1
FIRE SAFETY OF BUILDING ENVELOPES IS YOUR BUILDING SAFE ? BCO Presentation – 22 November 2019 Kobus Strydom www.firelab.co.za 2
Historical Sao Paulo High-rise fire First extensive evaluations in USA First large-scale facade test in SA New Building Regulations – 1987 Future trends 3
Question… What is the difference between a building envelope and a division in terms of the Building Regulations ? 4
Introduction The situation abroad ? » London » Australia » Middle East 5
Current situation in South Africa Part T, Fire Protection Standard Building Regulations – since 1963 National Building Regulations – since 1987 First revision – 1990 Previous revision – 2011 Currently under review 6
Statutory Requirements Part T, Fire Protection Regulation T1 (1) and (2) – General requirements Regulation T2 – Offences 7
Regulation T1 (1) Any building shall ….. Safe escape Limit spread of fire Structural stability Limit spread of smoke Access to building and equipment 8
Regulation T1 (2) The requirements of T1 (1) shall be deemed to be satisfied where the design, construction and equipment of any building – (a) Is the subject of a Rational Design …… (b) Complies with SANS 10400 – T: Provided ….. 9
Requirements in terms of the Deemed-to satisfy Clauses Set simple basic solutions that will satisfy the requirements contemplated by SANS 10400 – T Although aimed at simple designs it addresses most design principles for even complex buildings » Very often it is more important to focus on the intent of the requirement rather than the words in the respective Clause » The respective Clauses set out the minimum requirements 10
Requirements in terms of the Rational Design The alternative design must meet the requirements contemplated by Regulation T1 (1) » The design have to focus on basic principles rather than detail implied by the deemed-to-satisfy rules, however, it is always handy as check list to ensure all aspects are covered » The principle of a Rational Design should always be equal or better and not better than nothing 11
Requirements for consideration Compartmentation or divisions within a building Fire Resistant requirements (walls or panels) Fire properties of structural elements or systems Passive fire protection requirements Active fire protection requirements Division and Fire separating elements Service penetrations 12
(Cont.) Material requirement and selection Material testing requirements System testing requirements Combustibility of materials Vertical and lateral flame spread (external) Safety distances 13
Typical Building Designs 14
A non-combustible facade with insulation 15
A non-combustible facade with windows 16
A non-load bearing frame facade system 17
An upstand with non-load bearing frame facade system 18
A smoke and fire seal with a non-load bearing frame facade system 19
Detail of a upstand and smoke and fire seal with non-load bearing frame facade system 20
Vertical fire separation with a non-combustible facade 21
Vertical fire separation with a non-load bearing frame facade system 22
Testing requirements (SANS 10400 – T) Fire Resistance – SANS 10177 – 2 Surface Fire Index (flooring) – SANS 10177 – 4 Surface Fire Index (int. finishes) – SANS 10177 – 3 Combustibility – SANS 10177 – 5 Basic fire properties – SANS 10177 – 9 Basic fire spread properties – SANS 10177 – 10 23
(Cont.) External fire spread properties of wall façade systems (New SANS 8414 – 1 & 2) SANS 8414, Part 1 and Part 2, was finally adopted as a new test method for the evaluation of building facade walls in 2018 (approximately 5 years for adoption) 24
Fire testing in general Small-scale testing Except for SANS 10177 – 2 and SANS 8414 – 1 & 2 all the other test methods are intended to determine the burning characteristics or the basic fire properties or classification of materials Similarly EN 13501 only classify materials for comparison and not suitability for intended use 25
Fire testing in general Large-scale testing SANS 10177 – 2 , Fire Resistance Rating (FRR) of a building element or system to determine Structural Stability – (R) Integrity – (E) Insulation – (I) 26
(Cont.) SANS 8414, Part 1 and Part 2, Fire performance of external cladding systems (non-loadbearing and loadbearing systems respectively) Although large-scale testing of facade systems were conducted in SA, this test method was primarily adopted as a result of the new energy legislation requiring buildings to be insulated 27
