Solutions for Mid-Rise Wood Construction: Cone Calorimeter Results for Acoustic Membrane Materials Used in Floor Assemblies (Report to Research Consortium for Wood and Wood-Hybrid Mid-Rise Buildings)
Solutions for Mid-Rise Wood Construction: Full-Scale Standard Fire Test for Exterior Wall Assembly using a Simulated Cross-Laminated Timber Wall Assembly with Gypsum Sheathing
One of the tasks in the project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was to develop further information and data for use in developing generic exterior wall systems for use in mid-rise buildings using either lightweight wood frame or cross-laminated timber as the structural elements. This report describes a standard full-scale exterior wall fire test conducted on May 22, 2012 on a simulated cross-laminated timber (CLT) wall assembly with an attached insulated lightweight wood frame assembly protected using gypsum sheathing. The test was conducted in accordance with CAN/ULC-S134.
A research project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was undertaken to develop information to be used as the basis for alternative/acceptable solutions for mid-rise construction using wood structural elements. One of the Tasks in the project was to investigate the effectiveness of three materials for use as encapsulation materials for combustible structural elements: Type X gypsum board, cement board and gypsum-concrete. Cone calorimeter and intermediate-scale furnace tests were conducted for these materials. The results of the tests on these materials using the cone calorimeter and the intermediate-scale furnace are provided in References 3 and 4, respectively. In addition to the tests for the three encapsulation materials, data from previous NRC fireresistance projects were reviewed for data on the encapsulation time for structural elements afforded by gypsum board in the context of standard fire-resistance testing. In this report, the results of the data-mining from several of NRC’s fire-resistance testing projects are provided.
Working in collaboration with the Canadian Wood Council and FPInnovations and in partnership with Natural Resources Canada and the governments of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, the National Research Council conducted a comprehensive research project, Research Consortium for Wood and Wood-Hybrid Mid-rise Buildings. This consortium project aimed to develop technical information that could be used to support acceptable solutions that meet the NBC’s objectives for fire safety, acoustics, and building envelope performance, in order to facilitate the use of wood-based structural materials in mid-rise buildings. The objectives of the Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings research project were to develop performance data and technical solutions in the areas of fire safety, acoustics and building envelope pertinent to the use of wood-based structural materials in mid-rise buildings, i.e. to develop an alternative solution to meet the 2010 NBC requirements for non-combustible construction for 5-6 storey (and taller) buildings. This project was intended to address the immediate needs for technical solutions for mid-rise wood buildings that do not compromise the minimum levels of safety and performance required by the 2010 NBC in the areas of fire safety and fire protection, acoustics, and building envelope performance.
A research project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was undertaken to develop information to be used as the basis for alternative/acceptable solutions for mid-rise construction using wood structural elements. As part of this project, four large-scale fire experiments were conducted to evaluate the fire performance of two forms of encapsulated combustible structural wood systems, a lightweight wood-frame (LWF) system (2 experiments [3, 4]) and a crosslaminated timber (CLT) system (1 experiment). The fourth experiment [5] involved a test structure constructed using a steel frame system described below. Each experiment involved construction of a test set-up of an unsprinklered full-size apartment unit, intended to represent a portion of a mid-rise (e.g. six-storey) building.
The structural elements used in the LWF system (wood stud walls and wood I-joist floors) and CLT system (3-ply wall panels and 5-ply floor panels) were all chosen on the basis of the types of construction that were currently being used in 5- and 6-storey mid-rise residential construction being built in the province of British Columbia, where the building code had changed earlier, in 2009, to permit such mid-rise combustible construction. This report provides the results of the experiment with an encapsulated CLT setup representing an apartment in a mid-rise (e.g. six-storey) building.
A research project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was undertaken to develop information to be used as the basis for alternative/acceptable solutions for mid-rise construction using wood structural elements. As part of this project, four large-scale fire experiments were conducted to evaluate the fire performance of two forms of encapsulated combustible structural wood systems, a lightweight wood-frame (LWF) system (2 experiments [3]) and a crosslaminated timber (CLT) system (1 experiment [4]). The fourth experiment [5] involved a test structure constructed using a steel frame system described below. Each experiment involved construction of a test set-up of an unsprinklered full-size apartment unit, intended to represent a portion of a mid-rise (e.g. six-storey) building.
