Citation

Blackmore J, Delichatsios MA. J. Fire Prot. Eng. 2002; 12(1): 45-59.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1042391502012001108

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The potential of building materials to contribute to fire growth and spread has led to extensive regulatory control. Various and numerous small-scale tests are used to simulate and characterize flammability, flame spread and smoke production. Recently, the Fire Science and Technology Laboratory at CSIRO conducted an extensive research project into the performance in fire of flooring and floor coverings. Specifically, this paper focuses on an evaluation of four tests that could be used for controlling floor coverings, namely the Cone Calorimeter, the Flooring Radiant Panel (FRP), the LIFT Apparatus and the Early Fire Hazard Test (EFH). The reason behind the test selection was that the first three tests are internationally recognized while the fourth is a valuable, well-documented and validated Australian test that is referred to in the Building Code of Australia. EFH was originally developed to regulate wall lining materials but its use has been extended to regulate almost everything else, including floor coverings. Detailed test measurements in these apparatuses included ignition times in the Cone and EFH, critical heat flux in the Cone, FRP, LIFT and EFH, and rate of heat release and smoke yield in the Cone and EFH. Comparisons of similar parameters were made to investigate consistency of test results within the present regulatory requirements for floor coverings. In addition, prediction of flooring material behavior in each of these tests based on results from the rest of the tests was explored. Based on this comparison, the significance of each test with regard to providing information for flammability properties of relevance to control of floor coverings is established.