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Report of Commlttee on Fire Tests

Herman Spaeth Chalrman Insurance Services Office

John A Blalr Secretary E I Dupont De Nemours & Co

(Rep Society of Plastlcs Industry)

Jesse J Beitel Southwest Research Institute Irwin A Benjamin Benjamin/Clarke Assoc Inc Davld Brackett Gypsum Assn B J Callahan Factory Mutual Research Corp William J Christian Underwriters Laboratories Inc Wells Denyes Eastman Chemical Products Inc

Rep Man-Made Fiber Producers Assn Gerard R Dufresne U S Testing Co Inc

(Vote Limited to Textile Materlals) Buell B Dutton Building and Zoning Consultants Richard G Gewa]n American Iron & Steel Inst Peter H1gg~nson Underwriters Labs of Canada Alfred J Hogan Cypress Gardens FL

Rep Fire Marshals Assn of N Amerlca Joan Koonce Cone M~lls Corp ~ ~ z

Rep American Textlle Mfrs Inst Inc (Vote Limited to Textile Materlals)

Gerald E L~ngenfelter American Insurance Assn George E Meyer Warnock Hersey Int l Inc James A M11ke College Park MD E E M111er Industrlal Risk Insurers Shirley C Reznikoff Arizona State University John Ed Ryan Natl Forest Products Assn K Sum~ Natl Research Council of Canada R~chard P Thornberry The Code Consortlum

Alternates

J Barrlt t Industrlal Risk Insurers Alternate to E E Mil ler)

J R Beyre~s Underwrlters Laboratories Inc Alternate to W J Chr~st]an)

J P Carroll Soclety of the Plastlcs Industry Alternate to j A Blalr)

John L Crooks ISO Commerclal R~sk Serwces Inc Alternate to H Spaeth)

rSanford Davis Ctr for Fire Research Alternate to NBS/CFR)

Philip J DiNenno Benjamin/Clarke Associates Alternate to I A Benjamn)

Robert W Glow~nski Natl Forest Products Assn Alternate to J E Ryan)

Thomas E Kuhta Amerlcan Insurance Assn Alternate to G E Lingenfelter)

Norman S Pearce Underwriters Labs of Canada (Alternate to P H1gginson~

A J Bartoslc Rohm & Haas Co Nonvotlng

This l i s t represents the membership at the time the Commttee was balloted on the text of this editlon Since that time changes in the membership may have occurred

The Report of the Commlttee on Fire Tests is presented In four parts

Part I prepared by the Technlcal Committee on F~re Tests proposes for adoption its Report on amendments to NFPA 251-1979 Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Bulld~ng Constructlon and Materials NFI~A 251-1979 ~s publ]shed ~n Volume 5 of the 1984 Natlonal Fire Codes and ~n separate pamphlet form

Part I has been submltted to letter ballot of the Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests which consists of 21 votlng members of whom lg voted afflrmatlvely 1 negatively (Mr Gewain) and 1 ballot was not returned (Ms Rezn~koff)

Mr Gewaln included the followlng comments with his negative ballot

I have voted negatively because the commentary Appendix G contains some ~nformat~on which I believe must be changed Under paragraph G-8 1 ~n discussing testing of floors and roofs with speclf~c reference to loading the maximum load condition is required not for extrapolatlng the structural performance beyond the test assembly s~ze lim~tatlon but for another entirely d~fferent reason

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The purpose of hawng maximum load condit ion is to evaluate the ab i l i t y of the fireproofing materlal to stay in place when the assembly deflects or expands Because of the way f loor assemblles are tested no interpretatlon can be made on the performance of a tested assembly in applylng i t to a fu l l f loor deslgn uslng different slze structural members dlfferent spans different design conditions The NFPA test of floors and roofs Is primarlly a thermal test not a structural test

I would remove my negative vote on this item i f paragraph G-8 1 is revised to delete the last three sentences and add the followlng to go with the f l r s t sentence

This practice produces maximum deflections to evaluate the ab l l i t y of f~reprooflng systems to remaln ~ntact as the f loor or roof assembly expands and deflects durlng the f l re test

Part I I prepared by the Technlcal Committee on Fire Tests proposes for adoption its Report on amendments to NFPA 257-I980 Standard for Fire Tests of Window Assemblies NFPA 257-1980 Is published In Volume 5 of the 1984 NatlonaI Fire Codes and in ~ separate pamphlet form

Part I I has been submltted to letter ballot of the Technlcal Commlttee on F~re Tests which consists of 21 voting members of whom 19 voted afflrmatlvely I negatively (Mr Brackett) and 1 ballot was not returned (Ms Reznlkoff)

Mr Brackett included the following comment with hls negative ballot

I feel this standard is inadequate for a wall or part]tlon component Allowing opemngs to occur durlng the hose stream test or at any tlme has to degrade the entlre assembly thus maklng i t less f l re reslstant than the code claims is required

Part I I I prepared by the Technical Commlttee on Fire Tests proposes for adoptlonjts Report on a new standard NFPA 262-1985 Standard Method of Test for Fire and Smoke Characterlstlcs of Electrical Wire and Cables

Part I I I has been submltted to letter ballot of the Technical Commlttee on Fire T~sts which conslsts of 21 votlng members of whom 19 voted afflrmatwely I negatlvely (Mr Brackett) and 1 ballot was not returned (Ms Reznlkoff)

Mr Brackett included the followlng comment wlth hls negatlve ballot

The t l t l e does not represent the Method of Test for Flame Spread Fire and Smoke Denslty Characterlstics of E1ectrlcal Wires and Cable This test method only measures flame spread and smoke density- not f l re or smoke characterlstlcs

Part IV prepared by the Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests proposes for adoption its Report on a complete rewslon to NFPA 701-1977 Standard Methods of Fire Tests for Flame-Resistant Textlles and F11ms NFPA 701-1977 is publlshed in Volume 6 of the 1984 National Fire Codes and ]n separate pamphlet form

Part IV has been submitted to letter ballot of the Technlcal Commlttee on F~re Tests whlch conslsts of 23 voting members of whom 15 voted affirmatlvely 3 negatlvely (Messrs Blair Christlan and M111er) 3 abstained (Messrs 8rackett L1ngenfelter and Meyer) and 2 ballots were not returned (Ms Koonce and Ms Reznokoff)

Mr Blalr voted negatively and submltted the following I t has come to my attention that a task group wlth~n NFPA 102

with regards to air supported structures is presently conslderlng major modiflcatlons to NFPA 102 NFPA 102 involves some very cr i t ical areas wlth regards to alr supported structures over fac111tles for publlc assembly Key declslons by the task group on NFPA 102 Involve the use of the NFPA 701 test

Whlle I have nothlng against the changes In the cr l ter la wlth respect to the use related to draperies and curtalns a change ]n crlter~a may have severe adverse effects wlth respect to the declslons of the NFPA 102 task group

I t ~s therefore recommended that a delay in the promulgation / of the new rewsion to 701 be made until the Commlttee respons}ble for NFPA 102 flnal~ze thelr safety cr i ter ia Th~s will prowde us additional input before we make our f~nal decision

Mr Chrlstian included the following cOmments w~th his negative ballot

All sectlons deallng wlth the small-scale test A I object to relaxing the requirements for the small-scale

test so that I t wil l correlate better wlth the large-scale test The two are different tests which measure different phenomena and need not correlate A summary of the relaxation of requirements is as follows

I No fallures were prewously permitted whereas one fai lure ~n 15 samples would be acceptable in the proposed revision

2 A11owable char length would be more than doubled by the proposed revision

3 The ~ntens~ty of the ignition source would be considerably reduced by the proposed rews~on

4 Unlimited afterflamlng would be permltted by the proposed revision as compared w~th thefpresent l~m~tat~on of 2 second afterflamng

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I

S The proposed revlston would perrnlt flaming drips to occur The present standard prohibits this

6 Reducing the conditioning temperature from 140 F to 70 F allows testing at high moisture content

B I object to the Introductlon of an entlrely new small-scale test whlch has not been shown to be adequately repeatable and reproduclble

Although a round robln was performed an analysls of variance was never made available to the Commlttee The data presented to the Committee at its September 1983 meetlng suggest that the reproduclblllty is not satlsfactory For example Table I shows mean values of maxlmm char length obtalned from measurements by seven laboratorles using 18 fabrlcs and the calculated standard deviations I t is evldent that the standard devlat]ons are very large in comparlson to the mean values in all cases

Note Supportlng materlal is available for review at NFPA Headquarters

I-3 2 No data has been presented to support the ellmlnat]on of~the present requlrement for testlng 10 speclmens hung In f la t sheets Such tests are often the only ones capable of identlfylng afterflamlng In the large-scale test

6-2 1 Reducing the flnal condltlonlng temperature from 140 F to 70 F is an unwarranted relaxatlon of requlrements whlch fal ls to conslder the effects of low humidlty on the results of the test

6-4 The present standard speclfles an 11 in high oxldlzing flame as an ignitlon source The proposed revlsion specifles an 11 In hlgh reduclng flame whlch would appear to produce a less severe exposure No just l f ]cat lon for thls change has been glven

7 1 Adequate 3ustlflcatlon has not been glven for Increaslng the permissible char length from 35 in to 40 ~n for permttlng flame drlps nor for allowing unllmted afterflamlng oF the specimen

7-2 No 3ustlflcatlon has been glven for permlttlng one fal lure in elght speclmens to occur

Mr M111er ~ncluded the followlng comment with hls negatlve ballot

Excluding wool and F R treated cotton fabrlcs the test data contlnues to reveal uncertalntles for synthetlc fabrlcs and/or the round robln laboratorles Certalnly the results do not ~nst]ll confidence In the proposed ellm~natlon of the large scale test method even though the data may suggest that the small scale test is more severe Each test may serve to catch the threshold performances which fal l through the cracks of the other test method untll such tlme as an adequate s~ngle test method is developed which w111 close the door on the marglnal performing fabrics

Although voting afflrmat)vely Messrs Davls and H]gg]nson spec~flcally requested that their comments be ~ncluded as part of the Commlttee ballot statement ~n the Technical Committee Reports

Mr Daws The 12-second flame appl]catlon should be changed to indicate that the flame should be applied untll ~gn]t~on ~s achleved or for 12 seconds whlchever occurs f~rst

