Appendix - Fire Test Procedures for Fire-Resisting Divisions of High-Speed Craft
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - International Codes - 2010 FTP Code – International Code for Application of Fire Test Procedures, 20101 – Resolution MSC.307(88) - Annex 1 – Fire Test Procedures - Part 11 – Test for Fire-Resisting Divisions of High-Speed Craft - Appendix - Fire Test Procedures for Fire-Resisting Divisions of High-Speed Craft

Appendix - Fire Test Procedures for Fire-Resisting Divisions of High-Speed Craft

Parent topic: Part 11 – Test for Fire-Resisting Divisions of High-Speed Craft

1 General

  1.1 Under the provisions of the 1994 HSC Code or 2000 HSC Code, constructions for use in high-speed craft shall have fire-resisting properties to the satisfaction of, and be approved by, the Administration. In this context "fire-resisting property" is the ability of the construction to insulate/protect an area from the influence of a fire in an adjoining area by having separating performance during a fire. Such constructions are fire-resisting bulkheads, decks, ceilings, linings and doors.

  1.1.1 Fire-resisting divisions for moderate fire hazard are classified as "fire-resisting divisions 30".

  1.1.2 Fire-resisting divisions for major fire hazard are classified as "fire-resisting divisions 60".

  1.2 The classification shall be expressed in the form of, for example, "Load bearing fire-resisting deck 60" and "Non-load bearing fire-resisting bulkhead 30", i.e. including the qualification on orientation of the division together with a statement if the division in question is evaluated as load bearing or as non-load bearing.

  1.3 Testing of fire-resisting divisions and reporting shall generally be in accordance with the requirements given in part 3 of this annex. Where additional interpretation, adaptations and/or supplementary requirements may be necessary, these are detailed in this part.

  1.4 The test shall continue for a minimum of 30 min for fire-resisting divisions 30, or 60 min for fire-resisting divisions 60, or for an intermediate fire protection time when allowed in accordance with the 2000 HSC Code.

  1.5 The following performance criteria for insulation and integrity shall be fulfilled within the classification period (see paragraph 1.4 above):

  • .1 insulation: the average unexposed face temperature rise shall not be more than 140°C, and the temperature rise recorded by any of the individual unexposed face thermocouple shall not be more than 180°C; and

  • .2 integrity:

    • .1 there shall be no flaming on the unexposed face;

    • .2 there shall be no ignition, i.e. flaming or glowing, of the cotton-wool pad; and

    • .3 it shall not be possible to enter the gap gauges as described in paragraph 8.4.4 of appendix 1 to part 3 into any opening in the specimen.

  1.6 In this appendix, testing of fire-resisting divisions is described in three separate parts, as follows:

  • .1 non-load bearing fire-resisting divisions;

  • .2 load bearing fire-resisting divisions having a structural metal core as presupposed in part 3 of this annex for "A" class divisions; and

  • .3 other load bearing fire-resisting divisions.

2 Non-Load Bearing Fire-Resisting Divisions

 The approach adopted for testing of fire-resisting divisions which are non-load bearing shall follow the requirements for testing "B" class divisions in part 3 of this annex where relevant and appropriate.

3 Load Bearing Fire-Resisting Divisions Having a Structural Metal Core as Presupposed in Part 3 of this Annex for “A” Class Divisions

  3.1 The approach adopted for testing of load-bearing fire-resisting divisions having a structural metal core (steel or aluminium) shall follow the requirements for testing "A" class divisions in part 3 of this annex, where relevant and appropriate.

  3.2 If the structural core is of aluminium, the average temperature of the structural core shall not rise more than 200°C above its initial temperature at any time within the classification period (see paragraph 1.4 above).

4 Load Bearing Fire-Resisting Divisions

  4.1 The approach adopted for testing of other load bearing fire-resisting divisions shall follow the requirements for testing "B" class divisions in part 3 of this annex where relevant and appropriate.