This report provides the results of the test with an encapsulated LWF setup representing an apartment in a mid-rise (e.g. six-storey) building.
A research project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was undertaken to develop information to be used as the basis for alternative/acceptable solutions for mid-rise construction using wood structural elements. As part of this project, four large-scale fire experiments were conducted to evaluate the fire performance of two forms of encapsulated combustible structural wood systems, a lightweight wood-frame (LWF) system (2 experiments) and a crosslaminated timber (CLT) system (1 experiment). The fourth experiment involved a test structure constructed using a steel frame system described below. Each experiment involved construction of a test set-up of an unsprinklered full-size apartment unit, intended to represent a portion of a mid-rise (e.g. six-storey) building.
The intent was to provide the opportunity for comparison of the fire performance of the encapsulated LWF and CLT systems to that of the LSF system. However, after the initial 15 min, there were differences in the fire conditions within the apartment in the test of the LSF system that made this comparison difficult.
This report provides the results of the second test with an encapsulated LWF setup representing an apartment in a mid-rise (e.g. six-storey) building.
A research project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was undertaken to develop information to be used as the basis for alternative/acceptable solutions for mid-rise construction using wood structural elements. The effectiveness of the encapsulation approach in limiting the involvement of wood structural materials in fires was demonstrated in this research project through bench-, intermediate- and full-scale fire experiments. These results for encapsulated lightweight wood-frame (LWF) systems and encapsulated cross-laminated timber (CLT) systems are documented in a series of reports.
In addition to developing the encapsulation approach for protecting the wood structural materials to meet the above code intent, research was undertaken to examine standard fire resistance of encapsulated wood structural assemblies for use in mid-rise wood/timber buildings. One of the major differences between structural LWF assemblies used in mid-rise wood buildings (5-6 storeys) and low-rise wood buildings (= 4 stories) is the wall assemblies for the lower storeys. For mid-rise wood buildings, loadbearing wall assemblies on the lower storeys have to be designed to resist higher axial loads due to the self-weight of the upper storeys, which often result in the need for larger-size stud members and/or a greater number of studs, and higher lateral loads in case of seismic events or wind loads, which often requires the use of wood shear panels within the wall assembly. These wall assemblies very often will need to meet standard fire resistance requirements, and therefore, information regarding their standard fire-resistance ratings should be developed. This report documents the results of fullscale furnace tests conducted to develop standard fire-resistance ratings of encapsulated LWF assemblies for use in mid-rise applications.
A research project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was undertaken to develop information to be used as the basis for alternative/acceptable solutions for mid-rise construction using wood structural elements. As one approach, encapsulation materials could be used to protect the combustible (wood) structural materials for a period of time in order to delay the effects of the fire on the combustible structural elements, including delay of ignition. In delaying ignition, any effects of the combustion of the combustible structural elements on the fire severity can be delayed. In some cases, and depending upon the amount of encapsulating material used (e.g. number of layers), ignition of the elements might be avoided completely. This scenario would primarily depend upon the fire event and the actual fire performance of the encapsulating materials used. The effectiveness of the encapsulation approach in limiting the involvement of wood structural materials in fires was demonstrated in the research project through bench-, intermediate- and full-scale fire experiments.
Solutions for Mid-Rise Wood Construction: Full-Scale Standard Fire Test for Exterior Wall Assembly using Lightweight Wood Frame Construction with Interior Fire-Retardant-Treated Plywood Sheathing
One of the tasks in the project, Wood and Wood-Hybrid Midrise Buildings, was to develop further information and data for use in developing generic exterior wall systems for use in mid-rise buildings using either lightweight wood frame or cross-laminated timber as the structural elements. This report describes a standard full-scale exterior wall fire test conducted on April 9, 2013 on an insulated lightweight wood frame wall assembly protected using interior fire-retardant-treated (FRT) plywood sheathing. The test was conducted in accordance with CAN/ULC-S134-13.
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