Historically, masonry walls have demonstrated excellent fire resistance, provided that the foundations and supporting structure maintain sufficient structural integrity during the fire.
Fire Detailing in Masonry
Masonry buildings are generally less vulnerable to the spread of fire during and after construction than other modern construction methods. This is mainly due to the combination of non-combustible materials used, such as bricks, mortar, concrete and steel and the fire protection construction details that are typically installed as building work progresses.
Non-combustible austenitic stainless steel products used in the design of ACS masonry products generally retain a higher proportion of their room temperature strength than carbon steels above temperatures of about 550 °C, and a higher proportion of their stiffness at all temperature.
Where the fire resistance of a construction detail containing ACS products is required there are a number of options:
1. Fire Protection – In the construction of masonry buildings, most commonly, steel is protected from direct fire exposure to fire by active fire blocks such as cavity fire stops/barriers, fire boards and intumescent coatings.
2. Design by Calculation – Stainless steel structural components can be designed by ACS for passive fire resistance to a given fire curve following the guidance of BS EN 1993-1-2 (Design of steel structures: Structural fire design) taking into account “Accidental” actions (A) – e.g. explosions, fire and vehicle impact.
3. Independent Testing – Specific construction details can be built and tested by independent notified fire test laboratories to establish a product or a construction detail’s fire resistance to provide a fire rating period.
To download a copy of the industry-approved Fire Detailing for Non-Combustible Masonry Structures click here.
To have your project designed and detailed to a specific fire requirement click here or call our Specification Team on 0844 850 0860.
For more information about fire safety within buildings visit the association for specialist fire protection
Article originally published on 23rd October 2018