Fire Resisting Properties Of Common Building Materials


Fire Resisting Properties Of Common Building Materials

Fire Resisting Properties Of Common Building Materials

Fire resisting properties of common construction material

Common building materials such as fire-fighting properties such as stone, brick, wood, cast iron, glass, steel, and concrete are mentioned below.

1. STONE

The stone is a bad conductor of heat. But it is admirable under the effects of fire. It is also responsible for splitting the rock into smaller pieces when it is hot and cold. The granite explodes and easily deteriorates in the event of a fire. Limestone is easily crushed by common fires. Compact composition sandstones with the fine grain can withstand moderate fires without the formation of serious cracks.

2. BRICKS


It has been found that bricks are not seriously affected until temperatures reach 12000C to 13000C. This is due to the fact that a brick is a poor conductor of heat. If mortar type and workmanship are of good quality, brick masonry generally offers good resistance to fire. However, a brick has its own structural limitations for use in buildings.

3. TIMBER

As a general rule, structural elements made of wood are burned and destroyed quickly. Further, they increase the severity of the fire. But wood used in heavy parts can have a high degree of fire resistance because wood is a very bad conductor of heat. This is why time is required to create heat intensity so that wood can cause a fire. To make wood more resistant, timber surfaces are sometimes bonded to certain chemicals such as ammonium phosphate and sulfate, borax and boric acid, zinc chloride, etc. Firewood is also protected from the use of some paint on its surface.

4. CAST IRON

Currently, this material is rarely used as a structural material. This material flies into pieces when it is hot and suddenly cold. Therefore, when used in construction, this material is covered with a brick thickness of brickwork or other fire-resistant material such as concrete.

5. GLASS

This material is poorly conductive to heat and has little expansion due to heat. Cracks in this material form when heated and then suddenly cool down. Glass reinforced with steel wire is more fire-resistant than ordinary glass and can withstand sudden changes in temperature without forming cracks. Wired glass, even if it breaks, keeps the fractured glass in its original state.

6. STEEL

Steel is a good conductor of heat and, therefore, is rapidly heated in the event of a fire. It has been found that with the increase of heat, the steel loses its steam power and at normal temperatures, one-third of its value in the production of light steel at 6000C. Therefore, under severe fire, unsafe steel beams fall sick, the buckle and structure of unsafe steel columns. The steel is completely melted at a temperature of 14000C. It has also been found that if the surface color is not specifically protected from fire, it helps to spread the flame on the surface and thus increases the intensity of the fire.

If a steel plate or sheet is shaped with a framework, it is effective that the flame is resisting the passage. Such construction has been widely adopted in the manufacture of fire extinguishers and windows.

7. CONCRETE

Concrete has very good fire resistance. The actual behavior of concrete in the case of fire depends on the quality of cement and assembly used. In the case of reinforced concrete and precast concrete, this also depends on the steel position. The larger the concrete cover, the better the member's fire resistance.

When heated to 250 ° C, there is no loss of strength in the concrete. If the temperature is higher than 250 ° C, the power begins to decline. Typically reinforced concrete structures can withstand fire for up to an hour at temperatures of 1000 ° C. Therefore, cement concrete is ideally used as a fire retardant.


Learn more about….


Previous
Next Post »