Appendix – Fire Test Procedures for Non-Combustibility Test
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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 1 – Non-Combustibility Test - Appendix – Fire Test Procedures for Non-Combustibility Test

Appendix – Fire Test Procedures for Non-Combustibility Test

Parent topic: Part 1 – Non-Combustibility Test

Introduction

 This fire test is for identification of products which produce only a very limited amount of heat and flame when exposed to temperatures of approximately 750°C.

Safety Warning

 The attention of all persons concerned with managing and carrying out this test is drawn to the fact that fire testing may be hazardous and that there is a possibility that toxic and/or harmful smoke and gases may be evolved during the test. Operational hazards may also arise during the testing of specimens and the disposal of test residues.

 An assessment of all potential hazards and risks to health shall be made and safety precautions shall be identified and provided. Written safety instructions shall be issued. Appropriate training shall be given to relevant personnel. Laboratory personnel shall ensure that they follow written safety instructions at all times.

1 Scope

  1.1 This appendix specifies test procedures for determining the non-combustibility.

  1.2 Information on the precision of the test method is given in annex A of standard ISO 1182.

2 Normative References

 The following normative documents contain provisions which constitute provisions of this appendix.

  • .1 ISO 1182, Reaction to fire tests for building and transport products – Non-combustibility test; and

  • .2 ISO 13943, Fire safety – Vocabulary.

3 Terms and Definitions

 For the purpose of this appendix, the terms and definitions given in Fire safety – Vocabulary (ISO 13943), together with the following, apply:

  3.1 Homogeneous product is a product, consisting of a single material, having uniform density and composition throughout the product.

  3.2 Loose fill material is a material without any physical shape.

  3.3 Material is a single basic substance or uniformly dispersed mixture of substances, e.g., metal, stone, timber, concrete, mineral wool with uniformly dispersed binder, polymers.

  3.4 Non-homogeneous product is a product that does not satisfy the requirements of a homogeneous product. It is a product composed of more than one component, substantial and/or non-substantial.

  3.5 Product is material, element or component about which information is required.

  3.6 Sustained flaming shall be taken as the persistence of flames on, or over any part of, the visible part of the specimen lasting 5 s or longer.

3.7 Moisture content

  3.7.1 The specimen for determining the moisture content and organic contents shall not be used for the non-combustibility test.

  3.7.2 The moisture content (W1-W2) of each specimen shall be calculated using the following method, and indicate a percentage of the dry weight (W2), and which information is required.

  3.7.3 In the following, W1, W2 and W3 are mean values of three weight measurements. W1 shall be higher than 25 g. Three specimens of each material, taken in the width of the production's direction and measuring width x minimum 20 mm x thickness of the material, shall be weighed (initial conditioned weight W1) and then heated in a ventilated oven at a temperature of 105 ± 2°C for 24 h and reweighed when cooled (W2). However, gypsum-based, cementations and similar materials shall be dried at a temperature of 55 ± 5°C to constant weight (W2).

  3.7.4 The moisture content (W1-W2) of each specimen shall be calculated as a percentage of the dry weight (W2).

3.8 Organic content

  3.8.1 The information of organic content is required. After the percentage moisture contents have been calculated as specified above, the three specimens shall be further heated in an oven at a temperature of 500 ± 20°C for 2 h and again weighed (W3). The organic content (W2-W3) shall be calculated as a percentage of the dry weight (W2).

  3.8.2 The organic content of each material used in the test specimen shall be within ± 0.3% absolute of the value stated as the nominal organic content.

  • Note: A bigger tolerance can be accepted as long as the tested specimen represents the upper limit of the tolerance. In this case, it shall be specified in the test report and in the type approval certificate.

4 Test Apparatus

 The test apparatus including thermocouples, specimen holders and other necessary peripherals shall be in accordance with Reaction to fire tests for building and transport products – Non-combustibility test (ISO 1182). Calibration of the test apparatus shall be conducted in accordance with the ISO standard.

5 Test Specimen

5.1 General

  5.1.1 The test specimen shall be taken from a sample which is sufficiently large to be representative of the product.

  5.1.2 The test specimens shall be cylindrical and each shall have a diameter of 43 mm to 45 mm and a height of 50 ± 3 mm.