  4.2 In addition, such load bearing divisions shall be tested with the prescribed static load and they shall maintain their load bearing ability within the classification period (see paragraph 1.4 above).

4.3 Nature of test specimen

  4.3.1 The construction, erection and stiffening of the test specimen shall be typical of the use in practice.

  4.3.2 For vertical divisions (bulkheads), the minimum overall dimensions for the exposed part of the test specimen are 2,440 mm width and 2,500 mm height, or full height if the height is smaller than 2,500 mm.

  4.3.3 For horizontal divisions (decks), the minimum overall dimensions for the exposed part of the test specimen are 2,440 mm width and 3,040 mm length (span), or full length if the length is smaller than 3,040 mm.

4.4 Mounting of test specimen

  4.4.1 A vertical test specimen shall be simply supported at the top and the bottom and shall not be supported along its vertical edges.

  4.4.2 A horizontal test specimen shall be simply supported at the two ends and shall not be supported along its edges parallel to the span.

4.5 Static load

  4.5.1 The following levels of loading shall be applied uniformly, as far as practicable, along the top edge of the vertical specimen or surface of the horizontal specimen:

  • .1 bulkheads: 7.0 kN/m of the width; and

  • .2 decks: 3.5 kN/m2 of the area.

 The load may be applied hydraulically, mechanically or by the use of weights.

  4.5.2 The loading equipment shall be able to simulate the conditions of loading, as appropriate, for the test construction. The loading equipment shall also be capable of maintaining the test load at a constant value (to within ± 5% of the required value) without changing its distribution for the duration of the load-bearing capacity period; it shall not significantly influence the heat transfer through the specimen nor impede the use of the thermocouple insulating pads; it shall not interfere with the measurement of surface temperature and/or deformation and shall permit general observation of the unexposed face.

  4.5.3 For decks, the total area of the contact points between the loading equipment and the test specimen surface shall not exceed 10% of the total area of the surface of a horizontal test specimen. The equipment shall be capable of following the maximum deformation and the rate of deformation of the test specimen. For bulkheads, the loading equipment has to produce a load uniformly applied to the total width of the bulkhead.

  4.5.4 If the tested assembly includes load bearing elements such as beams, they shall be exposed to the furnace on all faces except for the face in contact with the specimen and shall not be placed at less than 200 mm from the furnace walls.

  4.5.5 In practice, it may be difficult to produce a uniform load, especially on decks. When determining a load distribution that is representative of the standard conditions described in paragraphs 4.4.2 and 4.5.1, the laboratory shall consider the degrees of freedom, maximum shear force and bending moment.

  4.5.6 Mounting methods and loading conditions different to those in paragraphs 4.4.2 and 4.5.1 may be used. In that case, the test conditions and load distribution shall be acceptable to the Administration.

  4.5.7 The test report shall include justifications of approximations to uniform load and mounting. The report shall include a description of load repartition in terms of force, surface of contact and position of these contacts.

  4.5.8 The test load shall be applied at least 15 min before the commencement of the heating period.

4.6 Deformation

  4.6.1 Deformation measurements shall be made using equipment employing mechanical, optical or electrical techniques. Instrumentation for the measurement of deflection of the test specimen shall be located so as to provide data in terms of the amount and rate of deflection during the fire test.

  4.6.2 The deformation data shall be recorded to an accuracy of ± 2 mm during the testing period.

  4.6.3 For a bulkhead, measurement shall be made of the axial contraction and of the horizontal deflection.

  4.6.4 For a deck, measurement shall be made of the vertical deflection.

4.7 Performance criteria for load bearing ability

 The test specimen shall be deemed to have failed if it is no longer able to support the test load. Support of the test load is determined by both the amount and the rate of deflection. Since relatively rapid deflections can occur until stable conditions are reached, the rate of deflection criteria of decks is not applied until a deflection of L/30 has been exceeded. For the purposes of this part, the following criteria apply:

  • .1 bulkheads:

    • .1 limiting axial contraction of h/100 mm; and

    • .2 limiting rate of axial contraction of 3 h/1,000 mm/min,

    • where:

      • h = the initial height (mm); and

  • .2 decks:

    • .1 limiting deflecting of (L)2/400 d mm; and

    • .2 limiting rate of deflection of (L)2/9,000 d mm/min,

    • where:

      • L = the clear span of the specimen (mm); and

      • d = the distance from the extreme fibre of the design compression zone to the extreme fibre of the design tension zone of the structural section (mm).

5 Test Report

 The test report shall include the following information as a minimum. A clear distinction shall be made between the data provided by the sponsor and the data determined by the test:

  • .1 reference that the test was carried out in accordance with part 11 of the 2010 FTP Code (see also subparagraph .2 below);

  • .2 any deviations from the test method;

  • .3 name and address of the testing laboratory;

  • .4 date and identification number of the report;

  • .5 name and address of the sponsor;

  • .6 name and/or identification of the product tested;

  • .7 the name of the manufacturer of the test specimen and of the products and components used in the construction;

  • .8 type of the product, e.g. bulkhead, ceiling, door, window, duct penetration, etc.;

  • .9 classification of test per paragraph 1.6;

  • .10 the constructional details of the test specimen, including description and drawing and principal details of components. All the details requested in paragraph 2 shall be given. The description and the drawings which are included in the test report shall, as far as practicable, be based on information derived from a survey of the test specimen. When full and detailed drawings are not included in the report, then the applicant's drawing(s) of the test specimen shall be authenticated by the laboratory and at least one copy of the authenticated drawing(s) shall be retained by the laboratory; in this case reference to the applicant's drawing(s) shall be given in the report together with a statement indicating the method of endorsing the drawings;

  • .11 all properties of materials used that have a bearing on the fire performance of the test specimen together with measurements of thickness, density and, where applicable, the moisture and/or organic content of the insulation material(s) as determined by the test laboratory;

  • .12 method of applying load and quantity of the load, if applicable;

  • .13 date of the test specimen arrival;

  • .14 details of specimen conditioning;

  • .15 date of test;

  • .16 test results:

    • .1 information concerning the location of all thermocouples fixed to the specimen, together with tabulated data obtained from each thermocouple during the test. Additionally, a graphical depiction of the data obtained may be included. A drawing shall be included which clearly illustrates the positions of the various thermocouples and identifies them relative to the temperature-time data;

    • .2 the average and the maximum temperature rises and the average core temperature rise, when applicable, recorded at the end of the period of time appropriate to the insulation performance criteria for the relevant classification or, if the test is terminated due to the insulation criteria having been exceeded, the times at which limiting temperatures were exceeded; and

    • .3 the maximum deflection of the specimen. In case of doors, the maximum deflection at the centre of the door specimen and the maximum displacement of each corner of the door leaf relative to the door frame;

  • .17 the classification attained by the test specimen shall be expressed in the form of "load-bearing fire-resisting divisions 60 bulkhead", i.e. including the qualification on orientation of the division. The result shall be presented in the test report in the following manner under the heading "Classification": "A bulkhead constructed as described in this report may be regarded as an "load-bearing fire-resisting divisions 60" class bulkhead according to part 11 of annex 1 to the 2010 FTP Code.";

  • .18 the name of the representative of the Administration present at the test. If the Administration requires prior notification of test and a representative does not witness the test, a note to this effect shall be made in the report in the following form:

  • "The … (name of the Administration) … was notified of the intention to conduct the test detailed in this report and did not consider it necessary to send a representative to witness it."; and

  • .19 the statement:

  • "The test results relate to the behaviour of the test specimens of a product under the particular conditions of the test; they are not intended to be the sole criterion for assessing the potential fire hazard of the product in use.".

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