Abstract

Façade fires in tall buildings are currently occurring more than once a month globally that are responsible for many casualties and billions of dollars in losses. In particular, the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in London with more than 70 fatalities raised the profile of façade fire hazard. This work used well-controlled irradiation up to 60 kW/m² to re-assess the fire hazard of typical flame-retardant aluminum composite panels (ACPs) with a dimension of 10 cm × 10 cm × 0.5 cm. We found that the vertically oriented ACPs with the “non-combustible” A2-grade and “limited-combustible” B-grade cores could still be ignited above 35 kW/m² and 25 kW/m², after the front aluminum layer peeled off. The peak heat release rate per unit area of these ACPs could be higher than common materials like timber and PVC. Moreover, compared to the B-core panel, the A2-core panel showed a greater fire hazard in terms of a shorter ignition delay time, a higher possibility of the core peel-off, and a longer flaming duration under current test size and fixing condition. Because the ACP is a complex system, its fire hazard is not simply controlled by the core material. The structural failure of ACP in fire, including peel-off, bending, softening and cracking, may further increase the fire hazard depending on the scale effect, boundary and fixing conditions. This research improves our understanding of the systematic fire behaviors of façade panels and helps rethink the fire risk and test methods of the building façade.

Graphical Abstract

中文翻译：

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台式阻燃铝芯复合板的外墙火灾危险

摘要

目前，全球高层建筑的外墙火灾每月在全球范围内发生超过一次，造成许多人员伤亡和数十亿美元的损失。特别是伦敦发生的悲惨格林菲尔大厦火灾，造成70多人死亡，这增加了立面火灾的隐患。这项工作使用了高达60 kW / m ²的受控辐照，以重新评估尺寸为10 cm×10 cm×0.5 cm的典型阻燃铝复合板（ACP）的火灾隐患。我们发现，带有“不可燃” A2级和“有限可燃” B级磁芯的垂直定向ACP仍可在35 kW / m ²和25 kW / m ²以上点燃。之后，将前铝层剥离。这些ACP的单位面积峰值放热率可能高于木材和PVC等常见材料。此外，与B型芯板相比，A2型芯板在较短的点火延迟时间，更高的芯型剥落可能性以及在当前测试尺寸和固定条件下更长的燃烧持续时间方面显示出更大的火灾隐患健康）状况。由于ACP是一个复杂的系统，其火灾隐患不是由芯材简单控制的。ACP在火灾中的结构失效，包括剥离，弯曲，软化和破裂，可能会进一步增加火灾危险，具体取决于比例效应，边界和固定条件。

图形概要