Pilot-Scale Fire-Endurance Tests of Fire-Barrier Panels and Panel/Blanket Combinations. Report of Test.
Pilot-Scale Fire-Endurance Tests of Fire-Barrier Panels
and Panel/Blanket Combinations. Report of Test.
(39030 K)
Steckler, K. D.
FR 4008; Report of Test FR 4008; 158 p. August 20,
1996.
Available from:
ADDRESS INQUIRIES TO: Patrick Madden, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555.
Telephone: 301-415-2854
Keywords:
fire barriers; fire endurance tests; fire research; fire
resistance tests; small scale fire tests; raceways
Abstract:
These tests were carried out at the request of the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to obtain
information on the fire endurance of three fire-barrier
systems when tested as horizontal planar units in a
pilot-scale furnace. These systems are or will be
installed to protect cable trays and electrical raceways
in one or more U.S. nuclear power plants. For reasons
presented later in this report, pilot-scale
fire-endurance testing is limited to assessing the
thermal-transmission characteristics of fire barrier
materials, often under non-conservative edge-loss
conditions. Furthermore, since the tests in this
current series were conducted on planar units (i.e., as
"ceilings" forming the top of the furnace), exposed to
the furnace on only one surface, the results cannot be
used to assess the performance of test assemblies
exposed to the furnace on more than one surface, which
is a more severe exposure. For these reasons, the
reader is cautioned against using the results from this
test series to assess the potential fire performance of
full-scale fire barriers. Indeed, the reduced-scale
results of this test series are intended for first-cut
screening purposes only. The tests were conducted in
the pilot-scale fire-endurance furnace located at the
U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST). A total of five tests
were conducted: two tests involving semi-rigid
fire-barrier boards and three tests involving
"subliming" panels with wrapping-material upgrades.
Procedures specified in American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) E 119-88 generally were followed except
when restrictions imposed by the pilot-scale precluded
strict adherence to the procedure or suggested the
procedure be modified (e.g., number and placement of
thermocouples). The test results are summarized in
Table ES1 onpages 4 and 5. The primary results are: 1.
Four test assemblies, H3-1, TJ1-1, TJ3-3, and TU3-1, met
all ASTM E 119 temperature and flame passage criteria
for the expected period of either 1 or 3 hours. Indeed,
these systems exceeded their expected periods by 0.5 to
1.5 hours. 2. The remaining test assembly, H1-1,
produced average unexposed-surface temperatures that
reached the E-119 average-temperature criterion about 5
minutes prior to the expected 1-hour fire-endurance
period. No flame passage or burnthrough occurred during
the 1-hour test period.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899