5.2 Preparation

  5.2.1 If the thickness of the material is different from 50 ± 3 mm, specimens of the height of 50 ± 3 mm shall be made by using a sufficient number of layers of the material and/or by adjustment of the material thickness.

  5.2.2 For non-homogeneous materials, the specimen of height of 50 ± 3 mm shall be constructed such that all layers are represented in the specimen in proportion to their presence, by volume, in the original specimen.

  5.2.3 The layers shall occupy a horizontal position in the specimen holder and shall be held together firmly, without significant compression, by means of two fine steel wires, of maximum diameter 0.5 mm, to prevent air gaps between layers. The specimens of loose fill materials shall be representative in appearance, density, etc., as in use.

  • Note: When a specimen is composed of a number of layers, the overall density should be as close as possible to that of the product provided by the manufacturer.

5.3 Number

 For homogeneous products, five specimens shall be made. For non-homogeneous products, 10 specimens shall be made.

6 Conditioning

 The test specimens shall be dried in a ventilated oven maintained at 60 ± 5°C, for between 20 h and 24 h, and cooled to ambient temperature in a desiccator prior to testing. The mass of each specimen shall be determined to an accuracy of 0.01 g prior to test.

7 Test Procedure

7.1 Test environment

 The apparatus shall not be exposed to draughts or any form of strong direct sunlight or artificial illumination which would adversely affect the observation of flaming inside the furnace. The room temperature shall not change by more than 5°C during a test.

7.2 Setting up procedure

  7.2.1 Specimen holder

 Remove the specimen holder and its support from the furnace.

  7.2.2 Thermocouple

  7.2.2.1 Furnace thermocouple

 The furnace thermocouple shall be located with its hot junction 10 ± 0.5 mm from the furnace tube wall and at a height corresponding to the geometric centre of the furnace tube.

  7.2.2.2 Specimen surface thermocouple

 The specimen surface thermocouple shall be positioned so that its hot junction is in contact with the specimen at mid-height of the specimen at the start of the test and shall be located diametrically opposite the furnace thermocouple.

  7.2.3 Electricity supply

 Connect the heating element of the furnace either to the voltage stabilizer, variable transformer and the electrical input monitor or the power controller. Automatic thermostatic control of the furnace shall not be used during testing.

  • Note 1 : The heating element should normally draw a current of between 9 A and 10 A at approximately 100 V under steady state conditions. In order not to overload the winding, it is recommended that the maximum current does not exceed 11 A.

  • Note 2: A new furnace tube should be subjected to slow heating initially. A suitable procedure has been found to be to increase the furnace temperature in steps of approximately 200°C, allowing 2 h heating at each temperature.

  7.2.4 Furnace stabilization

 Adjust the power input to the furnace so that the average furnace temperature, as indicated by the furnace thermocouple, is stabilized for at least 10 min at 750 ± 5°C. The drift (linear regression) shall not be more than 2°C during these 10 min and there shall be a maximum deviation from the average temperature of not more than 10°C in 10 min.

  • Note: An example of furnace temperature stabilization is given in annex D of standard ISO 1182.

7.3 Standard test procedure

  7.3.1 Stabilize the furnace as described in paragraph 7.2.4. If the recorder used does not allow a real-time calculation, the temperature stabilization shall be checked afterwards. If the conditions specified in paragraph 7.2.4 were not satisfied, the test shall be repeated.

  7.3.2 Before starting the test, ascertain that the whole equipment is in good working order, for example, that the stabilizer is clean, the specimen insertion device is working smoothly and the specimen holder exactly occupies the required position in the furnace.

  7.3.3 Insert one specimen prepared and conditioned as specified in paragraph 6 into the specimen holder suspended on its support.

  7.3.4 Place the specimen holder in the furnace in the position taking not more than 5 s for this operation. The position of the specimen shall be such that the geometric centre of the specimen is located rigidly at the geometric centre of the furnace during the test.

