Fire Performance Assessment of a Fiber Reinforced Polymer Wall Panel Used in a Single Family Dwelling

This paper describes a fire performance assessment of a sandwich panel selected as the primary material in a high-performance house developed for the 2013 China Solar Decathlon competition. The sandwich panel has fiber reinforced polymer skins and a foam plastic core. Evaluation of fire performance...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fire technology 2014-11, Vol.50 (6), p.1607-1617
Main Authors: Berardi, Umberto, Meacham, Brian J., Dembsey, Nicholas A., You, Young-Guen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Building codes
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Civil Engineering
Classical Mechanics
Engineering
Fibers
Fire protection
Forest & brush fires
Heat transfer
Insulation
Performance assessment
Physics
Polyesters
Polymers
Propane
Protective coatings
Short Communication
Sprinkler systems
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Summary:This paper describes a fire performance assessment of a sandwich panel selected as the primary material in a high-performance house developed for the 2013 China Solar Decathlon competition. The sandwich panel has fiber reinforced polymer skins and a foam plastic core. Evaluation of fire performance showed that the selected panel would not comply with U.S. building code requirements for a single-family dwelling without additional protection. However, the use of an intumescent fire protective coating, coupled with the installation of a residential fire sprinkler system, is shown to be effective in meeting the intent of the fire and life safety requirements of the International Residential Code. Fire testing shows that the application of an intumescent fire protective coating to the panels significantly decreases the heat release rate, the smoke production characteristics, and the extent of flame spread on the panels.
ISSN:0015-2684
1572-8099
DOI:10.1007/s10694-014-0403-8