Fire-stopping product

Abstract

A fire-stopping material for use in sandwich panels is provided, wherein the fire-stopping material comprises a resilient, porous material at least partially impregnated with an intumescent agent. A panel for an internal wall and an internal wall are also provided, comprising the fire-stopping material disposed between two substantially parallel boards, such as plaster boards. A method of providing a service penetration through an internal wall is also provided.

Claims

1. A panel for an internal building wall comprising first and second boards, the first board extending lengthwise parallel to the second board and being transversely spaced apart from the second board and defining a gap extending parallel to the first and a second boards, a fire-stopping material located in and filling the gap, the fire-stopping material including a resilient, porous material at least partially filled throughout with an intumescent agent, and a service element extending transversely and completely through the first and second boards, and the fire-stopping material, wherein the service element is a pipe, a conduit or a cable and in direct contact with the fire-stopping material when extended through the first and second boards and, wherein the resilient, porous material comprises an open-cell foam or a non-woven material.

2. The panel according to claim 1, wherein the intumescent agent includes at least one of: graphite, polyphosphate, melamine, pentaerythritol, titanium dioxide and exfoliated vermiculite.

3. The panel according to claim 1, wherein the intumescent agent comprises graphite.

4. The panel according to claim 1, wherein the intumescent agent comprises graphite and ammonium polyphosphate.

5. The panel according to claim 1, wherein the resilient, porous material comprises a polyurethane (PU) open-cell foam.

6. The panel according to claim 1, wherein the weight ratio of the resilient, porous material to the intumescent agent is from 1:0.2 to 1:6.

7. The panel according to claim 6, wherein the weight ratio of the resilient, porous material to the intumescent agent is from 1:1 to 1:3.

8. The panel according to claim 1, wherein at least one major face of the fire-stopping material comprises a smoke-impermeable coating.

9. The panel according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the boards is a plasterboard.

10. An internal building wall comprising first and second boards, the first board extending lengthwise parallel to the second board and being transversely spaced apart from the second board and defining a gap extending parallel to the first and a second boards, a fire-stopping material located in and filling the gap, the fire-stopping material including a resilient, porous material at least partially filled throughout with an intumescent agent, and a service element extending transversely and completely through the first and second boards, and the fire-stopping material, wherein the service element is a pipe, a conduit or a cable and in direct contact with the fire-stopping material, and wherein the resilient, porous material comprises an open-cell foam or a non-woven material.

11. The internal building wall according to claim 10, wherein the first and second boards each include portions defining a cutout, the service element extending through the cutout.

12. The internal building wall according to claim 11, wherein the fire-stopping material includes portions defining a slit, the service element extending through the slit.

13. The internal building wall according to claim 10, wherein the first and second boards each include an external major face, the external major faces extending parallel to one another and defining opposing sides of the internal building wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows a typical fire-rated dividing interior wall;

(2) FIG. 2 shows a prior art solution to make a service penetration fire- and smoke-proof by using batts and mastic;

(3) FIG. 3 shows a prior art solution to make a service penetration fire- and smoke-proof by using batts and mastic;

(4) FIG. 4 shows a prior art solution to make a service penetration fire- and smoke-proof by using sleeves and wraps;

(5) FIG. 5 shows a prior art solution to make a service penetration fire- and smoke-proof by using pillows;

(6) FIG. 6 shows an example of a wall panel according to the invention;

(7) FIG. 7 shows a fire-rated wall with penetrations made fire-proof according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) FIG. 1 shows a typical construction of an interior wall 1 of the sandwich panel type, in this drawing specifically a steel stud wall. Two substantially parallel boards 2a, 2b defined a cavity 3, within which is disposed a slab of insulation 4. The insulation 4 is preferably fire-proof. The boards 2a, 2b may be, for example, gypsum, fibre cement, plasterboard, or any other suitable board type and may be fire-rated in their own right. Also shown in FIG. 1 are steel tubes 5, which act as a framework for the insulation and plaster boards, providing structural support. Shapes other than tubes; such as U-sections, H-sections or L-sections, are also possible and they may be perforated. According to the present invention, the fire-stopping product may be provided either in addition to or in replacement of the insulation slab 4 within the cavity 3.

(9) Frequently, it is necessary to make a penetration through an internal wall, for example to pass through a pipe, cable, or other service as required. The prior art provides various and often complex solutions to making good the fire-proofing of the internal wall, so that the service penetration does not facilitate the fast spreading of a fire. FIGS. 2 to 5 show examples of prior art solutions to restoring the fire barrier after installing a service penetration.

