Appendix 2 – Fire Test Procedures for Heat Release, Smoke Production and Mass Loss Rate for Materials Used for Furniture and Other Components of High-Speed Craft
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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 10 – Test for Fire–Restricting Materials for High-Speed Craft - Appendix 2 – Fire Test Procedures for Heat Release, Smoke Production and Mass Loss Rate for Materials Used for Furniture and Other Components of High-Speed Craft

Appendix 2 – Fire Test Procedures for Heat Release, Smoke Production and Mass Loss Rate for Materials Used for Furniture and Other Components of High-Speed Craft

  Reference documents: ISO 5660-1, Reaction-to-fire tests – Heat release, smoke production and mass loss rate – Part 1: Heat release rate (cone calorimeter method); and ISO5660-2, Reaction-to-fire tests – Heat release, smoke production and mass loss rate – Part 2: Smoke production rate (dynamic measurement).

Parent topic: Part 10 – Test for Fire–Restricting Materials for High-Speed Craft

1 Scope

 This paragraph specifies a method for assessing the heat release rate of a specimen exposed in the horizontal orientation to controlled levels of irradiance with an external igniter. The heat release rate is determined by measurement of the oxygen consumption derived from the oxygen concentration and the flow rate in the combustion product stream. The time to ignition (sustained flaming) is also measured in this test.

2 Normative References

 The following normative documents contain provisions that, when referenced in this text, constitute provisions of this appendix.

 ISO 291, Plastics – Standard atmospheres for conditioning and testing.

 ISO 554, Standard atmospheres for conditioning and/or testing – Specifications.

 ISO 5660-1, Reaction-to-fire tests – Heat release, smoke production and mass loss rate – Part 1: Heat release rate (cone calorimeter method).

 ISO 5660-2, Reaction-to-fire tests – Heat release, smoke production and mass loss rate – Part 2: Smoke production rate (dynamic measurement).

 ISO 13943, Fire safety – Vocabulary.

 ISO 14697, Reaction to fire tests – Guidance on the choice of substrates for building and transport products.

3 Terms and Definitions

 For the purposes of this appendix, the terms and definitions given in standard ISO 13943 and the following apply.

  3.1 Essentially flat surface is a surface whose irregularity from a plane does not exceed 1 mm.

  3.2 Flashing is an existence of flame on or over the surface of the specimen for periods of less than 1 s.

  3.3 Ignition is an onset of sustained flaming as defined in paragraph 3.10.

  3.4 Irradiance (at a point on a surface) is a quotient of the radiant flux incident on an infinitesimal element of surface containing the point and the area of that element.

  • Note: Convective heating is negligible in the horizontal specimen orientation. For this reason, the term "irradiance" is used instead of "heat flux" throughout this part of standard ISO 5660 as it best indicates the essentially radiative mode of heat transfer.

  3.5 Material is a single substance or uniformly dispersed mixture, such as metal, stone, timber, concrete, mineral fibre and polymers.

  3.6 Orientation is a plane in which the exposed face of the specimen is located during testing, with either the vertical or horizontal face upwards.

  3.7 Oxygen consumption principle is proportional to the relation between the mass of oxygen consumed during combustion and the heat released.

  3.8 Product is a material, composite or assembly about which information is required.

  3.9 Specimen is a representative piece of the product which is to be tested together with any substrate or treatment.

Note For certain types of product, for example products that contain an air gap or joints, it may not be possible to prepare specimens that are representative of the end-use conditions (see paragraph 7).

  3.10 Sustained flaming is the existence of flame on or over the surface of the specimen for periods of over 10 s.

  3.11 Transitory flaming is the existence of flame on or over the surface of the specimen for periods of between 1 s and 10 s.

4 Symbol

 See table 1 of standard ISO 5660-1.

