Combustible materials in façades should they be banned?

Transcription

1 Combustible materials in façades should they be banned? Dr Kate Nguyen & Prof. Priyan Mendis Innovative Fire Engineering Group The University of Melbourne

2 Façade fires Hotel building - Rostov-on-Don, Russia Grenfell tower, London Shanghai, China Baku, Azerbaijan Address downtown hotel, UAE Lacrosse tower fire, Melbourne

3 Façade fires Building Location Year Description Damage Grenfell Tower London, UK 2017 External cladding which consisted of ACM panels with PE core 79 dead 70 injured The Address Downtown Dubai (302m tall) Dubai, UAE 2016 An electrical short circuit on a spotlight was the cause 16 minor injuries Marina torch (352m) Dubai, UAE 2015 & 2017 Tamweel Tower (160m tall) Saif Belhasa Building (13 stories) 16 Storey apartment building Lacrosse Building Fire initiated in the 52 nd floor and spread quickly due to high winds, combustible cladding Dubai, UAE 2012 Vertical bands of exterior cladding from ground to roof level ACM panels with PE core No injuries Repair works have begun after 3 years Dubai, UAE 2012 Cladding consisted of ACM panels with PE core 9 flats destroyed 2 injured Debris damaged 5 vehicles Baku, Azerbaijan Melbourne, Australia 2015 Rapid fire spread along the cladding. Combustible panels according to reports External wall cladding and aided by combustible material located within the wall structure quickly spread to the top of the building 17 dead 60 injured No injuries 18 storey building Roubaix, France 28 storey building Shanghai, China 2012 Highly flammable outer cladding 1 dead 1 injured 2010 Polyurethane insulation to external walls 53 dead 90 injured Monte Carlo Hotel (32 stories) Las Vegas, US 2008 Exterior insulation and finish system which consists of a layer of expanded polystyrene foam adhered to gypsum sheathing 13 minor injuries

4 What is non-combustible material? National construction code (NCC) International building code (IBC) Building regulations (ADB) 1) t t 5 s 2) T furnace 50 C 3) T specimen 50 C 1) If the weight loss of specimen < 50% I. T surface & interior < 30 C II. No flaming in the first 30 seconds 2) If the weight loss > 50% I. t t = 0 s II. T surface & interior = 0 Non-combustible 1) t t = 0 s 2) m 50% 3) T 30 C Limited combustibility 1) t t 20 s 2) m 50% 3) T 50 C AS ASTM E136 or ISO 1182 BS EN ISO 1182 and/or BS EN ISO 1716

5 What is non-combustible material? National construction code (NCC) International building code (IBC) Building regulations (ADB) Non-combustible materials required for façades in buildings of three storeys or more (class 2, 3 and 9) Materials of limited combustibility or noncombustibility required for façade in buildings of 18 meters or more

6 What s going on in Australia? Senate inquiry calls for total ban on PE core ACP The agreement from BMF agrees to halt the use of PE core ACP for buildings more than 2 storeys Amendment 1 NCC 2016 Volume 1/Public comment Improving the evidence of suitability provisions DTS Fire performance of external walls Referencing AS 5113 Update AS 2118

7 Aluminium composite materials Aluminium skins C HC fire curve C ISO fire curve C melting C 100% strength C 50% strength Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

8 Aluminium composite materials Polyethylene core and modifications Cat 1 - Limited combustibility Cat 2 - Limited fire retardancy Cat Non-combustible core FR core with PE percentage 5-6% FR core with PE percentage 20-30% PE core EHC (kj/g)

9 Polystyrene (EPS) Heat of combustion: 40 MJ/kg Potential issue with encapsulation

10 Other combustible materials Thermal and acoustic insulation: PIR, vinyl based acoustic barrier Sarking/membrane

11 We are living in a modern world Experiments by NIST

12 If the answer is YES Timber façades Supply availability and associated cost of noncombustible elements

13 If the answer is YES Are we safe with non-combustible façades?

14 BRE test results BRE Report No. Released date Test combination Core Insulation External fire spread criteria ( sec) Internal fire spread criteria ( sec) Test duration requirement (40 min) No. of buildings (over 18 metres tall in UK) having the same combination 1 28/07/2017 Unmodified PE (category 3) PIR foam Failed (exceeds C after 360s) (Does not exceed C) Failed (8 min 45 sec) /08/2017 Unmodified PE (category 3) Stone wool Failed (exceeds C after 305s) (Does not exceed C) Failed (7 min 9 sec) /08/2017 Fire retardant PE (category 2) PIR foam (exceeds C but after 900s) (Does not exceed C) Failed (25 min 12 sec) /08/2017 Fire retardant PE (category 2) Stone wool (exceeds C but after 900s) (Does not exceed C) (60 min) /08/2017 Limited combustibility filler (category 1) PIR foam (Does not exceed C) (Does not exceed C) (60 min) None but propose to be solution 6 25/08/2017 Limited combustibility filler (category 1) Stone wool (Does not exceed C) (Does not exceed C) (60 min) None but propose to be solution 7 18/08/2017 Fire retardant PE (category 2) Phenolic foam (exceeds C but after 900s) (C sec I sec) Failed (28 min 14 sec) 22

15 FR PE should be used with strict assessment Full-scale façade is essential to understand façade behaviour in fire

16 Other risk for façades in fire Are we safe with non-combustible façades?

17 Quynh Nguyen Copyright The University of Melbourne 2012