Mr Hlgglnson 1-1 3 - Many fabrics or f~Ims used as temporary or permanent

enclosures for places of public assembly and bulld]ngs under construction would\need to be tested ]n the f la t sample conf~uratlon because their inherent stiffness would render mounting ~n folds as prescrlbed in the proposed method impractical None of these types of materials was considered ]n the recent round robln and I cannot support the deletion of the f la t sample test without addltlonal cons~deratlon I would support ~ts ~ore qual~f~ed invocation

2-2 1 I am not aware of any work done to assess the ~mpact of condltlon~ng samples to 50-65 RH at 70OF The conditioning for the round robln was based on the oven dried approach currently Invoked in NFPA 701 and th~s ~s a reasonable approach as argued~by Krasney & Braun in their paper on Textile Fla~nab~lltyTest~ng Approprlate Levels For Moisture Content of Spec}mens

3-3 3 - We use c~ty gas at a pressure of 3-5 ]n of H20 or approximately 0 15 ps~ and 0 4 c u f t per hour Besides requiring that the Standard provide for the use of e~ther c i ty or bottled gas I f~nd i t hard to accept that with half the flow the same flame could be achieved and would l~ke to see some substantiation of the selectlon of flow range

3-5 1 I believe ~t to be more practical to require the weighing be completed w~th]n 30 m~nutes of the end of test

6-4 1 See 3-3 3 A lso our measurements to achleve an 11 1/2 In flame were 3 4 c u f t per hour W~th a flow rate of 4 c u f t per hour and a l~ne pressure of 4 3 ~n of H20 (approximately 0 15 psi) we achieve a flame height of 13 In

6-5 1 Some comment should be offered as to the residue that ]s frequently lost ~n attempting to remove the bottom bar

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PART I

251- 1 - (I-1 3 and I-1 4 (New)) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests

I ~ A T I O N Replace current I-1 3 wlth the followlng 1-1 3 This standard shall be used to measure and describe the

properties of materlals products or assemblies in response to heat and flame under controlled laboratory condltlons and shall not be used to descrlbe or appralse the f l re hazard or f l re rlsk of materials products or assembl~es under actual f i re ~condltlons However results of thls test may be used as elements of a f l re rlsk assessment whlch takes into account all of the factors whlch are pertlnent to an assessment of the f l re hazard of a particular end use

1-I 4 The results of these tests are one factor in assesslng f l re performance of buildlng construction and assemblies These methods prescribe a standard f i re exposure for comparlng the performance of bui ld ing constructlon assemblies Appllcatlon of these test results ~to predlct the performance of actual building constructlon requires careful evaluatlon of test cond~tlons SUBSTANTIATION Use of the test procedures as part of a complete f l re risk assessment is desirable COt&MITTE£ ACTION Accept

251 2 (2-2 1 and A-2-2 1 (New)) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N Replace the last f lve lines of the f i r s t sentence with the followlng

the thermocouples belng enclosed in protectlon tubes of such materials and dlmenslons that the t]me constant of the protected thermocouple assembly lles wlthln the range from 5 0 to 7 2 mln

Add an aster]sk to 2 2 1 and create a new appendlx note to read A-2-2 I A typ lca l thermocouple assembly meetlng these tlme

constant requlrements may be fab~icated by fusion-welding the twlsted ends of No 18 gage Chromel Alumel wires mountlng the leads in porcelaln insulators and msertlng the assemb)y so the thermocouple bead is I/2 in from the sealed end of a standard welght nomlnal I /2 in ~ron steel or Inconel plpe The tlme constant for thls and for several other thermocouple assemblies was measured In 1976 The time constant may also be calculated from knowledge of its physlcal and thermal propert]es SUBSTANTIATION Change needed to describe thermocouple assembly in terms of performance orlented cr l ter la COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

251- 3 (2-3 I) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N In 2-3 1 delete the words f lexlble and 'asbestos' from the f l r s t sentence so as to read

placed under dry felted pads SUBSTANTIATION Recognltlon that other than asbestos pads (e g refractory fiber pads) may be used COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

251 4 (3 1 3) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Committee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N In 3 1 3 delete the words

"involving floor constructlons SUBSTANTIATION Assemblles in addltlon to floor constructlons may be loaded at other than maxlmum load and thls informatlon should be reported COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

I 251- 5 - (5-1 5-1 1 (New) and 5 1 2 (New)) Accept SUBMII-I'ER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N In 5-1 let the t l t l e Fire Endurance Test stand alone as a sectlon headlng Renumber the verblage followlng the t i t l e in the current 5-1 as 5 1 1 Create a new 5-1 2 to read

5-1 2 For the purpose of obtalnlng addltlonal performance data the test may be contlnued beyond the tlme the f~re endurance classlflcatlon is determlned SUBSTANTIATION Permlsslve allowance to recognize the case where additional data is wanted COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

251 6 - (6-2* and A-6-2) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N Reword 6-2 to read

6-2* Loading Throughout the f i re endurance and f l re and hose stream tests apply a constant superimposed load to s~mulate a maximum load condltlon The applled load shall be as nearly as practlcable the maxlmum load allowed by deslgn under nationally recognlzed structural deslgn crl terla The tests may also be conducted by applylng to the specimen a load less than the maxlm~ Such tests shall be Identlfled in the test report as

having been conducted under restrlcted load condltlons The applled load and the applled load expressed as a percentage of the maximum allowable design load shall be Included in the report A double wall assembly shall be loaded during the test to simulate f le ld use condltlons wlth either slde loaded separately or both sldes together The method used shall be reported

To current A-6-2 add the following I f In the ~ntended use the load from the structure above is

supported by both walls as a unlt and would be or Is transferred to the unexposed slde in case of collapse of the exposed slde both walls should be loaded in the test by a slngle unlt I f in the intended use the load from the structure above each wall is supported by each wall separately the walls should be loaded separately in the test by separate load sources I f the intended use of the constructlon system belng tested involved s}tuations of both loadlng condltlons described above the walls should be loaded separately in the test by separate load sources t In tests conducted wlth the walls loaded separately the condltlon of acceptance requlrlng the walls to malntain the applled load shall be based on the tlme at whlch the f l r s t of elther of the walls fa l l to sustaln the load L SUBSTANTIATION Clarlflcatlon of intent wlth respect to what the loading Should slmulate COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

251- 7 - (6-3(b)) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests RECOMMENDATION In 6 3(b) delete the last 2 1/2 llnes of the f i r s t sentence so that the sentence ends wlth the words

or of the hose stream Retain the second sentence SUBSTANTIATION Informatlon derlved from the current loading post test is nearly meaningless and therefore need not be developed COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

! 251- 8 - (8-2 1 and 9-4) Accept J SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests ]~R~E'-N~ATION In 8-2 1 and 9-4 change the word 'durlng to "throughout " SUBSTANTIATION Clarlflcatlon that the f l re exposure should be present "throughout the test COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

251 9 - (I0 4 1 i0 4 2 I0-4 4 and I0 4 5 (New)) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests RECOMMENDATION Replace 10-4 1 10-4 2 and 10-4 4 wlth the following

10-4 1 For specimens employlng structural members (beams open-web steel 3olsts etc ) spaced at more than 4 f t (1 2 m) on centers measure the temperature of the steel in these structural members by thermocouples at three or more sectlons spaced along the length of the members wlth one sectlon preferably located at mldspan except that In cases where the cover thlckness is not unlform along the speclmen length at least one of the sectlons at which temperatures are measured shall include the polnt of mlnlmum cover

10-4 2 For specimens employlng structural members (beams open-web steel jolsts etc ) spaced at 4 f t (1 2 m) on center or less measure the temperature of the steel in these structural members by four thermocouples placed on each member except that no more than four members shall be so lnstremented Place the thermocouples at slgnlflcant locatlons such as at mldspan over jolnts In the ce111ng and over l lght flxtures etc

Retaln current 10-4 3 10-4 4 For steel structural members there shall be four

thermocouples at each sectlon except that where only four thermocouples are requlred on a member the thermocouples may be distrlbuted along the member at slgnlflcant locatlons as provlded for In 10-4 2 locate two on the bottom of the bottom flange or chord one on the web at the center and one on the top flange or chord The recommended thermocouple dlstrlbutlon at each sectlon Is shown In Figure 10 4 4

Add new 10-4 5 to read 10-4 5 For steel f loor or roof units locate four thermocouples

on each sectlon (a sectlon to comprlse the wldth of one unit) one on the bottom plane of the unlt at an edge 3olnt one on the bottom plane of the unlt remote from the edge one on a side wall of the unlt and one on the top plane of the unlt The thermocouples should be applled where practlcable to the surface of the unlts remote from f l re and spaced across the wldth of the unlt No more than four nor less than two sect}ons need be so instrumented in each representative span Locate the groups of four thermocouples In representatlve locatlons Typlcal thermocouple locatlons for a unlt sectlon are shown In Figure 1045

\

I

1 2 0

Sect=on A

Section B

Figure 10-4 4 Recommended Thermocouple Distributions

Fluted Un 1

Cell I0~ Un t

Cell Iof Un t

~ g u r e 10-4 5 Typical Location of Thermocouples

SUBSTANTIATION Expansion of test ing al ternat ives to address members and conditions commonly used COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

251- 10 - (I0-5(c) (d) and (e) (New)) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Commlttee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N In I0-5(c) reword the ~ntroductory phrase to read

"For spedimens employing steel structural members (beams open-web steel 3oists, etc ) spaced more than 4 f t ( I 2 m) on centers

Add a 10-5(d) and (e) to read 10-5(d) For specimens employing steel structural members (beam

open-web steel 3oists etc ) spaced 4 f t (I 2 m) or less on centers~ the assembly shall achieve a f i re endurance classiflcat~on on the basls of the temperature cr~terla spec~fled in I0-6(d) for assembly classlflcat~ons up to and including 1 h For cTasslflcat~ons greater(than 1 h the above temperature cr i ter ia shall apply for a period of one half the classification of the assembly or 1 h whlchever ~s the greater

10-5(e) For specimens employing conventlonally designed concrete beams spaced more than 4 f t (I 2 m) on centers the assembly shall achieve a f i re endurance classlf~cat~on on the basis of the temperature critera specified in 10-6(e) for assembly classiflcat~ons up to and Including I h For classlflcat~ons greater than I h the above temperature cr i ter ia shall apply for a period of one half the classification of the assembly of I h whichever is the greater SUBSTANTIATION Expansion of testlng alternatives to address members and condlt~ons commonly used COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