5 Principle

  5.1 This test method is based on the observation that, generally, the net heat of combustion is proportional to the amount of oxygen required for combustion. The relation is that approximately 13.1 x 103 kJ of heat are released per kilogram of oxygen consumed. Specimens in the test are burned under ambient air conditions, while being subjected to a predetermined external irradiance within the range of 0 to 100 kW/m2 and measurements are made of oxygen concentrations and exhaust gas flow rates.

  5.2 The test method is used to assess the contribution that the product under test can make to the rate of evolution of heat during its involvement in fire. These properties are determined on small representative specimens.

6 Apparatus

  6.1 The test apparatus, including cone-shaped radiant electrical heater, exhaust gas system with flow measuring instrumentation, gas sampling and analysing system, specimen holder and other necessary peripherals, shall be in accordance with standard ISO 5660-1. Calibration of the test apparatus shall be conducted in accordance with standard ISO 5660-1.

  6.2 The test apparatus for measuring smoke production rate shall be in accordance with standard ISO 5660-2.

7 Suitability of a Product for Testing

7.1 Surface characteristics

  7.1.1 A product having one of the following properties is suitable for testing:

  • .1 an essentially flat exposed surface;

  • .2 a surface irregularity which is evenly distributed over the exposed surface provided that:

    • .1 at least 50% of the surface of a representative 100 mm x 100 mm area lies within a depth of 10 mm from a plane taken across the highest points on the exposed surface, or

    • .2 for surfaces containing cracks, fissures or holes which depth exceeds 10 mm, the width of the cracks, fissures or holes shall not exceed 10 mm, and the total area of such cracks, fissures or holes at the surface shall not exceed 30% of a representative 100 mm x 100 mm area of the exposed surface.

  7.1.2 When an exposed surface does not meet the requirements of paragraph 7.1.1.1 or 7.1.1.2, the product shall be tested in a modified form complying as nearly as possible with the requirements given in this paragraph. The test report shall state that the product has been tested in a modified form, and clearly describe the modification.

7.2 Asymmetrical products

 A product submitted for this test can have faces which differ, or can contain laminations of different materials arranged in a different order in relation to the two faces. If either of the faces can be exposed in use within a room, cavity or void, then both faces shall be tested.

7.3 Materials of short burning time

 For specimens of short burning time (3 min or less), the heat release rate measurements shall be taken at not more than 2 s intervals. For longer burning times, 5 s intervals may be used.

7.4 Composite specimens

 Composite specimens are suitable for testing, provided that they are prepared as specified in paragraph 8.3 and are exposed in a manner typical of end-use conditions.

7.5 Dimensionally unstable materials

  7.5.1 Samples that intumesce or deform so that they contact the spark plug prior to ignition, or the underside of the cone heater after ignition, shall be tested with the separation of 60 mm between the base plate of the cone heater and the upper surface of the specimen. In this case the heater calibration shall be performed with the heat flux meter positioned 60 mm below the cone heater base plate. It must be stressed that the time to ignition measured with this separation is not comparable to that measured with the separation of 25 mm.

  7.5.2 Other dimensionally unstable products, for example products that warp or shrink during testing, shall be restrained against excessive movement. This shall be accomplished with four tie wires, as described below. Metal wires of 1 ± 0.1 mm diameter, and at least 350 mm long, shall be used. The specimen shall be prepared in the standard way as described in paragraph 8. A tie wire is then looped around the specimen holder and retainer frame assembly, so that it is parallel to and approximately 20 mm away from one of the four sides of the assembly. The ends of the wire are twisted together such that the wire is pulled firmly against the retainer frame. Excess wire is trimmed from the twisted section before testing. The three remaining wires shall be fitted around the specimen holder and retainer frame assembly in a similar manner, parallel to the three remaining sides.

8 Specimen Construction and Preparation

8.1 Specimens

  8.1.1 The specimen shall be representative of the end-use conditions of the material, including any surface finishes.

  8.1.2 In the case of combustible insulation materials that are protected by metallic skins or identifiable as a separate item, the insulation shall be tested without the surface protection.