Effect of new Energy Legislation SANS 204 and Fire Safety of Buildings Prior to the new legislation the fire safety of building facade walls were already a concern Shortcomings in existing facades were clearly demonstrated by our limited fire history The use of thermal insulation on buildings can result in a major fire risk and is common in SA like the rest of the world 28
29
30
31
32
Fire safety requirements to be considered Designer must have a clear and comprehensive understanding of all the relevant requirements pertaining to the building (internal and external) The Regulation only states the end result The deemed-to-satisfy Clauses can provide guidance to ensure all aspects are covered 33
(Cont.) Although the deemed-to-satisfy Clauses are not Regulations, it provides valuable information if the intent of the Clauses are clearly understood REMEMBER ! – Fire safety design can be summed up in a single word – DETAIL, DETAIL, DETAIL ….. 34
Compartmentation Regulation T1 (1) (b) states that the fire must be contained to the area of origin Therefore the following must be considered: Horizontal dividing elements (floors and roofs?) Vertical division and separating elements including protected openings » Dividing walls (occupancy separating) » Internal walls (tenancy separating) 35
(Cont.) External walls with consideration to: Vertical division separating elements Horizontal division separating elements Protection of openings (windows, fire and smoke seals) Loadbearing or non-loadbearing Structural stability of the frame system 36
(Cont.) Structural protection of connecting components Fire properties of materials and construction components Fire stops within the system Assembly details Safety distances (if relevant) 37
(Cont.) External cladding Fixing method Composition and fire properties of the materials External weather protection Fire properties of the system Fire stops or fire breaks 38
Buildings System and Materials Wall types – FR, F and N Structural (walls or panels) » Load bearing or non-load bearing Walls » External » Internal » Divisions » Division separating elements 39
Fire safety concepts Combustibility & non-combustibility Fire Resistance Spread of Flame Fire Retardancy 40
Test requirements » External SANS 10177, Part 2 (Building elements) SANS 8414, Part 1 and Part 2 (Cladding & Facade walls) » Internal SANS 10177, Part 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 (Internal finishes) 41
Combustibility SANS 10177 – 5: Combustibility of building materials at 750 °C Increase furnace temp. by more than 50 °C or flaming for more than 10 seconds Plastics – combustible by this definition 42
43
Fire Resistance SANS 10177 – 2: Fire resistance testing of building elements Stability (Loadbearing or non-loadbearing) Integrity – no burn-through Insulation – unexposed side 140 °C plus ambient average or 180 °C plus ambient maximum Physical property of a system rather than any particular component Combustibility – not always relevant – non-combustible materials could have poor fire resistance Addition of fire retardants to product has little if any effect on fire resistance 44
ISO Standard Time-Temperature Curve T = 345*log(8*t+1) +Ta Where T = furnace temperature (°C) t = time (minutes) Ta = ambient temperature (°C) 45
ISO Standard Time-Temperature Curve 46
ISO Standard Time-Temperature Curve After 30 minutes; T = ± 850 °C After 60 minutes; T = ± 950 °C After 120 minutes; T = ± 1 050 °C Fire Resistance Notations “F or RE” – Stability & Integrity, no insulation “FR or REI” – Stability, Integrity & Insulation 47
48
Spread of Flame SANS 8414, 1 – 2: Fire performance of external building cladding systems (Criteria) Stability (Loadbearing or non-loadbearing) Integrity – no burn-through Insulation – unexposed side 140 °C plus ambient average or 180 °C plus ambient maximum Physical property of a system rather than any particular component Combustibility – not always relevant – non-combustible materials could have poor fire resistance Addition of fire retardants to product has little if any effect on fire resistance 49
SANS 8414 – Part 1 Insulated cladding on a non- combustible substrate 50
SANS 8414 – Part 2 Non-load bearing frame facade system 51
Recommend
More recommend