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251- 11 (I0-6.(c) (d) (e) and (f) (New)) Accept SUBMITTER lecnnlcal Committee on Fire Tests ]~rE~TOI~I~'N~ATION Replace 10-6(c) and (e) with the following

I0-6(c) For specimens employlng steel structural members \ (beams open web steel joists etc ) spaced more than 4 f t (1 2 m) on centers the temperature of the steel shall not have exceeded 1300°F (704°C) at any location during the classification perlod nor shall the average temperature recorded by four thermocouples at any sectlon have exceeded 1100°F (593°C) during the classif~catlon period

I0-6(d) For specimens employing steel structural members (beams open-web steel joists etc ) spaced 4 f t (1 2 m) or less on center the average temperature recorded by all 3oist or beam thermocouples shall not have exceeded 1100°F (593°C) during the class~f~catlon perlod

Renumber~ex~stlng 10 6(d) as I0-6(e) Add new section (f) to read 10-6(f) For speclmens employing steel f loor or roof units

intended for use in spans greater than those tested the average temperature recorded by all thermocouples located on any one span of the f loor or roof units shall not have exceeded 1100OF (593°C) during the class~flcatlon period SUBSTANTIATION Expansion of testing alternatives to address members and condlt~ons commonly used COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

251 12 - (Chapter 14) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests RECOMME-N-DATION Replace current Chapter 14 wlth the following

Chapter 14 Performance of Protectlve Membranes in Wall Partltlon Floor

or Roof Assemblles 14 ] Appllcatlon When i t is desired to determine the thermal

protection afforded by membrane elements In wall partlt lon floor or roof assemblles the nonstructural performance of protectlve membranes shall be obtained by thls procedure The performance of protective membranes ~S supplementary information only and Is not a substitute for the Fire Endurance Classlflcatlon determned by Chapters 6 through 13 of thls standard

14-2 Characterlstlcs and Size of Sample 14-2 1 The characterlst~cs of the sample shall conform to 4-I I 14-2 2 The size of the sample shall conform to 6-1 for bearlng

walls and partltlons 7-I for nonbear~ng walls and partitions or 10-2 1 for floors or roofs

14 3 Temperature Performance of Protective Membranes 14-3 1 The temperature performance of protective membranes

shall be measured wlth thermocouples the measurlng Junctions of which are in intlmate contact wlth the exposed surface of the elements being protected The dlameter of the wires used to form the thermo-junctlon shall not be greater than the thickness of sheet metal framlng or panel members to whlch they are attached and in no case greater than No 18 B&S gage (0 040 in ) (i 02 mm) The lead shall be electr lcal ly insulated wlth heat reslstant and mo~sture-reslstant coatlngs

14-3 2 For each class of elements belng protected temperature readings shall be taken at not less than f~ve representative polnts None of the thermocouples shall be located nearer to the edges of the test assembly than 12 in (305 mm) An exceptlon can be made in those cases where there is an element or feature of the construction that Is not otherwise represented in the test assembly None of the thermocouples shall be located opposite on top of or adjacent to fasteners such as screws nalls or staples when such locatlons are excluded for thermocouple placement on the unexposed surface of the test assembly in 2-3 2

14-3 3 Thermocouples shall be located to obtaln representatlve information on the temperature of the interface between the exposed membrane and the substrate or element being protected

14-3 4 Temperature readlngs shall be taken at intervals not exceeding 5 mln but the intervals need not be less than 2 mln

14-4 Conditions of Performance 14 4 1 Unless otherwlse spec~fled the performance of

protectlve membranes shall be determined as the time at which follow~ng cond~tlons occur

Ca) The average temperature rlse of any set of thermocouples for each class of element belng protected Is more than 250°F (139°C) above the in l t la l temperature or

(b) The temperature rise of any one thermocouple of the set for each class of element belng protected Is more than 325°F (181°C) above the ln l t la l temperature

14-5 Report of Results 14-5 1 The Protectlve Membrane Performance for each class of

element being protected shall be reported to the nearest integral mlnute

14 5 2 The test report shall ~dent~fy each class of elements being protected and shall show the location of each thermocouple

14 5 3 The test report shall show the tlme-temperature data recorded for each thermocouple and the average temperature for the set of thermocuples on each element being protected

14-5 4 The test report shall state any wsual observations recorded that are pertinent to the performance of the protectlve membrane SUBSTANTIATION Update of the existlng chapter to address current concerns with respect to transmlsslon of heat through protectlve membranes COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

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251- 13 -~ (Appendix C) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Commlttee on Fire Tests RECOMMENDATION Change the t i t l e of Appendix C to read

"Appendix C Requirements for Thermocouple Pads In C-1(d) editor ial ly correct the units of the parenthetical

metrlc equivalent from w/-k to w/m k SUBSTANTIATION Recognition that not all thermocouple pads are asbestos A lso see Proposal 251-3 COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

z

/ 251- 14- (Appendix G (New)) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Committee on F~re Tests RE---EI~-O-RI~E-N-I~ATION Add an Appendix ~ Commentary as follows

Appendix G Commentary G-1 I ntroduct~ on G-I I Thls commentary has been prepared to prowde the user of

th~s standard with background ~nformatlon on the development of the standard and its application ~n f~re protection of buildings I t also provides guidance ~n the plannlng and performance of f l re tests and ~n the reporting of results No attempt has been made to ~ncorporate all the available ~nformat~on on f~re testing in thls commentary The serious student of f i re testing ~s strongly urged to peruse the referenced docements for a better appreclatTon of the h~storyof f~re-res~stant design (I 2)* and the ~ntr~cate problems associated w~th testing and w~th interpretation of test results

G-1 2 Floors and walls deslgned as f l re separatlons have been recognized for many years as efflc~ent tools In restricting f lres to the area of or~g~n or llm~tlng their spread (3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11) Prior to 1900 relative f~re safety was achieved by mandating speclf~c materials By the year 1900 the appearance of a multitude of new materials and innovat~ve designs and constructions accelerated the demand for performance standards The Brlt~sh F~re Prevention Commttee established ~n 1894 was the f~rst to produce tables l~stlng f~re res~stlng floors ceilings doors and partlt~ons (5) Test furnaces In the United States were constructed shortly after 1900 at the Underwriters Laboratories Inc Columbia University and the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) (I 12) These early furnaces eventually led to the development of ASTM Methods E 119 and its counterpart NFPA 251

G-2 H~stor~al Aspects ASTM Methods E 119 was f l r s t published by ASTM as C 19 ~n 1918 A number of reflnements have been made ~n the standard s}nce that t~me However several prowslons ~nclud~ng the temperature-tlme curve the ma3or apparatus and the acceptance crl ter la remaln essentlally unchanged The roots of f~re testing as we define ~t today can be traced back to about 1800 A comprehensive rewew of early f l re testlng has been publ ~shed (1)

G-3 F~re-Load Concept

G-3 1 Spec~f~catlons for f~re resistance ~n regulatory documents continue to be based largely on the f~re-load concept developed by NBS ~n the 1920s and reported ~n the 1928 NFPA Quarterly by Ingberg The concept ~ncorporates the premise that the duratlon of a f~re ~s proportional to the f l re load~ng that ]s the mass of combustible materlals per unit floor area The relat~onshlp between the mass of combust}ble materials and f~re duration was established on the basls of burnout tests ~n structure incorporating materlals hawng calorlf~c or potential heat values equivalent to wood and paper -that is 7000 to 8000 BtU/lb (16 3 to 18 6 MJ/kg) The f~re-load of noncellulos~c materials such as o~Is waxes and flammable l~qu~ds were ~nterpreted on the bas~s of their equlvalent calorif ic content (5 13 14 15) In the s~mplest terms the above premise ~tates that 10 Ib of combustible materials per square foot (50 kg/m () of f loor area w~ll produce a f~re of 1 h duration

G-3 2 Increasing sophlst~catlon ~n the knowledge of materials and the f~re process has resulted from numerous research activit ies (9 11 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25, 26 27) I t ~s now generally conceded that f~re severlty as well as the temperature-tlme relat}onsh~p of a f~re depends on several factors ~nclud~ng

i F~re load--amount and type 2 D is t r ibu t ion of th~s f~re load 3 Speclf~c surface character is t ics of the f i r e load (5 27) 4 Vent i la t ion as determined by the s~ze and shape of opemngs

(17 18 19 21 27 28 29) 5 Geometry of the f~re compartment--s~ze and shape 6 Thermal character~stlcs of the enclosure boundaries 7 Relat ive humidity of the atmosphere For the purposes of th~s commentary f~re sever l ty ~s defined as

a measure of the f~re ~ntenslty (temperature) and f~re duration I t 1s expressed ~n terms of mlnutes or hours of f l r e exposure and ~n RFPA 251 ~s assumed to be equivalent to that defined by the standard temperature-t~me (T-t) curve that is the area under the T-t curve (27)

*The numbers in parentheses refer to the l i s t of references at the end of th~s appendix

G-4 Scope and S1gnlflcance G-4 1 Thls standard Is intended to evaluate in terms of

endurance tlme the ab111ty of an assembly to contaln a f l re or to retaln i ts structural Integrl ty or both durlng the test condltlons imposed by the standard I t also contalns standard condltlons for measuring heat transfer through membrane elements protecting combustlble fremlng or surfaces

G-4 2 The end-polnt cr l ter la by whlch the test result is assessed are related to

I Transmlsslon of heat through the test assembly 2 Abl l l ty of the test assembly to w~thstand the transmlss~on

of flames or gases hot enough to ignlte combustlble materlal 3 Abi l i ty of the assembly to carry the load and wlthstand

restralnlng forces durlng the f l re test perlod 4 Temperature of the steel under some conditions G-4 3 I t Is the intent that classlflcatlons shall register

performance during the pemod of exposure and shall not be construed as having determined sultab11~ty for use after the exposure

G-4 4 The standard although belng speclflc about the assembly to be tested enables the testlng laboratory to determlne whether the speclmen is t ru ly representatlve of the assembly intended for evaluatlon Thls is necessary because of the w~de varlatlon In assemblles For instance wall test specimens generally do not contaln electrlc switches and outlets that in some deslgns may affect test results Floor test speclmens may or may not contaln electrical raceways and outlets or pull boxes for power and commun~catlon w~rlng Cover plates over trench headers are also present In some deslgns The testlng laboratory is In the best posltlon to 3udge the effects of such items