  8.1.3 A sample edge frame shall be used in all tests. The irradiance level shall be set at 50 kW/m2 for all three tests. The test shall be terminated when 20 min have elapsed since the start of exposure. Data shall be collected for an additional 2 min after the end of a test to ensure that data are available for the entire test duration after time-shifting to account for delay times of part of the instrumentation.

  8.1.4 Three specimens shall be tested at 50 kW/m2 level of irradiance selected and for each different exposed surface.

  8.1.5 The specimens shall be representative of the end-use conditions of the material, including any surface finishes and shall be square with sides measuring 100 ± 2 mm.

  8.1.6 Products with a normal thickness of 50 mm or less shall be tested using their full thickness.

  8.1.7 For products with a normal thickness greater than 50 mm, the requisite specimens shall be obtained by cutting away the unexposed face to reduce the thickness to 50 mm.

  8.1.8 When cutting specimens from products with irregular surfaces, the highest point on the surface shall be arranged to occur at the centre of the specimen.

  8.1.9 Assemblies shall be tested as specified in paragraph 8.1.3 or 8.1.4, as appropriate. However, where thin materials or composites are used in the fabrication of an assembly, the nature of any underlying construction can significantly affect the ignition and burning characteristics of the exposed surface.

  8.1.10 The influence of the underlying layers shall be understood and care taken to ensure that the test result obtained on any assembly is relevant to its use in practice.

  8.1.11 When the product is a material or composite which would normally be attached to a well-defined substrate, it shall be tested in conjunction with that substrate using the recommended fixing technique, for example, bonded with the appropriate adhesive or mechanically fixed. In the absence of a unique or well-defined substrate, an appropriate substrate for testing shall be selected in accordance with standard ISO 14697.

  8.1.12 Products that are thinner than 6 mm shall be tested with a substrate representative of end-use conditions, such that the total specimen thickness is 6 mm or more.

8.2 Conditioning of specimens

  8.2.1 Before the test, specimens shall be conditioned to constant mass at a temperature of 23 ± 2°C and a relative humidity of 50 ± 5% in accordance with standard ISO 554.

  8.2.2 Constant mass is considered to be reached when two successive weighing operations, carried out at an interval of 24 h, do not differ by more than 0.1% of the mass of the test piece or 0.1 g, whichever is the greater.

  8.2.3 Materials such as polyamides, which require more than one week in conditioning to reach equilibrium, may be tested after conditioning in accordance with standard ISO 291. This period shall be not less than one week, and shall be described in the test report.

8.3 Preparation

  8.3.1 Specimen wrapping

  8.3.1.1 A conditioned specimen shall be wrapped in a single layer of aluminium foil, of 0.025 mm to 0.04 mm thickness, with the shiny side towards the specimen. The aluminium foil shall be pre-cut to a size to cover the bottom and sides of the specimen and extend 3 mm or more beyond the upper surface of the specimen. The specimen shall be placed in the middle of the foil and the bottom and sides shall be wrapped. The excess foil above the top surface shall be cut if necessary so that it does not extend more than above the top surface of the specimen. The excess foil at the corners shall be folded around the corners to form a seal around the top surface of the specimen. After wrapping, the wrapped specimen shall be placed in the specimen holder and covered by a retainer frame. No aluminium foil shall be visible after the procedure is completed.

  8.3.1.2 For soft specimens, a dummy specimen having the same thickness as the specimen to be tested may be used to pre-shape the aluminium foil.

  8.3.2 Specimen preparation

 All specimens shall be tested with the retainer frame. The following steps shall be taken to prepare a specimen for testing:

  • .1 put the retainer frame on a flat surface facing downwards;

  • .2 insert the foil-wrapped specimen into the frame with the exposed surface facing downwards;

  • .3 put layers of refractory fibre blanket (nominal thickness 13 mm, nominal density 65 kg/m3) on top until at least one full layer, and not more than two layers, extend above the rim of the frame;

  • .4 fit the specimen holder into the frame on top of the refractory fibre and press down; and

  • .5 secure the retainer frame to the specimen holder.

