Intumescent Fire Protection
The thin film Intumescent coatings can provide a long-lasting and attractive surface, pretty similar to a paint finish. However in a fire, the Intumescent paint will expand to many times its original thickness. This protects the steelwork against heat build-up.
Intumescent base coats are available in either Water or Solvent-based systems, and when applied, will offer a robust and cost-effective solution for fire ratings of 30, 60, 90 & 120.
When calculating the product requirements, the following key factors will apply:
Fire rating required:
30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes
Steel exposure:
Partial exposed, 3-sided or 4 sided
Type of section:
Universal, hollow, beams or columns
Size and weight of steel:
Hp/A
The Hp/A value is known as the section factor of the steel section. This section factor is directly related to the heating rate of the steel section under a fire condition.
Hp – The perimeter of the steel exposed to the fire
A – The cross sectional area of the section
The bigger the area of the surface in relation to the cross sectional area, the higher the Hp/A value, meaning the higher the Hp/A value, the more fabric is required. This means of course, that the thicker the segment, the slower it is to heat up thus meaning the less thickness of fabric required.
Topcoats
All manufacturers offer a comprehensive range of protective and decorative topcoats to protect the Intumescent basecoat from corrosion attack and are available in a wide range of colours.
All buildings have a Corrosion building classification depending on the environments they are as follows:
C1: Very low corrosion risk, warm dry interior such as offices, schools & hospitals etc,
C2: Low corrosion risk, steelwork exposed to moisture such as vehicle depots, sports halls etc
C3: Medium corrosion risk, steelwork exposed to moisture and pollution such as Breweries, swimming pools
Within a Cat 1 environment, a topcoat will not be required unless the Intumescent is visible, and the client requires a decorative/coloured finish.
Fire Boarding
Elite Firestop will undertake steelwork encasement to universal beams and columns upon request, using robust boarding systems such as Glasroc F from British Gypsum and mineral fibre boards from Rockwool.