G-5 Test Furnaces Thls standard does not provlde speclflc construction detalls of the furnace Readers are urged to consult reference documents for a more comprehensive rewew of furnace deslgn and performance (25)

G-6 Temperature - Time Curve G 6 1 A speclf~c temperature - t~me relatlonshlp for the test

f l re is defined in the standard and in Appendlx B The actual recorded temperatures ~n the furnace is requlred to be wlth~n specified percentages of those of the standard curve Accuracy in measuring temperature ~s generally eas~er to achieve after I h due to stab~l~z}ng of the furnace and the slope of the T t curve The number and tj~)e of temperature-measuring dewces are outlined in the standard Specific standard practices for locatlon and use of these temperature-measuring devlces are also outlined ]n the standard However no uniformity of the temperatures w~thln the f i re chamber ~s specified

G 6 2 The standard T-t curve used ~n th~s standard ~s considered to represent a severe building f i re (5) The curv£was adopted in 1918 as a result of several conferences by eleven technical organlzatlons ~ncludlng testing laboratories ~nsurance underwrlters f l re protection assoclatlons and technical soc~etles (1 16 30) The T-t relatlonsh]p of these test methods represents only one f~re s~tuatlon Data are avallable to evaluate the performance of assemblles under f i re exposure cond~tlons that may be more representative of partlcular f l re s}tuat~ons that Is using different T-t relatlonsh}ps to slmulate specific f~re conditions (9 11 ~6 19 22 23 27 29 31 32)

G-6 3 Furnace pressure ~s not specified and ]s generally s l ight ly negative The pressure may have an effect on the test results and the test condlt~ons should always be carefully controlled

G-7 Test Speclmen G-7 1 The test specimen is required to represent as closely as

~ oss~ble the actual construction ~n the f ie ld sub3ect to the im~ts ~mposed by the test fac i l i t ies G-7 2 All specimens are required to be conditioned so as to

attain a moisture content comparable to that in the f le ld prior to testing For umform~ty the standard moisture content ~s defined as that in equilibrium w~th an atmosphere of 50 percent relatlve humldty at 73°F (23°C) Massive concrete units which may require unusually long drying periods may be f i re tested after a 12 month cond~tlonlng period Appendix F describes how the test result should be corrected to account for any var}at~on from the standard moisture condltlon (33)

G-7 3 With few exceptions only the ~nterlor face of exterlor wall assemblies and the ceiling port,on or underside of f loor or roof assemblles are exposed to the standard f i re (24 25) Th~s practice ~s rat~onallzed on th~ assumption that the outslde face of exterior walls ~s not usually sub3ected to the same f~re as the inter~or face and that the f~re exposure of the upper side of a floor or roof assembly ~s seldom as Intense as that of the underside

G-7 4 Although the standard does not contain speclflc cr i ter ia for Judglng the impact of through 3o~nts nor poke-through dewces such as electrical or telephone outlets ~t should be recognized that these components should be evaluated wlth respect to structural-performance and temperature-r~se crlter~a ~f they constitute a s~gn~f~cant part of the tested assembly

G-7 5 For obwous reasons symmetrlcal walls and partitions are tested only on one slde Assymmetr~cal walls and partitions may be required to be tested with e~ther or both s~des ~ndlv]dually exposed to the f~re I f both s~des are exposed the report should ~nd~cate the f i re endurance classlflcat~on for each case

G-8 Loading

122

G-8 1 Floors and roofs are required to be loaded during test to provide a maximum load condition determined by the applicable nationally recognized deslgn cr l ter la This practice allows for more confidence in extrapolating testing results For instance the maxlmam length of a floor specimen in most test fac i l i t ies is 16 f t (4 9 m) I t is therefore necessary to extrapolate developed flre-endurance ratings to much longer spans

G-8 2 When a floor or roof assembly is designed for a specific use such as used in prefabricated hous]n 9 units the assembly may be tested with a restricted load condltlon The loading condition used for such tests shall be defined in the test report The standard does not require specific loading devices Some laboratories use large containers of water others use a system of hydraullc rams for f loor and roof assemblles When uniformly distributed load Is simulated by point-loading (several small-area loads) i t is recommended that the load at any such area not exceed 25 percent of the total load and that the individual have a wldth at least equal to the depth of the floor Wall furnaces are generally equipped with hydraullc rams

G-8 3 The standard requires that load-bearlng walls and partltlons sustaln the applied test load during the f i re endurance and hose stream tests A former requirement that load-bearlng walls and partitions also sustain twice the specified superlmposed test load after coollng but within 72 h of the test period has been deleted from the method as being unrealistic Non-bearlng walls and partitions are not loaded during the test but are restrained on all sides This restraln may impose more stress than a load on top The ASTM Committee E-5 has several times reviewed the loading procedures for framed walls and partltlons I t was the Committee s unanimous decislon that such a wall be tested either with calculated maximum design load or with a load expected to occur in practice The method use to compute the design loads must be reported

G-8 4 Some important stresses such as those caused by creep and shrinkage in the wall i tsel f and its supporting frame must be present and the designer should recognlze these stresses in his analysis The ASTM Committee E 5 has investigated the posslb111ty of openlngs occurrlng at a joint at corners of non-load-bearing enclosures due to dlfferential movement While the possibil i ty exists that this will occur the COmmlttee has not found I t feasible to amend the test based on data available

G-8 5 Double walls pose a unique ~roblem as to load appllcat~on Which wall should be loaded? Or should both walls be loaded slmultaneously~ The ASTM Committee E-5 has devoted considerable time to debating this problem and recommends the decision be made by the user after an analysis of the loading condltlons antlclpated in service both before and after a f i re Such loading condltlons are to be reported

G-9 Integrity All walls and partitions that qualify for a f i re endurance classlflcat~on of I h or more are requlred to be subjected to the cooling impact and erosion effects of a stream of water from a 2-1/2 in (63 5 mm) hose dlscharglng through a standard playpipe equipped with a 1 1/8-1n (28 6 mm) t ip under specified pressures In this hose stream test the ab i l l ty of the

~constructlon to resist disintegration under adverse cond~tlons is examined The requirement for a hose stream test was earller removed from the test procedure for columns and floor or roof assemblles because of impractlcallty and the posslbil l ty of excessive damage to the furnace

G-IO Condltlons of Tests G-tO I Columns are generally tested with all four sides exposed

to the test f i re However i t is possible to test a column wlth three sides exposed (fourth side against a wail) The standard requires that specimens be tested under conditions contemplated in the deslgn The former general practice of testing columns wlth pln connectlon at top and bottom to simulate the most cr i t ical condition is no longer a criterion

G-10 2 Columns are required to sustain successfully the design load durlng the test perlod ~The standard also permits columns to be loaded up to 1-3/4 times the deslgn load prlor to the f i re test i f desired by the suEmltter Such loadlng, however shall not be construed as having had a deleterious effect on the f i re endurance test performance Instead of loading steel col amns whose protective covering does not carry load may be assigned a flre-reslstance classlf~catlon on the basls Of temperature of the steel only W~th such columns the protective cover shall be restrained against longitudinal expansion Wood columns are tested for ]oad-carrying ab i l i t y only

G-tO 3 From test results i t has been established that variations of restraint conditions can considerably influence the time of f i re resistance for a structure or a structural element Restraints are generally beneflclal to f i re resistance however there are condlt~ons where restraint can have a detrimental effect on the performance of a specimen during a f i re resistance test (34 35) The users of test results are advised to study the reference douments as well as Appendix E and Table E-1

G-IO 4 An unrestrained classiflcatlon for a steel beam or a reinforced concrete beam used as part of an assembly tested in restralned condition can be assessed from the temperature records obtained for the steel or the re~nforcing steel respectively (Chapter 12) I t is also possible to evaluate the protective cover of steel beams by measuring the temperature of the steel that is protected (Chapter 13) The f i re endurance classifications derived under the provlslons of Chapter 12 is only applicable to beams used with a floor or roof construction that has a comparable or greater capacity for heat dissipation from the beam than the floor or roof with which ] t is tested

G-11 Other Obser~atlons G-11 1 No l~mltatlon is imposed on the deformatlon of the

specimen during or after the test period I t is assumed that the deflection or deformation of an assembly is ]imlted only by its ab i l i ty to stay in place (under load where specified) during the test period

G-11 2 A complete record of deformatlon during the endurance test may be helpful in the application of test results and shal] be reported

G-11 3 Other observations such as the evolut]on of unusual quantities of visible smoke vapors or gases that may affect the proper decislon regarding use of the test results should be reported

G-12 Protectlve Membranes The standard prowdes criteria for evaluating the protection that membrane elements can offer to combustible framing and paneling for example aolsts wall studs and paneling or boards on the unexposed side of an assembly and other combustible materials The results of these tests are reported as protective membrane ratings

References

I Babrauskas Vytenls Wilhamson Robert Brady Historical Basis of Flre Reslstance Testing Part I and Part I I Fire Technology Vol 14 No 3 and No 4 1978 p 184-194 304-316

2 Shoub Harry Early History of Fire Endurance Testing in the United States Symposlum on Fire Test Methods ASTM STP 301 Am Soc Testing Mats 1961 pp 1-9

3 Dllam C H Modern Bulldlng Inspection et al R C Co111ng and Assoclates Los Argeles Callf 1942

4 Facts Abo~t Fires National Fire Protection Assn 1971 5 Bird and Docking Fire in Buildings D Van-Nostrand Co

Inc New York 1949 6 Ferguslon R S Prlnclples of F]re Protection Natlonal

Bldg Code of Canada Technical Paper No 272 Dlv of Bldg Research - National Research Council of Canada Ottawa March 1970

7 Konlcek L and Lie T T Temperature Tables for Ventilatlon Controlled Fires B ldg Research Note No 94 Natlonal Research Council of Canada September 1974

8 Gordon C C Consideratlons of Life Safety and Bldg Use DBR Paper No 699 Bldg Research Div National Research Council

T of Canada Ottawa January 1977 9 Shorter G W Fire Protection Engineer and Modern