9 Test Environment

 The apparatus shall be located in an essentially draught-free environment in an atmosphere of relative humidity of between 20% and 80% and temperature of between 15°C and 30°C.

10 Test Procedures

10.1 General precautions

  Warning: So that suitable precautions are taken to safeguard health, the attention of all concerned in fire tests is drawn to the possibility that toxic or harmful gases can be evolved during exposure of test specimens.

 The test procedures involve high temperatures and combustion processes. Therefore, hazards can exist such as burns or the ignition of extraneous objects or clothing. The operator shall use protective gloves for insertion and removal of test specimens. Neither the cone heater nor the associated fixtures shall be touched while hot, except with the use of protective gloves. Care shall be taken never to touch the spark igniter which carries a substantial potential 10 kV. The exhaust system of the apparatus shall be checked for proper operation before testing and shall discharge into a building exhaust system with adequate capacity. The possibility of the violent ejection of molten hot material or sharp fragments from some kinds of specimens when irradiated cannot totally be discounted and it is therefore essential that eye protection be worn.

10.2 Initial preparation

  10.2.1 Check the CO2 trap and the final moisture trap. Replace the sorbent if necessary. Drain any accumulated water in the cold trap separation chamber. The normal operating temperature of the cold trap shall not exceed 4°C.

 If any of the traps or filters in the gas sampling system line have been opened during the check, the gas sampling system shall be checked for leaks (with the sample pump on), e.g., by introducing pure nitrogen, at the same flow rate and pressure as for the sample gases, from a nitrogen source connected as close as possible to the ring sampler. The oxygen analyser shall then read zero.

  10.2.2 Adjust the distance between the base plate of the cone heater and the upper surface of the specimen.

  10.2.3 Turn on power to the cone heater and the exhaust fan. Power to the gas analysers, weighing device and pressure transducer shall not be turned off on a daily basis.

  10.2.4 Set an exhaust flow rate of 0.024 ± 0.002 m3/s.

  10.2.5 Perform the required calibration procedures specified in paragraph 10.2 of standard ISO 5660-1. Put a thermal barrier on top of the weighing device (for example, an empty specimen holder with refractory fibre blanket or water-cooled radiation shield). This is to be in place during warm-up and between tests to avoid excessive heat transmission to the weighing device.

10.3 Procedure

  10.3.1 Start data collection

 Collection of baseline data: the scanning interval shall be 2 s.

  10.3.2 Insert the radiation shield in position. Remove the thermal barrier protecting the weighing device. Place the specimen holder and specimen, prepared according to paragraph 8.3, on the weighing device. The radiation shield shall be cooler than 100°C, immediately prior to the insertion.

  10.3.3 Insert the spark plug and remove the radiation shield in the correct sequence according to the type of shield that is used, as described below.

  • For type a) shields (see standard ISO 5660-1), remove the shield and start the test. Within 1 s of removing the shield, insert and power the igniter.

  • For type b) shields (see standard ISO 5660-1), remove the shield within 10 s after the insertion and start the test. Within 1 s of removing the shield, insert and power the igniter.

  10.3.4 Record the times when flashing or transitory flaming occurs. When sustained flaming occurs, record the time, turn off the spark, and remove the spark igniter. If the flame extinguishes after turning off the spark, re-insert the spark igniter and turn on the spark within 5 s, and do not remove the spark until the entire test is completed. Report these events in the test report (paragraph 12).

  10.3.5 Collect all data until:

  • .1 22 min after the time to sustained flaming (the 22 min consist of a 20-min test period and an additional 2-min post-test period to collect data that will be time-shifted);

  • .2 20 min have elapsed and the specimen has not ignited;

  • .3 XO2 returns to the pre-test value within 100 parts per million of oxygen concentration for 10 min; or

  • .4 the mass of the specimen becomes zero,

 whichever occurs first, but in any case, minimum test duration shall be 5 min. Observe and record physical changes to the sample such as melting, swelling and cracking.