  7.3.5 Start observation of flaming before the specimen is lowered into the furnace.

  7.3.6 Start the timing device immediately following the insertion of the specimen into the furnace.

  7.3.7 Record in intervals not longer than 1 s, throughout the test, the temperature measured by the furnace thermocouple and the specimen surface thermocouple.

  7.3.8 Carry out the test for a period of 30 min.

  7.3.9 After cooling the specimen to ambient temperature in a desiccator, weigh the specimen. Recover any char, ash or other debris which breaks off the specimen and falls down the tube, either during or following the test, and include this as a part of the unconsumed specimen.

  7.3.10 For homogeneous products, test five specimens as described in paragraphs 7.3.1 to 7.3.9.

  7.3.11 For non-homogeneous products, test five specimens oriented with one surface on the top of the test specimen as described in paragraphs 7.3.1 to 7.3.9. Repeat with the remaining five specimens oriented with that surface on the bottom.

7.4 Observations during test

  7.4.1 Record the mass, in g, before and after the test for each specimen tested according to paragraph 7.3, and note any observations relating to the behaviour of the specimen during the test including during insertion into the apparatus.

  7.4.2 Note the occurrence of any sustained flaming and record the duration of such flaming in seconds.

  • Note: Some specimens exhibit only a steady blue-coloured luminous gas zone; this shall not be considered as flaming but be noted under "observations during test" in the test report.

  7.4.3 Record the following temperatures, in °C, as measured by the thermocouples:

  • .1 the initial furnace temperature, Ti(furnace) which is the average temperature over the final 10 min of the stabilization period as defined in paragraph 7.2.4;

  • .2 the maximum furnace temperature Tm(furnace) and the maximum specimen surface temperature Tm(surface) , which are the discrete values at maximum temperature anywhere over the entire test period; and

  • .3 the final furnace temperature Tf(furnace) and the final specimen surface temperature Tf(surface) , which is the average temperature over the final 1 min of the test period as defined in paragraph 7.3.8.

8 Expression of Results

8.1 Calculation of averages

  8.1.1 For homogeneous products, calculate the averages for paragraphs 8.2 (Mass loss) to 8.5 (Average temperature rise) for the five specimens.

  8.1.2 For non-homogeneous products, calculate the averages for paragraphs 8.2 (Mass loss) to 8.5 (Average temperature rise) for each set of five specimens in the same orientation. The results for each orientation shall be presented separately, but they shall not be combined. Classification shall be based on the most onerous orientation such that all the averages for each set of five specimens shall meet the requirements in paragraph 3 of part 1.

8.2 Mass loss

  8.2.1 Calculate and record the mass loss in percentage for each of the five specimens, expressed as a percentage of the initial mass of the specimen, measured as specified in paragraph 7.4.1.

  8.2.2 Calculate the average mass loss in percentage, which is the average of mass loss of the five specimens.

8.3 Flaming

  8.3.1 Calculate and record the total duration of sustained flaming, in seconds, for each of the five specimens measured as specified in paragraph 7.4.2.

  8.3.2 Calculate the average duration of sustained flaming, which is the average of total duration of sustained flaming of the five specimens.

8.4 Temperature rise

 Calculate and record the following temperature rise in °C for each of the five specimens recorded by the thermocouples as specified in paragraph 7.4.3

  • .1 furnace temperature rise: Tr(furnace) = Tm(furnace) - Tf (furnace) ; and

  • .2 specimen surface temperature rise: Tr(surface) = T m(surface) - T f (surface) .

8.5 Average temperature rise

 Calculate the average furnace temperature rise Tave r(furnace) and the average specimen surface temperature rise Tave r(surface) from the values obtained by paragraph 8.4.

9 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 data determined by the test:

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

  • .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 address of the manufacturer/supplier, if known;

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

  • .8 description of the sampling procedure, where relevant;

  • .9 description of the product tested including density, mass per unit area and thickness, together with details of the construction, moisture content and organic content of the product;

  • .10 description of the specimen including dimensions, orientations and construction;

  • .11 date of sample arrival;

  • .12 details of specimen conditioning;

  • .13 date of test;

  • .14 test results expressed in accordance with paragraph 8;

  • .15 observations made during the test;

  • .16 classification of the material; and

  • .17 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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