Buyildlng Design Fire Technology Vol 4 No 3 August 1968 p 206-213

10 Harmathy T 7 Performance of Buildlng Elements in Spreading Fire DBR Paper No 752 Natlonal Research Council of Canada NRCC 16437 Fire Research Vol I 1977/78 pp 119-132

11 Harmaty T Z Design Approach to F1re Safety in Buildings Progresslve Architecture NRCC 14076 April 1974 pp 82 87

12 Rule 508 - Industrlal Code New York State Labor Law See p 513 New York City Building Code 1934 Edltlon \

13 Robertson A E and Gross D Fire Load Fire Severity and F1re Endurance Fire Test Performance ASTM 5TP 464 Am Soc Testing Mats 1970 pp 3-29

14 Bullding Materials and Standards BMS 92 National Bureau of Standards Washington DC October 1942

15 Ingberg S H et al Combustible Contents in Bulldlngs BMS 149 Natlonal Bureau of Standards Washington D C July 1957

16 Selgel L G The Severlty of Fires in Steel Framed ~uildlngs - Her Majesty s Stationary Office 1968 London Proceedings of the Symposium held at the Fire Research Station Boreham Woods Herts (England) on Jan 24 1967 pp 59-63

17 Gross D F1eld Burnout Tests of Apartment Dwelling Units Bldg Sclen;e Series 10 U S Dept of Commerce National Bureau of Standards Sept 29 1967

18 Law Margaret Radiation form Fires in a Compartment Fire Research Technical Paper No 20 Her Majesty s Statlonary Office London 1968

19 Heselden A J M Parameters Determlnlng the Severity of Fire Symposium No ~ 2 Her Majesty s Stationary Offlce 1968 London Proceedings of the S.vmposium he}d at the Fire Research Station Boreham Woods Herts (England) on Jan 24 1967 pp 19-27

20 Sflntesco D Furnace Tests and Fire Resistance ibld 17 21 Gross D and Robertson A F Experimental Fires in ~

Enclosures Tenth Symposium (International) on Combustion The Combustion Instltute 1965~ pp 931-942

22 Odeen Kal Theoretical Study of Fire Characterlstics in Enclosed Spaces Div of Bldg Construction Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm Sweden 1965

23 Ryan~ J E Perspective on Methods of Assesslng Fire Hazards in Bulldlngs Ignltlon Heat Release and Noncombustiblllty of Materials ASTM STP 502 Am Soc Testing Mats 1972 pp 11-23

24 Harmath T Z Performance of Building Elements in Spreading Fire DBR Paper No 752 National Research Council of Canada NRCC 16437 Fire Research Vol I 1977/78 pp 119 132

25 Harmathy T Z Deslgn of Fire Test Furnaces Fire Technology Vol 5 No 2 May 1969 pp 146-150

26 Harmathy T Z Fire Resistance versus Flame Spread Resistance Fire Technology Vol 12 No 4 November 1976 pp 290-302 and 330

i

123

27 Harmathyt T Z . A New Look at Compartment F~res Part I and Part I I Fire Technology Vol 8 No 3 and No 4 August and November 1972 pp 196-217 326-351

28 Satsberg F Ill]no~s Institute of Technology Research Institute L~m~ted release on research data conducted for U S Dept of C~vil Defense

29 Harmathy T Z Deslgners Option F~re Resistance on Ventilation Technical Paper No 436 D]v~s]on of Building Research National Research Council of Canada Ottawa NRCC 14746

30 F~re Protection Handbook Revised F~fteenth Edition National F~re Protection Assn Quincy Mass 1981

31 ISO/TE-WG5 Report March 9-10 1967 at Copenhagen Der~ark (Sweden-B)-Exh~b~t 14 Prel~m~nary report on some theoretlcal studies for structural elements of the effect on their f~re resistance of var~atlons of T-t curve for cooling down per~od - Magusson Sven Er~k and Petersson Ove

32 Ryan O V and Robertson A F Proposed Criteria for Defining Load Failure of Beams Floors and Roof Construction During F~re Tests Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards Washington D C Vol 63C No 2 1959

33 Harmath T Z Experimental Study on Mosutre and F~re-Endurance Fire Technology Vol 2 No 1 February 1966

34 Carlson C C Selvaggio S L Gustaferro A H A Review of Studies of the Effects of Restrain% on the Fire Resistance of Prestressed Concrete Feuerw~der-stansfah~gke~t von Spannbeton Ergebnlsse e~ner Tagung der F I P ~n Braunschwe~g Junl 1965 W1esbaden-Berhn 1966 p 32

35 Issen L A Gustaferro A H Carlson C C F~re Tests of Concrete Members An Improved Method for Estimating Thermal Restraint Forces F~re Test performance ASTM STP 464 Am Soc Testing Mats 1970 pp 153-185

36 Stone R~chard Danger Flammable Wall Street Journal New York NY Dec 8 1970

37 Warren a H Corona A A This Method Tests F~re Protective Coatings Hydrocarbon Processing January 1975

38 Castle G K The Nature of Various F~re Environments and the Apphcat~on of Modern Material Approaches for F~re Protection of Exterior Structural Steel presented at Amer~canlInst~tute of Chemical Engineers Loss Prevention Sjmpos1~ November 1973 Ph~ladelphla Pa

39 Crowley D et al Test Facilit ies for Measuring the Thermal Response of Materials to the F~re Environment aournalzof Testing and Evaluation Vol I No 5

40 Ingberg S H The Hose-StreamTest as a Part of Flre Testing Procedure Symposium on Fire Test Methods (1962) ASTM STP 344 Am Soc Testing Mats 1963 pp 57-68 SUBSTANTIATION The background information prowded ~n the Commentary should be beneficial to the user of the standard COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

PART I I

257- I - (3-2) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Committee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N Rewse the f i r s t sentence of 3 2 Mounting to read

"The test assembly shall be Installed ~n the wall or partit ion construction in the manner in which i t Is to be used SUBSTANTIATION The proposed revision recognizes that other than masonry and concrete are used COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

257- 2 - (4-I) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Committee on F~re Tests ~ A T I O N Revise 4-1 to read

4-i lest Assembly The wall or partlt~on ~n which the w~ndow assembly 1s tested shall have adequate strength to retain the assembly securely in pos]t~on throughout the f~re and hose stream test ~t shall be constructed of masonry or other materials representative of the wall or part}t]on construction W~ndow frame wall anchors when used shall be suitable for the wall or part~tlon constructed SUBSTANTIATION The proposed revision recognizes that other than masonry is commonly used I COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

257 3 (4 3(b)) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Flre Tests l~k'I~Ol~EqqIIATION Edltor]al ly change the parenthetical metrlc equivalent of 1 1/8 in from (28 mm) to (28 5 mm) Make same change in the Appendix A Commentary section t i t led Hose Stream Test SUBSTANTIATION Ed~torlal correctlon COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

257- 4 - (5-1(h)) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Commlttee on Fire Tests RE-'E'C'OIQ[RFE-N-DATION Revise 5-I(h) to read

(n~ The materlals and construction of the f l re wlndow assembly and wall or partltlon and details of installation includlng frames latches hlnges and fasteners used for mountlng shall be recorded SUBSTANTIATION Proposed changes to 3-2 and 4-I would recognize the use of nonmasonry walls and partlt}ons As such descrlpt~ons of the wall/partlt lon and frame are needed COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

257- 5 (6 I(c) and 6 1(d) (New)) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Comm]ttee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N Revlse 6-I(c) to read

(c) Separation of the glass edges during the hose stream test from the glazlng frame by movement away from the frame so as to create an openlng shall not exceed 30 percent of each lndlvldual glass l lght perlmeter Durlng the f~re exposure test movement away from the frame so as to create an opening is not permltted I

Add a new 6-1(d) to read (d) Durlng the hose stream test openings created by glass

breakage ]n the central area of each l ight shall not exceed 5 percent of the area of each ]ndlvldual glass l lght I

Add a footnote to explain the use of the word opening in (c) and (d) as follows

lopenlngs for the purpose of 6-1(c) and (d) are deflned as through holes in the assembly that can be seen from the unexposed side when looklng perpendlcular through the plane of the assembly at the locatlon of the suspected openlng SUBSTANTIATION Clarlflcatlon that intent ~s with respect to each pane or section and that large contlguous areas should not be allowed to break out COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

257- 6 (Appendlx A Commentary) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests ~ A T I O N Revlse the Appendix A Commentary section t l t led "Conditions of Acceptance to read

During the 45 mlnute f l re exposure and h~se stream test the f l re wlndow a~semblymust stay in place and not be loosened from the test frame During the hose stream test w}ndow assemblles are permltted to have glass dlslodged from the central portlon as long as the amount dlslodged does not exceed 5 percent of the area of each lndlvldual l ight During the hose stream test separatlon of the glass edges from the frame by movement away from the frame to create an opening as deflned by footnote 1 is hm~ted to 30 percent of the perlmeter of each lndlvldual glass l lght At least 70 percent of the glassJblocks shall not develop through openings SUBSTANTIATION Edltorlal revlslon to the commentary needed due to proposed changes to 6 I(c) and (d) See Proposal 257-5 COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

124

257- 7 - (Appendix B B~bliography) Accept SUBMITTER Technical Commlttee on F~re Tests ]~-E'C'I~-'NI)ATION In Appendix B Bibliography reference number 6 change "Brad" to Brady

Also update references 3 and 7 to reflect current editlon SUBSTANTIATION Editorial correctlons COMMITTEE ACTION Accept

t

NFPA 262

PART I l l

262- 1 - (Entlre Standard (New)) Accept SUBMITTER Technlcal Commlttee on Fire Tests I~"L~E'I~IIATION The Technlcal Commttee on Fire Tests recommends adoption of thls new standard NFPA 262 Method of Test for

I Electrlcal Tublng and Insulated and Jacketed Wlrlng SUBSTANTIATION

I Standard for Test Method for Fire and Smoke Characterlstlcs of Cables Used in Air Handllng Spaces UL 910 1981 Underwrlters Laboratories Inc Northbrook IL

2 A Test Method for Measurlng and Classifying the Flame Spreadlng and Smoke Generatlng Characterlstlcs of Communlcat~ons Cable by J R Beyrels J W Skjordahl S Kaufman and M M Yocum Proceedings of the Twenty-fifth Internatlonal Wire and Cable Symposlum November 1976 page 291