  10.3.6 Remove specimen and specimen holder. Put a thermal barrier on top of the weighing device.

  10.3.7 Three specimens shall be tested and reported as described in paragraph 12. The 180 s mean heat release readings shall be compared for the three specimens. If any of these mean readings differ by more than 10% from the arithmetic mean of the three readings, then a further set of three specimens shall be tested. In such cases, the arithmetic mean of the set of six readings shall be reported.

  • Note: The test data have limited validity if the specimen melts sufficiently to overflow the specimen holder, if explosive spalling occurs, or if the specimen swells excessively and touches the spark igniter or the heater base plate.

11 Calculation

  11.1 Time to ignition, heat release rate and total heat release shall be measured and calculated in accordance with standards ISO 5660-1and ISO 5660-2.

  11.2 The time averages of smoke production rate (SPR) and heat release rate (HRR) shall be calculated using actual measured values that are not already averaged.

  11.3 The 30-second sliding average heat release rate (HRR30) and smoke production rate (SPR30) shall be calculated as the average value during between 15 s before and 15 s after the time. For the first and last 30 s duration, the follows apply:

  • .1 for the first 30 s of testing, use also the values prior to ignition of the ignition source, i.e. zero rate of smoke production, when calculating average; and

  • .2 for the last 30 s of testing, use the measured value at 20 min, assign that to another 30 s up to 20 min and 30 s and calculate the average.

  11.4 The maximum of 30-second sliding smoke production rate (SPR30max) and the maximum of 30-second sliding average heat release rate (HRR30max) shall be obtained as the maximum of SPR30 and HRR30 respectively.

12 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 appendix 2 to part 10 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 type of the material, i.e. furniture component, surface linings or finishes, etc.;

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

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

  • ..10 description of the product tested including density and/or mass per unit area, thickness and dimensions, colour, quantity and number of any coating, together with details of the construction of the product;

  • .11 description of the specimen including density and/or mass per unit area, thickness and dimensions, colour, quantity and number of any coating, orientations tested and face subject to the test, and construction;

  • .12 date of sample arrival;

  • .13 details of specimen conditioning;

  • .14 date of test;

  • .15 test conditions:

    • .1 orifice flow rate calibration constant C (see standard ISO 5660-1);

    • .2 irradiance level (50 kW/m2), and exhaust system flow rate expressed in m3/s; and

    • .3 number of replicate specimens tested under the same conditions (this shall be a minimum of three, except for exploratory testing);

  • 16 test results:

    • .1 time to ignition of each specimen, expressed in seconds;

    • .2 test duration of each specimen, usually 20 min;

    • .3 for each specimen, 30-second sliding average heat release (HRR30) expressed in kW/m2 and 30-second sliding average smoke production (SPR30) expressed in m2/s, represented as a curve, recorded for the entire test of each specimen;

    • .4 for each specimen, the maximum in 30-second sliding average heat release rate (HRR30max) expressed in kW/m2 and the maximum in 30-second sliding average smoke production rate (SPR30max) expressed in m2/s;

    • .5 the total heat release expressed in kJ/m2 of each specimen;

    • .6 additional observations, such as transitory flaming or flashing; and

    • .7 difficulties encountered in testing, if any;

  • .17 classification of the material; and

  • .18 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.".

13 Other References

 The following parts of standard ISO 5660-1 shall be also referred to for the purpose of this appendix 2:

.1annex A: Commentary and guidance notes for operators;

.2annex B: Resolution, precision and bias;

.3annex C: Mass loss rate and effective heat of combustion;

.4annex D: Testing in the vertical orientation;

.5annex E: Calibration of the working heat flux meter;

.6annex F: Calculation of heat release with additional gas analysis;

.7annex G: Specimen configurations; and

.8annex H: Bibliography.

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