This project aims to support the construction of tall wood buildings by identifying encapsulation methods that provide adequate protection of mass timber elements; the intention is that these methods could potentially be applied to mass timber elements so that the overall assembly could achive a 2 h fire resistance rating.
The key objective of this study is to analyze full-scale fire-resistance tests conducted on structural composite lumber (SCL), namely laminated veneer lumber (LVL), parallel strand lumber (PSL) and laminated strand lumber (LSL). A sub-objective is to evaluate the encapsulation performance of Type X gypsum board directly applied to SCL beams and its contribution to fire-resistance of wood elements.
The test data is being used to further support the applicability of the newly developed Canadian calculation method for mass timber elements, recently implemented as Annex B of CSA O86-14.
The 2015 edition of the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) includes significant changes to the acoustic requirements for residential constructions. The 2015 edition defines the acoustic requirements in terms of the Apparent Sound Transmission Class (ASTC) rating which includes contributions from flanking transmission and therefore is a better descriptor of how well the sound insulation of a building will actually protect the inhabitants of the building from unwanted noise than the STC rating which was used in earlier editions of the NBCC. The 2015 NBCC requires an ASTC rating = 47 for constructions between dwelling units.
The ASTC rating that a construction will achieve depends on the design of the building elements including the gypsum board, the framing and the thermal insulation as well as the design of the junctions between the building elements. Changes to the building elements or the junctions will change the ASTC rating.
Fifty five examples of the calculation of the ASTC rating for typical mid-rise wood constructions (single and triple staggered wood stud walls and floors constructed of I-joists) with 15.9 mm (5/8”) SilentFX® QuickCut gypsum board, 15.9 mm CertainTeed Type X gypsum board and CertainTeed Sustainable fiberglass insulation are presented. All of the constructions shown in the examples have an ASTC rating which is greater than 47.
In addition to the examples for mid-rise wood framing, an example using 15.9 mm SilentFX® QuickCut gypsum board as a lining on a cross laminated timber (CLT) construction is also presented.
Timber buildings made with Cross-laminated Timber (CLT) panels are becoming wide spread in Europe. The fire resistance of CLT panels depends upon several parameters, including the number of layers and their thickness. At the present, EN 1995-1-2:2004 does not provide specific information on the fire design of CLT panels. Several fire resistance tests of CLT panels were performed in different scales by furnace testing using the standard fire curve according to ISO 834-1:1999, however the large number of possible combination of CLT products makes testing too complicated and expensive as a tool for the verification of the fire resistance of several combinations. In this report are presented nine small-scale tests carried-out at SP Wood Technology (Technical Research Institute of Sweden). The tests consisted in specimens of CLT and massive timber exposed at a two steps of constant heat flux in a cone calorimeter (50 and 75 kW/m2). Some specimens were exposed with two different types of fire protection (gypsum plasterboard type F and plywood) and some were tested unprotected. Later, thermal simulations with the same set-up of tests were implemented on the finite element software package in Safir 2007, with the time-temperature curve given by ISO 834 as input; also the analytical calculation of the charring depth following the Eurocode 5 part 1-2 was done. The target of this thesis is to compare performed CLT furnace tests with the smallscale cone calorimeter tests carried out, the numerical results of the thermal model and the analytical results obtained.
Five full-scale fire experiments were conducted to observe the performance of a two-level apartment-style structure constructed of mass timber. Each level consisted of a one bedroom apartment, an L-shaped corridor, and a stairwell connecting the two levels. One of the primary variables considered in this test series was the amount and location of exposed mass timber. The amount of mass timber surface area protected by gypsum wallboard ranged from 100% to no protection. For each experiment, the fuel load was identical and the fire was initiated in a base cabinet in the kitchen. In the first three experiments, the fire reached flashover conditions, and subsequently underwent a cooling phase as the fuel load from combustible contents was consumed. The first three experiments were carried out for a duration of up to 4 h. In the fourth experiment, automatic fire sprinklers were installed. Sprinklers suppressed the fire automatically. In the fifth experiment, the activation of the automatic fire sprinklers was delayed by approximately 20 minutes beyond the sprinkler activation time in the fourth experiment to simulate responding fire service charging a failed sprinkler water system. A variety of instrumentation was used during the experiments, including thermocouples, bidirectional probes, optical density meters, heat flux transducers, directional flame thermometers, gas analyzers, a fire products collector, and residential smoke alarms. In addition, the experiments were documented with digital still photography, video cameras, and a thermal imaging camera. The experiments were conducted in the large burn room of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Fire Research Laboratory located in Beltsville, Maryland, USA. This report provides details on how each experiment was set up, how the experiments were conducted, and the instrumentation used to collect the data. A brief summary of the test results is also included. Detailed results and full data for each test are included in separate appendices.