3 'Comparatlve Flame Propagatlon and Smoke Development Test on Commun~catlon Cables in Varlous Test Geometries UL Fact-Flnd~ng Report February 7 1978 by J W Sk.]ordahl and W S Metes

4 The Behavlour of Flre-Reslstant Commumcatlons Cables in Large-Scale Fire Tests / by S Kaufman and M M Yocum Plastics and Rubber Materials and Applications Volume 4 page 149 (November 1979)

5 Low Smoke and Flame Spread Cables by L J Przybyla E J Coffey S Kaufman M M Yocum J C Reed and D B Allen Journal of Fire and Flammab~llty Volume 12 page 177 (Aprll 1981) COf~IITTEE ACTION Accept

Standard Method of Test for Fire and

Smoke Characterlstlcs of Electrlcal Wires and Cables

NFPA 262 - 1985 {

Informatlon on referenced publlcatlons can be found In Chapter 7

Chapter 1 General

1 1 Scope Thls test method Is for determlmng values of flame spread distance and smoke denslty for Insulated and/or jacketed electrlcal wlres and cables and optlcal f lber cables that are to be installed in plenums and other spaces used for envlronmental a~r wlthout the wlres and cables belng enclosed in raceways in accordance wlth the appllcable provlslons of Sectlons 725-2 760-4 800-3 and 8E0-15 of NFPA 70 NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE"

1 2 S1gnlflcance Thls test Is designed to provlde lnformatlon for evaluatlng the posslbll l ty of f l re spreading In a plenum or other envlronmental space along optlcal flber cables or electrlcal wlres or cables or the posslb]l lty of hlgh smoke levels being developed ]n the space when wlr~ng Is subject to f i re exposure The test method has been related to the results of tests on wlrlng exposed to flres In simulated plenums

I-3 Purpose

1-3 1 The purpose of~the test Is to measure and record the f l re and smoke characterlstlcs of electrlcal wlrlng or cable by measurlng the flame spread dlstance along the test specimens when exposed to the test f l re

I-3 2 Smoke density as well as flame spread are recorded in thls test However there Is not necessarily a relatlonshlp between these measurements

I-3 3 I t Is the intent of this method of test to reglster performance durlng the perlod of f l re exposure and not to determlne the sultab111ty of the electrlcal wlrlng or cable for use after the test exposure

1-4 Summary of Test Method Thls test method uses an apparatus slmllar to that used in NFPA 255 Method of Test of Surface Burnlng Characterlstlcs of Bulldlng Materlals A speclal speclmen holder is used to expose the test speclmens the holder 11 1/4 In I wlde and approximately 4 1/4 in down from the ce111ng of the test chamber is f i l l ed wlth one layer o~ test speclmens The speclmens are exposed to a 300 000 BTU/hr (87 9 kW) f l re 4 i/2 f t (1 37 m) long for a period of 20 mlnutes wlth an ]n l t la l draft of 240 ft/mln (73 m/mln ) through the chamber The travel dlstance of the flame along the speclmen and the l lght transmittance at the end of the chamber are reported The 119ht transmlttance is converted to a peak and average optical density

NOTE For procedures for determlnlng the f i re-reslst lve performance of bulldlng constructlon assemblles Incorporatlng electrlcal wlrlng and cables reference should be made to NFPA 251 Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Bu~Idlng Constructlon and Materlals

IThe values stated in U S customary unlts are to be regarded as the standard

125

NFPA 262

Chapter 2 Test Equipment

2-1 F~re-Test Chamber

2 1 1 The f l re-test chamber cons}sts of a horlzontal duct hawng the shape and s~ze shown ~n Figures 2 1 1(a), (b) and (c) The sides and base of the duct are lined with }nsulatlngrmasonry as illustrated ]n F~aure 2-1 1(b) faced w~th a row of refractory f i re bric~ 2 One s}de is prov}ded w~th a row of double pane (ins}de pane o mounted flush w~th inner wall - see F~ure 2-1 l(b)) pressure-t}ght observat}on w}ndows (as described ]n Sections 4-2 and 4-3) located so that the entire length of the specimen being tested can be observed from outside the f i re-test chamber

' 2-1 2 The ledges are to be fabricated of structural metal 4

2-I 3 To provide air turbulence for combust}on turbulence-}nduclng baffling }s provided by pos}t]on}ng s~x refractory f}re br]cks 2 (long dimension vert}cal and 4 5 ~nch (110 mm) d}mension parallel to the wall) along the side walls of the chamber at d}stances of 7 0 12 0 and 20 0 f t + 0 5 f t (2 1 3 6 and 6 1 m + 0 2 m) on the wlndow s}de and 4 5-9 5 and 16 0 f t ~ 0 5 f t (I-4 2 g and 4 9 m ~ 0 2 m) on the opposite s}de

ZThe operation and calibration of this equ}pment ~s based on the use of A P Green G 26 refractor}es

3A glass acceptable for this purpose }s Vycor ]00-percent Sl]}ca glass nomlnally 0 25 in thick (6 mm) or Its equlvalent

4Water cooled structural-steel tubing }s acceptable for th}s purpose

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, . . . . . - 2 ' /

. . . . . . . . . . . _ / - - /

9 Figure 2-I 1(a)

Deta}ls of f i re- test chamber

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s~ -~m~ smo 17 5/8 ± 3 /8

5

F}gure 2-I 1(b) Sect}on B-B

NFPA 262

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Details of steel cable tray and supports

2-1 4 The top cons}sts of a removable metal-and-m~neral insulat}on compos]te unit w}th insulation cons}st}ng of nom}nal 20-~n -thick (50-m) mineral-composition mater}a] The top unlt is shown in F}gure 2-1 1(b) and shall completely cover the f}re-test chamber The m}neral-compos}t~on mater~al shall have physical character}stlcs comparable to the follow}ng

Max}mum effective use temperature of at least- 1200°F (650Oc)

Bulk density 211bm/ft 3 (336 kg/m 3)

Thermal conduct]v}ty at 300 0 50-0 71BTU ]n/h f t 2 OF to 700°F (149 to 371°C) (0 072-0 102 W/m 2 K)

KpC product* 1 to 4 ~TU 2 In / f t 5 h °F2 (I X 10 q to 4 X 104 W ~ s/m 4 K)

*KpC }s equal to the thermal conductivity tlmes the denslty t}mes the spec}f}c heat

i

The entlre top-panel un}t Is to be protected w}th f la t sect}ons of h}gh density (nom}naliy I I0 ]b / f t 3 or 1760 Kg/m 3) 0 25-}nch (6-mm) m}neral-f}ber/cement board maintained ]n an unwarped and uncracked condlt}on through cont}nued replacement Wh}le in place the top panel is to be completely sealed aga}nst the leakage of air into the f l re- test chamber durlng the test

2-1 5 The ladder-type cable tray used to support the test specimens }s shown }n Figures 2-I l(b) and (c) The tray is fabrlcated from cold-rolled steel 50 000 psl mln}mum (350 MPa) tensile strength The solid-bar-stock sldera}Is are as shown }n Sect}on S S In F}gure 2-1 1(c) The C-shaped channel rungs are as shown }n Sect}on Q-Q }n F}gure 2-1 I(c) Each rung is 11 25 ]n (286 mm) long The rungs are welded to the side rai ls 9 0 ~nches (229 mm) on centers along the tray length The tray whlch may conslst of several sectlons shall have a total assembled length of 23 9 f t (7 29 m) and be supported w}th 16 supports equally spaced along the length of the tray The supports (see F}gure 2-1 I(c)) are fabrlcated from bar steel

2-1 6 One end of the test chamber designated as the f i re end in Figure 2-1 1(a) }s provided w}th two gas burners dellverlng flames upward that engulf the cross sectlon of the test specimens m}dway between two rungs of the cable tray As shown in Figure 2-1 l(b) the burners are poslt}oned transversely to each side of the center line of the furnace so that the flame }s evenly d}strlbuted over the w}dth of the specimens

2-1 7 The controls used to ma}ntaln a constant flow, of gas to the burners are to cons}st of a pressure regulator a gas meter calibrated to read in increments of not more than 0 1 f t 3 (2 8 dm j) a gage to }ndlcate gas pressure ]n inches of water (Pa) a qulck-act}ng gas shutoff valve a gas-meter}ng valve and an orlf lce plate }n comb}nation with a manometer to ass}st }n malnta}ning uniform gas flow cond]tlons An air }ntake f} t ted wlth a vert]cally slldlng shutter extendlng the ent}re width of the test chamber is to be prov}ded at the f}re end The shutter }s to be pos}t}oned to prov}de an a}r- lnlet port as shown }n F}gure 2-1 1(a) A draft gage manometer to indicate static pressure }s to be connected approximately midway ~n the sect}on between the a}r }ntake and the burners as shown In Flgure 2-1 l(a)

1 2 6 "

NFPA 262

2-I 8 The other end of the test chamber designated as the vent end in Figure 2 1 l(a) is to be f l t ted with a rectangular-to-round transition piece which is in turn to be f~tted to a round flue pipe The movement of air is to be by ~nduced draft The draft inducing system ]s to have a total draft capacity of at least 0 15 inch of water (37 Pa) with the specimens in place with the shutter at the f l re end open to ~ts normal posltlon and w~th the damper (see Sectlon C-C ]n Figure 2-1 1(a)) In the w~de open posltlon

2-I g The damper is to be installed in the vent p~pe downstream of the smoke Indicating attachment described in 2-2 1

2-I 10 An automatic draft-regulator controller may be mounted in the vent pipe downstream of the manual damper Other manual automatic or special draft regulation devices may be Incorporated to ma]ntaln airflow control throughout each test run

2-i 11 The room ~n which the test chamber is located is to have provision for a free ~nflow of air to maintain the room at at~ospherlc pressure throughout each test run

2-2 Smoke Measurement

2-2 1 A l ight source 5 ]s to be mounted on a horizontal section of the vent p~pe at a point at which (1) ~t Is preceded by a stralght run of round p~pe at least 12 diameters or 16 f t (4 88 m) from the vent end of the rectangular-to-round transition section and (2) i t is not affected by flame from the test chamber The light beam ]s to be dlrected upward along the vertical axis of the vent pipe The vent pipe Is to be insulated with h~gh-temperature mneral-composlt]on mater~al from the vent end of the chamber to the photometer location A photoelectric cell 6 having an output directly proportional to the amount of l ight received is to be mounted over the l ight source w~th an overall l ight to cell path length of 36 0 + 2 0 In (914 + 51 mm) The llght source and photocell are to be located such that they are open to the environment of the test room The cyl]ndrlcal l ight beam shall pass through 3-1n (76-mm) d~ameter openings at the top and bottom of the 16 in (406-mm) dlameter duct wlth the resultant light beam centered on the photocell The cell is to be connected to recording dewces for indicating changes in the attenuation of incident llght by passing smoke-by particulate matter and by other eff]uents

