Fire & Flammability

Fire & Flammability

Fire testing is a process used to understand the behavior of materials when exposed to fire and flames. This type of testing is important to ensure that materials used in construction and other applications meet safety regulations and standards. Fire testing is often conducted according to the standards and protocols of ASTM, UL, API, NFPA, UBC, ANSI, IMO, ULVW, AITM, FAA, and IEEE.

ASTM E119 [UL 263] is a fire test for building construction and materials that helps to assess the fire resistance of materials when exposed to high temperatures. Fire doors are tested to ASTM E152 [UL 10C], through-penetration fire stops to ASTM E814 [UL 1479], valves to API 607, 6A, and small-scale roof fire tests to ASTM E108 [UL 790]. UL 1709 is a rapid-rise fire test to evaluate protection materials for structural steel, UL 1715 is a fire test of interior finish material, and UL 2043 is a fire test for heat and smoke release. NFPA 286 is a test to evaluate wall and ceiling room fire growth, and UBC 26-2 and 26-3 are tests to assess thermal barriers and foam plastic systems, respectively.

Flammability testing is conducted on ASTM E84 [NFPA 255, UL 723] to assess the surface flammability of materials, ASTM E162 to measure surface flammability using a radiant heat energy source, ASTM E662 [NFPA 258] to assess the optical density of smoke generated by materials, ASTM D635 to measure the rate of burning and/or extent of burning of flexible plastics, ASTM E136 to analyze the behavior of materials in a vertical tube furnace, ASTM D1929 to measure ignition properties of plastics, ASTM D2863 to measure the minimum oxygen concentration to support candle-like combustion of plastics and ASTM E1354 and E1317 to use a cone calorimeter and lateral flame speed, respectively. Room burn facility tests are conducted to UBC 42-2, ANSI, ASTM E603, CAL 133, 117, 129 for furniture flammability, UL 94 V/HB for vertical/horizontal flammability, IMO A.652 (16) and A.653 (16) for upholstered furniture and marine surface finishes, ULVW I for vertical wire flame test, ASTM D2859 for flammability of finished textile floor coverings, AITM 2.0007 for specific optical smoke density, NFPA 701 for textiles and films, FMVSS 302 for automotive interiors, FAA 25.853 for compartment interiors and IEEE 383 for cable tray flammability.