- Author
-
Collier, P. C. R.
- Title
- Design of Loadbearing Light Timber Frame Walls for Fire Resistance. Part 1. Study Report.
- Coporate
- Building Research Association of New Zealand, Judgeford
- Report
-
BRANZ Study Report SR36,
December 1991,
52 p.
- Keywords
-
timber
|
walls
|
fire resistance tests
|
charring
|
failure
|
fire barriers
|
load bearing elements
|
fire tests
|
gypsum
|
plasterboard
|
insulation
|
linings
|
structural design
- Identifiers
- deflection; structural adequacy; studs-W
- Abstract
- The fire performance of loadbearing light timber framed walls is not generally well understood, and considerable professional judgment is required in their design. This work forms the first part of a research program, and is aimed at producing a design method where the results of a single loadbearing fire resistance test can be used to design a similarly lined wall but of different height and load level. The experiment consisted of six loadbearing fire resistgance tests at various load levels and heights, one of which used a different lining system. The results showed a correlation between load and depth of charring of the studs at failure, and a relationship between load and height. Additional design information and data was also collected, which indicated that the model may be refined further, so that a wider range of designs can be derived from limited data. This would enable fire resistance times to be predicted, resulting in considerable cost savings for designers.