2-2 2 The output of the photoelectric cell Is to be connected to a recording device having an accuracy within + I percent ful l scale to process the signal into a continuouT record of smoke obscuratlon

2 2 3 Llnearlty of the photometer system shall be verified perlod~cally by ~nterruptlng the l~ght beam with callbrated neutral density f i l te rs The f11ters shall cover the ful l range of the recording instrument Transmittance values measured by the photometer using neutral density f i l te rs shall be w]thin + 3 percent of the calibrated value for each f i l t e r

2-3 Temperature Measurement

2-3 1 A No 18 AWG thermocouple (nominal w~re cross section of 1620 CM or 0 823 mm ~) with 0 375 ÷ 0 125 ~n (10 + 3 mm) of the Junction exposed ~n the flre-cham6er air ]s to be-lnserted through the floor of the test chamber so that the t ip ]s I 000 + 0 031 ~n (25 + I mm) below the top surface of the gasketlng tape-and w]thln 10 ~t (300 mm) of the vent end of the test chamber at the center of the w~dth of the chamber

2-3 2 A No 18 AWG thermocouple (nominal wire cross section of 1620 CM or 0 823 mm 2) embedded 0 125 ~nch (3 mm) below the floor surface of the test chamber ~s to be mounted in refractory or portland cement (carefully dried to keep ~t from cracking) at d~stances of 13 5 and 24 0 f t (4 11 and 7 32 m) from the f~re end of the test chamber

Chapter 3 Test Specimens

3 1 Cable specimens in 24 0 f t (7 32 m) lengths are to be installed in a single layer across the bottom of the cable tray as shown in Figure 2-I 1(b) The specimens are lald in the tray in parallel straight rows without any space between adjacent specimens other than that needed for the cable fasteners described in Section 3-2 The number of cable specimens is to equal the measured inside wldth of the rack d~v~ded by the cable diameter with the result of the d~vls~on rounded off to the nearest lower whole number of speclmens that f~t conslder~ng the presence of cable fasteners

5A General EIectrlc Model 4405 12-V sealed-beam clear auto spot lamp is acceptable for this purpose

6 A meter acceptable for this purpose is a Weston Instruments No 856BB photronlc cell with an overall l lght-to cell path length of 36 O~ 2 0 In (914 ~ 51 mm)

NFPA 262

3-2 Bare copper or soft steel t ie wires not larger th~n No 18 AWG (nominal w~re cross section of 1620 CM or 0 823 mm ~) may be used to fasten the cable specimens to the rungs of the cable tray wherever a t~e ]s necessary to keep the cable in contact with the rung straight and parallel with all of the other cable speclmens and to minimize movement during the test A t~e ~s not to be used ]n any manner that alters the ab~llty of the cable to transmit gases and/or vapors longltudlnally through the core of the cable

3-3 Properties applicable to ident]flcatlon of the cable specimens are to be determned and recorded

Chapter 4 Callbration of Test Equlpment

4 1 One 0 25-In (6 mm) mneral-flber/cement board Is to be placed on the ledge of the furnace chamber as shown~in Figure 2-I 1(b) The removable top of the test chamber is to be placed ~ n pos]tlon \

4-2 With the board In posltlon and wlth the removable top in place the draft is to be establlshed to produce a 0 15 inch water column readlng (37 Pa) on the draft manometer wlth the fire-end shutter open 3 + 1/16 In (76 + 2 mm) and wlth the manual damper In the wlde op~ posltlon Th-en the flre-end shutter is to be closed and sealed The manometer readlng Is to increase to at least a 0 375 in water column (93 Pa) ]ndlcatlng that no excesslve alr leakage exlsts

4-3 In addltlon a supplemental leakage test is to be conducted perlodlcally by actlvatlng a smoke bomb In the f l re chamber wh]le the f]re shutter and exhaust duct beyond the dlfferentlaI manometer tube are sealed The bomb is to be ignited and the chamber ]s to be pressurized to a 0 375 + 0 150-1nch water column (93 ~ 37 Pa) All polnts of leakage observed in the form of escaping smoke partlcles are to be sealed

4 4 A draft readlng ]s to be establlshed wlthln the range of a 0 055 to 0 085-1nch water column (13 21Pa) The required draft gage readlng Is to be malnta]ned by regulating the manual damper The air veloclty at each of seven points each located 1 0 f t (300 nln) from the vent end is to be recorded These polnts are to be determined by d~vldlng the wldth of the tunnel into seven equal sectlons and recordlng the velocity at the geometric center of each sectlon The average velocity shall be 240 ~ 6 f t per mln (73 2 + 1 5 meters per mn)

4 5 The air supply Is to be malntalned at 70 0 + 50°F (21 0 + 2 8°C) and the relative humldlty Is to be kept ~ 50 ~ 5 perce~t

4 6 The test f lre whlch produces approximately 300 000 Btu (thermochemlcal) per hour (87 g kW) is to be fueled wlth bottled methane gas of unlform quallty and wlth a heating value of approxlmately 1000 Btu (thermochemcal) per c u f t (37 3 MJ/m 3) The gas supply Is to be i n l t l a l l y ad3usted to approxlmately 5000 Btu (thermochemcal) per mln (87 9 kW) The gas pressure the pressure dlfferentlal across the orlf lce plate and the volume of gas used are to be recorded in each test A length of colled copper tublng is to be inserted into the gas llne between the supply and the meterlng connect]on to compensate for possible errors in the ~ndlcated f]ow because of reductions In the gas temperature associated wlth the pressure drop and expansion across the regulator Other applicable means of correction may be used With the draft and the gas supplies adjusted as lndlcated in Sectlon 4-4 and ]n this section the test flame ]s to extend downstream to a distance of 4 5 f t (I 4 m) over the specimens wlth negl~glble upstream coverage

4 7 The test chamber ]s to be preheated wlth the mlneral f]ber/cement board and the removable top in place and with the fuel supply adjusted to the requlred flow The preheating is to be continued until the temperature ind]cated by the floor thermocouple at 24 0 f t (7 32 m) reaches 150 + 5°F (66 + 3°C) During the preheat test the tem-~eratures indlcated by t~e thermocouple at the vent end of the test chamber are to be recorded at 15 second Intervals and are to be compared to the preheat temperatures taken at the same Intervals from the representative curve of temperature as a function of t~me shown In Figure 4-7 The preheating ~s for the purpose of establishing the cond]tlons that exist following successive tests and to indlcate the control of the heat ~nput into the test chamber I f appreciable var~atlon from the temperatures shown in the representative preheat curve occurs because of varlatlons In the character~stlcs of the gas used ad3ustments in the fuel supply are to be made prior to proceeding with the red oak calibration tests

4-8 The furnace Is to cool after each test As soon as the floor thermocouple at 14 f t (4 2 m) shows a temperature of 105 + 5°F (41 + 3°C) the next set of specimens Is to be placed I n - position for test

127

NFPA 262

4-9 W]th the test equipment adjusted and cond~tloned as described in Sections 4-2 4-4 4-5 and 4-7 a test or series of tests is to be made using nominally 23/32-inch (18 mm) select-grade red oak flooring ~nrplace of the mnera1-flber/cement board specified in Secbon 4-I Prior to the teshng the wood ~s to be cond~honed to a molsture content of 6-8 percent as determined by the 221OF (I05oc) oven method (Method A) described ]n ASTM D2016 Observatlons are to be made continually and the time ~s to be recorded when the flame reaches the end of the speclmen - that ~s 19 5 f t (5 94 m) from the end of the ~gnltion f i re The end of the ignition f i re is to be considered as being 4 5 f t (1 37 m) from the burners The flame ~s to reach the end polnt in 5 5 minutes + 15 seconds The flame ~s to be judged to have reached the end ~olnt when the vent end thermocouple registers a temperature of 980OF (527oc) The temperature measured by the thermocouple near the vent end ~s to be recorded~at least every 30 seconds The photoelectric cell output is to be recorded lmmed~ately prlor to the test and at least every 15 seconds during the test

0 / I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

M INUTF.~

F~gure 4 7 Representatlve preheat curve

9

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. 1 6

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, , ! ! I , B 6 Z ' ~ I FEET 6INCHES ('37m)-~

4

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MINUTES

,732 . 6 71 -6 I0 • 5 4 9 E .4 88 .427 ,366 z ,~o~ O~ ,2 44 .~

I 83 I 22 061 0

8 9 I0

F~gure 4 11(a) Representative curve of flame spread on red oak

4-10 Cahbrat~on tests shall be conducted for 10 m~nutes

4-11 The temperature and changes in photoelectric cell read~ngs are to be recorded electron~cally or plotted separately on coordinate paper F~gures 4-11(a) (b) and (c) are representative curves for red oak for the flame spread the thermocouple temperature at the 24-ft (7 3-m) locahon and the ophcal density

4-12 Follow~ng the cahbrahon test(s) for red oak a similar test or tests are to be conducted on specimens of 0 25 ~nch (6-mm) mineral-fiber/cement board The temperature readings are to be plotted separately on coordinate paper F~gure 4-12 is a representative curve for m~neral41ber/cement board for the temperature recorded by the thermocouple at the 24 f t (7 3-m) location

4OO

2OO

I00

÷ , ~

I ÷

÷ -l~J-

0 I 2

Figure 4-11(b)

3 4 5 6 ? 8 9

MINUTES

Representative curve of temperature at 24-ft (7 3-m) locahon for red oak specimen

0 10

o 09

o 08

0 07

o 06

,~o 05;

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0 02

0 0 I

NFPA 262

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2 3 5 6 MINUTES

7 8 9 Io

Figure 4-11(c) Representahve curve of optlcal denslty from red oak

~ j

0 i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I0

MINUTES

Figure 4 12 Representatlve curve of temperature at 24 f t (7 3-m) location for mineral-fiber/cement board

