- Author
-
Benichou, N.
|
Sultan, M. A.
- Title
- Fire Resistance of Lightweight Wood-Framed Assemblies: State-of-the-Art Report.
- Coporate
- National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
- Report
-
Internal Report No. 776; IRC-IR-776,
June 1999,
45 p.
- Keywords
-
wood
|
fire resistance
|
fire behavior
|
charring
|
thermal properties
|
temperature
|
mechanical properties
|
deformation
|
gypsum
|
wallboard
|
building construction
- Identifiers
- standard fires versus real fires; Component Additive Method (CAM); elevated temperatures; composite action between assembly and gypsum wallboard
- Abstract
- In North America, lightweight wood-framed assemblies are commonly used in residential building construction for their light weight and low construction costs. These assemblies, which form the walls and floors of building compartments, are normally required to provide adequate fire resistance in order to maintain building integrity, to reduce fire spread from one fire compartment to another, and to provide for the safe egress of building occupants. The fire resistance can be determined by tests or by calculation models. In testing, a barrier is subjected to a fire test conducted in accordance with procedures outlined in standards. In calculation, fire resistance can be evaluated using numerical models or simplified formulas. With the advent of performance-based codes, where compliance with a set of objectives must be achieved, validated fire resistance models have become essential. There are extensive efforts underway around the world, including those by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), to develop fire resistance models. NRC is currently developing thermal and structural models for lightweight wood-framed assemblies, in collaboration with the North American wood industry. These models will be used in NRC's risk-cost assessment models as well as in the development of fire resistance design equations. To aid the development of fire resistance models, NRC has just completed, as a first step, an extensive literature review on the efforts made to predict the fire resistance of lightweight wood-framed assemblies, with the objective of determining the gaps that need to be filled. This report presents the results of this literature review, which include: standard versus real time-temperature fire curves, experimental studies, available fire resistance models and design methods and the identification of their limitations, charring of wood, and material properties of assembly components at elevated temperatures. The outcome of this research will also serve to combine the existing information into a single source directly accessible to researchers, and will avoid duplicating the advances made to predict fire resistance of lightweight wood framed assemblies.