Vertical gypsum fire separation walls that have fire-resistive ratings evaluated in accordance with a recognized standard are permitted for use in building construction. When approved doors are inserted in such walls, the details must be presented for consideration as an “alternative solution”.
This guide is based on observations of two CAN/ULC S101 (ULC, 2007) tests on gypsum fire separation walls with S104 (ULC, 2010) approved closure penetrations. The guidance is intended to direct the designer’s attention to potential issues that might impact the performance of a closure penetration in a gypsum separation wall that use a thick wood-based sheathing (i.e. combustible) for carrying the weight of the fire door assembly. General guidance is provided on sizing the sheathing and the need for protecting the sheathing from fire, yet permitting the assembly to accommodate building movements in-service.
The purpose of this guide is to recommend considerations when designing the interface between a fire door (closure penetration) in proprietary gypsum separation walls. These considerations form only part of the alternative solution that will need to be presented to the AHJ for approval.
Although details are provided in Appendix VI to illustrate a possible solution, it is the responsibility of the designer to understand how the design is expected to perform. The guide discusses three scenarios to assist the designer in formulating an appropriate solution. These are performance under an extreme fire; performance under a limited fire; and performance under normal (non-fire) service conditions that may include high wind or high seismic event.
Standard fire endurance tests were performed on a full-scale floor assembly and a full-scale wall assembly constructed with cross-laminated timber (CLT) as the main structural element. The full-scale floor assembly consisted of CLT panels encapsulated with fiberglass wool and a single layer of 15.9 mm thick Type X gypsum board on the exposed side and with two layers of 12.7 mm thick cement board on the unexposed side. The full-scale wall assembly was constructed from CLT panels encapsulated with two layers of 15.9 mm thick Type X gypsum board on both faces. Nine thermocouples were installed on the unexposed face of both assemblies to monitor the temperature rise throughout the test and nine deflection gauges were installed on each assembly to monitor deformations. The superimposed load applied on the floor assembly was 9.4 kN/m² and the load imposed on the wall assembly was 449 kN/m. The fire endurance period of the full-scale floor assembly was 128 minutes and that of the full-scale wall assembly 219 minutes. Both the full-scale floor assembly and the full-scale wall assembly failed structurally afterwards under the applied loading. No hose stream tests were carried out on the fullscale floor and wall assemblies.
Small furnace fire tests were conducted on CLT cladded with calcium silicate boards, gypsum boards, and combinations of the two. The difference in fire resistance when using different board types, combinations, and thicknesses was demonstrated. Some cross-sectional configurations had enough 2-hour fire resistance performance...
A full-scale compartment fire test was performed to assess gypsum plasterboards and wood based panels as cladding materials for the fire protection of light and massive timber elements. The test compartment was constructed using both the Timber Frame and the Cross Laminated Timber techniques; a wood crib was used to achieve realistic fire conditions. Temperature measurements and optical inspection evidence suggested that gypsum plasterboards offered adequate fire protection since they did not fail and no charring was observed in the timber elements. A free standing wall inside the test compartment, protected by wood-based panels, partially collapsed. Measured values of characteristic failure times, such as time to failure of fire protection cladding and time to onset of charring, were compared to relevant Eurocode correlations, achieving good levels of agreement. The obtained set of measurements, describing the time evolution of a large variety of physical parameters, such as gas and wall layer temperatures, can be used for validation of relevant advanced fire simulation tools.
![The ASTC Ratings of Mid-rise Wood Constructions Using CertainTeed SilentFX® QuickCut Gypsum Board [3rd edition]](/media/images/2615.JPG?width=180&height=180&mode=crop&anchor=topcenter&404=no-img.jpg)