(10) FIGS. 2 and 3 show a solution using batts and mastic. The area of the boards 2a, 2b surrounding the service penetration 5 is surrounded by batts 6 and the system is sealed using mastic 7. In FIG. 3, the service penetration 5 is wrapped in a layer of combustible insulation 8. Batts are incombustible boards made from mineral wool fibre coated with mastic as smoke barrier. They are typically supplied in standard sizes then cut to suitable size and shape on site. Mastics and sealants may be intumescent or just fire-resistant without intumescence.

(11) FIG. 4 shows a complex prior art solution where intumescent closure is needed. A cable sleeve 11, e.g. a steel shell lined with intumescent material, is placed into a hole cut into the wall 1 through both boards 2a, 2b. Cables and/or pipes 5 are fed through the sleeve 11. The steel shell of the cable sleeve 11 means that the intumescent material within (from additional sealing means such as PVC tubes 9 that are filled inside with mastic and a piece 10 cut from a batt) can only expand inwards to fill the gaps around the service penetrations 5, rather than into the dry wall cavity 3. As is clear from this example, various components are required, which is inconvenient and costly.

(12) FIG. 5 shows an example of how restoring fire-proofing is relevant for floors as well as walls. Shown is a floor 12 provided with a combustible service penetration 5. Pillows 13 are packed around the service penetration 5. The pre-shaped pillows 13 are filled with a soft mixture of fibres and intumescent materials and simply stuffed around the penetrations 5. Pre-shaped blocks of foam may also be used, but these are typically not intumescent.

(13) FIG. 6 shows a wall panel according to the invention. A wall 1 comprises two plasterboards 2a, 2b positioned parallel to one another in a spaced apart relationship defining a cavity 3 in which a fire-stopping material 14 comprising a reticulated foam impregnated with an intumescent agent is provided. FIG. 6 shows that a smoke barrier 15 underlies the board 2a.

(14) When a service penetration is made through a wall according to the invention, it is much simpler to restore the fire-proofing when compared to prior art solutions. FIG. 7 shows a wall 1 according to the invention in which service penetrations 5 pass through both boards 2a, 2b to reach from one side of the wall 1 to the other. The fire-stopping material 14 that is positioned within the gap 3 between the boards 2a, 2b is resilient and therefore, even when slit to allow through passage of a service penetration 5, it springs back as far as possible to its original shape and thus large holes are prevented. The fire-stopping material 14 can be seen to be in close contact with the service penetrations 5 in FIG. 7.

(15) Only mastic (not shown) is required to restore the fire-proofing, and patching up of the smoke seal (not shown), if required.

EXAMPLES

(16) This test was carried out according to the general principles of EN1366-4. A 1.5 m×1.5 m×1.5 m furnace was used, with heating to the ISO834 cellulosic fire curve.

(17) In this test, one vertical wall of the furnace is replaced with the test specimen.

(18) The furnace is then heated, and thermocouples applied to the outer surface monitor the insulation properties.

(19) The insulation failure time is the time taken for the outer surface of the sealed area to reach (ambient temperature+140° C.), in this case 160° C.

(20) The integrity of the seal is monitored visually, looking for cracks and smoke leakage through the sealed area.

(21) A single test piece with two holes for penetrations was prepared. The test piece was a 1500 mm×1500 mm wall of 100 mm thick Thermalite shield (aerated concrete) blocks with two 200 mm×200 mm holes in the centre.

(22) In the first case, representing the invention, one hole was sealed with a vertical 100 mm thick slab of the fire-stopping material of the invention, entirely filling the 200 mm×200 mm×100 mm space. This was then penetrated by pushing through a 10 mm diameter copper pipe.

(23) In particular, the fire-stopping material of the invention used in this test was a PU foam impregnated with intumescent graphite and an acrylic binder.

(24) In the second case (System-ZZ), the space between a 10 mm diameter copper pipe and the edges of the second hole was sealed with a commercially-available 2-component Polyurethane fire protection foam, System ZZ-Fire protection foam 2K NE, available from Zapp Zimmermann GmbH. This was dispensed from a cartridge and allowed to cure in the space, forming a seal.

(25) TABLE-US-00001 Insulation time Integrity time Invention 67 minutes >120 minutes System-ZZ 55 minutes >120 minutes

(26) This shows that the fire-stopping material of the invention is capable of being used as a commercial product with a rating of 60 minutes, and slightly out-performed the 2-component PU foam in this test.