performance for wall stability and integrity alone.



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Top left:
Typical wall sample with measuring devices (thermocouples and movement gauge)

Top right:
exposed specimen face following completion
of 2 hour fire test