Chapter 5 Test Procedure I

5-1 The cable tray and supports are to be placed in the test chamber as shown in Figure 2-I l(b) and descrlbed in 2-I 5 and 2-I 6 with the end 1 0 In (25 m) downstream from the center hne of the burners

5-2 The furnace is to be preheated as described in Section 4-7

5-3 The furnace Is to be cooled as descrlbed in Sechon 4 8

5 4 The speclmens are to be installed as described In Sectlon 3-I

5-5 The removable test chamber top is to be placed in pos~tlon on top of the furnace slde ledge

5 6 The test equlpment is to be adjusted and condltloned as descrlbed In Sectlons 4-2 4-4 4 5 and 4-7 (wlth the open-cable test speclmens in place)

5-7 The test gas flame is to be Ignlted The dlstance and tlme of maxlmum flame front are to be observed and recorded The test is to be contlnued for 20 mln

5-8 The photoel~ctrlc-cell output Is to be recorded Immedlately prlor to the test and conhnuously durlng the test

5-9 The gas pressure the pressure dlfferentlal across the orif ice plate and the volume of gas used are to be recorded for the durahon of th~ test

\

5-10 After the gas supply to the Ignltlon flame Is shut off smoldering and other condlhons wlthln the furnace are to be observed and recorded and the speclmens are then to be removed for examl natlon

128 I

NFPA 262

Chapter 6 Report 1

6-I The report shall include all of the followlng for each test

(a) A detailed description of the open-cable specimens tested

(b) The number of lengths used as specimens for the test

(c) The graph of flame dlstance beyond 4 1/2 f t (I 37 m) versus tlme for the duration of the test Figure 6-1 ]s a representative flame spread curve The graph shall also show the representative flame spread curve of red oak (see Figure 4-11(a))

(d) The graph of the optical density of the smoke generated during the test versus time for the duration of the test

Optical density = log]0 To/T

where T O ]s the in i t ia l hght transmission T is the hght transmlsslon during the test which varies with the amount of smoke Figure 6-I(d) ]s a representative smoke curve The graph shall also show the representative opt]cal density curve of red oak (see Figure 4-11(a))

(e) The peak and average optical density for the test

(f) Observatlons of the condition of the test specimens after completion of the test

(g) The welght (mass) of nonmetalhc components normalized to a figure based on 1000 f t (300 m) of tray length For example ] f the weight (mass) of a I f t (0 3 m) length of specimen cable minus the metalhc component weight ]s 0 016 lb (0 0073 kg) and there are 15 cables in the tray the normalized value is 0 016 X 15 X 1000 = 240 Ibs per 1000 f t of tray (32 85 kg per 300 m of tray)

20

18 161

14

12

to I

4~

DISTANCE DISTANCE FEET PAST M PAST FLAME FLAME IM PINGE MENT IMPINGEMENT

~ 4 " " ~ I I I I e i , : 2 4 6 8 I0 12 14 16 18 ;'

MINUTES

- 6 1 0

5 49 - -488

4~7 --366 - 305 - 2 44

I 83 122

061

Figure 6 1 Representatlve flame spread curve of test speclmen

i NFPA 262

Chapter 7 Mandatory Referenced Pubhcations

7-I This chapter l ists publicat]ons referenced w]th]n this document which ]n whole or ]n part are part of the requlrements of th]s document

7-2 NFPA Pubhcatlons The follow]ng pubhcat]on is available from the National Fire Protection Assoclat]on Batterymarch Park Quincy MA 02269

NFPA 70-1984 NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE

7-3 Other Standards

ASTM D2016 74 Tests for Moisture Content of Wood American Society for Testing and Materlals (ASTM) Philadelphia PA

Appendix A Informatory Referenced Pubhcat]ons

Th]s Appendix ]]sts pubhcat]ons whlch are referenced w]th]n this NFPA document for informatlon purposes only and thus Is not cons]dered part of the requlrements of the document

A-1 NFPA Publlcatlons The following pubhcat]ons are available from the Natlonal Fire Protection Assoclat]on Batterymarch Park Quincy MA 02269

NFPA 251-1979 Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Bulldlng Construction and Materials

NFPA 255 1984 Method of Test of Surface Burn]ng Characterlst]cs of Bu]Id]ng Materlals

) - I -

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2 -

I I 2 4

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M INUTES

Figure 6-1(d) Representative optical density curve of test specimen

I r

129

PART IV

701- 1 (2-4 1 1 3-I i 4-4 3 and Appendix B through F) Reject SUBMITTER Diane W Boulavsky American Textile Manufacturers ]-6-~-T~-~11-6 Inc RECOMMENDATION Revise NFPA 701-1977 as follows

1 In section 2 4 1 1 change s~ze of test specimen to 3 x 10 in to fac~l}tate handhng during the testing procedure

2 In section 3-1 1 change wording to allow the specimen to reach equlllbr~um temperature and molsture content prior to testing to enhance reproduc]b11~ty of test results

3 In section 4-4 3 change to 150OF to be more real~stlc and ]n 11ne wlth current laundering practices and w~th AATCC methods The 250OF ~s a rather hlgh requlrement for tumble drying the sample

4 In Introductlon and Appendices B through F revise to reflect current technology ~n flame-resistant texti les and flame-retardant treatments SUBSTANTIATION ATMI ]s the national central trade association representlng splnners weavers knitters tufters and f~n~shers of texti les and text l le products Its members account for approximately 85 percent of the productive capacity of the US text i le ~ndustry

There ]s general agreement that the large scale version of NFPA 701 ~s a good test for text l le materials which may be exposed to moderately ~ntense flames There ]s also general agreement that for many materials the small scale version of 701 ]s a poor predlctor of behavior ]n the large-scale test We are aware that NFPA has establlshed a working group to deal with this situation

ATMI wlshes to be sure that NFPA is aware that there ~s a subcommittee wlthln ASll~1 Committee D-13 working on flammability tests for curtains and draperies This Committee is in the process of organizing an ]nterlaboratory test to evaluate the repeatab~hty and reproduc~billty of the NFPA 701 ASTM 03659-77 and the Br~t~sh Standard 5438-1976 tests for curtalns and drapes The result of each of the tests wil l also be correlated with results obtained wlth the NFPA 701 large-scale test There are already lndlcat~ons that the Br~t~sh Standard Test correlates well w~th the large scale 701 and also that a modlf~ed version of the ASTM test also correlates well with the 701 large scale ATMI believes that ] t ]s ]n order for the NFPA and the ASTM Commlttees to cooperate ]n their act]vltles /

ATMI feels very strongly that an economical small scale test that correlates well with the large scale 701 test ]s necessary s~nce the 701 large scale test ~s expensive due to construction of the test chamber or ut11~z~ng an outside laboratory I t also requires a large amount of fabric for proper testlng

ATMI recognizes that ~t may take some time to develop a small-scale test which w~ll correlate well wlth the 701 large scale version In the meantime we recommend the above revisions to enhance the exlst~ng 701 small scale test COMMITTEE ACTION Reject COMMITTEE COMMENT The proposed rewr~te of NFPA 701 (see Committee Proposal 701-4) leaves the Subm]tter s recommendations as nonappllcable Overall the proposed rewrlte addresses the Subm~tter s underlying concerns by correcting problems that exist wlth the current edltlon

701 2 - (5 1) Accept in Prlnc~ple SUBMITTER Charhe W Jones Man Made Fiber Producers Assn Inc RECOMMENDATION Make the following changes to Section 5 1 Small Scale Test

1 Ellmlnate section 5-1 1 2 Eliminate section 5 1 3 3 Add the following sentence to the end of sectlon 5 1 4 Where a material melts but does not ignite the material w~l]

be considered as passlng the Small Scale Test SUBSTANTIATION t~MFPA is a trade organization that represents more than 90 percent of the man made fiber produced domestlcally Thls ~n turn represents 75 percent of all ya~n and f~bers used by US text i le mills Information available to MMFPA ~nd]cates that the NFPA 701 Small Scale Test does not necessarily relate to real f i re s~tuat~ons I t was originally designed to measure flammab~llty of 100 percent cellulosic (cotton) fabr}cs which had been treated w~th a topical flame-retardant finish I t unfairly penalizes fabrlcs produced of many man made f~bers On the latter point many fabrics produced uslng 100 percent thermoplastic man-made f}bers melt and shrlnk away from an external flame source As a result such fabrics of man-made fibers become d i f f i cu l t to ~gn]te when exposed to a small flame such as the one required ~n the NFPA 701 Small Scale Test procedure In add]tlon ] f Ign~t]on occurs most of these fabrics will burn slowly and often self-extinguish However since NFPA 701 requlres a metal specimen holder into which the fabric specimen ~s clamped certain anomahes can occur which often unjustly penal}ze these fabrlcs

Three spec]flc problems occaslonally occur which can result in a spurious failure to meet the flame resistance requirements as specified ]n NFPA 701 Sectlon 5 1 Some very lightweight fabrics made of 100 percent thermoplastic man-made f~bers may melt the entire vertical length of the specimen even though no Ig~]t~on or charring occurs resulting ~n a failure Secondly the metal specimen holder can retaln molten~roplets of the thermoplastic

fabrics near the edge of the test frame and result ~n a lingering flame which does not contribute to ~ncreases in char length but can result in fallure according to section 5-I 1 of NFPA 701 Thirdly because of the propensity for thermoplastic fabrics to melt and shrink away from a flame source molten droplets so-called melt drlp may fa l l away from the fabric during or Immediately following exposure to an open flame These molten droplets prowde the advantage for removing flame and combustible mater~al from the fabric thus reduclng the l~kelihood of contlnulng burning Furthermore after lengthy public comments the Consumer Products Safety Commission ehm]nated any reference to melt drip from the federal flammab111ty standard for children s sleepwear Extensive evidence had shown that melt-drip does not contribute to the flammability hazards of these garments The present requirement of sectlon 5-1 3 penalizes such droplets by prohlblt~ng contlnued flamlng on the floor of the test apparatus

The effect of the above proposed changes w11l be to eliminate the unjustified bias that now exists against 100 percent man-made thermoplastic fibers The severity of the test w~ll not be reduced since the criteria speclfylng average and maximum length of char wil l remain and become the prlnc~pal cr i ter ia for determining acceptance of all fabrics

In rewew~ng the entire NFPA 701 standard we note