Abstract

The expanded polystyrene (EPS) façade has been widely used to save building energy, but it has also caused many severe facade fire accidents worldwide. Especially for aged buildings, the naturally weathered exterior surface layer can further increase the facade fire risk and the fire spread rate (FSR). In this work, a series of real-scale EPS External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) façades are tested via the JIS A 1310 standard. The EPS thickness varies from 100 to 300 mm, density changes from 15 kg/m³ to 30 kg/m³, and heat release rate (HRR) of window spilled flame ranges from 600 kW to 1100 kW. Tests showed that the surface cement layer was quickly damaged by a spilled flame that provided negligible fire resistance for the internal flammable EPS panel. The measured upward FSR increases with the rising of HRR and with the decreasing EPS thickness like the thermally thin material. An empirical correlation of instantaneous upward FRS is proposed, FSR = 0.22Φ + 3.45 [cm/min], where Φ is a modified fire propagation index derived from the experimental temperature distribution. In addition, a simple prediction method for FSR is proposed for the façade fire and verified by the experimental data. This work provides a useful method to quantify the upward façade fire propagation, which also helps evaluate the fire risk and hazard of EPS ETICS façade prior to the costly large-scale tests and installation.

Graphic Abstract

中文翻译：

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实际EPS ETICS外立面上的向上蔓延率

摘要

发泡聚苯乙烯（EPS）立面已被广泛用于节省建筑能耗，但它也引起了全球范围内许多严重的立面火灾事故。特别是对于老化的建筑物，自然风化的外表层会进一步增加立面着火的风险和火势蔓延率（FSR）。在这项工作中，通过JIS A 1310标准对一系列实际比例的EPS外墙外保温复合系统（ETICS）外墙进行了测试。EPS厚度从100到300 mm不等，密度从15 kg / m ³到30 kg / m ³不等，窗外火焰的热释放率（HRR）为600 kW至1100 kW。测试表明，表面的水泥层被溢出的火焰迅速损坏，该火焰为内部易燃EPS面板提供了微不足道的耐火性。像热薄材料一样，测得的向上FSR随着HRR的增加和EPS厚度的减小而增加。提出了瞬时向上FRS的经验相关性，FSR =0.22Φ+ 3.45 [cm / min]，其中Φ是从实验温度分布得出的修正的火传播指数。此外，针对立面火灾提出了一种简单的FSR预测方法，并通过实验数据进行了验证。这项工作为量化立面火灾蔓延提供了一种有用的方法，

图形摘要