- Author
- Bentz, D. P. | White, C. C.
- Title
- Protecting Steel at High Temperatures.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
- Modern Steel Construction, Vol. 49, No. 10, 49-52, October 2009
- Keywords
- steels | high temperature | fire resistive materials | steel structures | gypsum | color | test methods | thermal conductivity | intumescent coatings | calorimeters | ASTM E 2584 | methodology
- Identifiers
- Fire Resistive Material (FRM)
- Abstract
- Fire-Resistive Materials (FRMS) perform a critical, life-saving function in buildings and structures, yet have received surprisingly little attention from the scientific community. At the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), our goals have been to provide the measurement science infrastructure for assessing FRM performance and optimizing the abilities of these materials to protect steel structures during fires. Some examples of FRMs are low-density gypsum or cement-based materials containing fibers or lightweight fillers. Other examples include intumescent coatings that may expand up to 40 time in thickness during exposure to a fire.