Combustability of building products versus fire safety

The combustion process is described and analysed based on the experimental results in the context of building fire safety. Data are obtained by means of five standard methods: ISO 5657 ignitability test, ISO 5657 cone calorimeter, ISO 9705 room corner test, EN ISO 1716 small calorimeter, and EN ISO 1182 small furnace. Various categories of building products were tested: cellulose based products (particle boards, plywoods), solid wood, floor coverings, concrete, ceramics, insulations (thermal and/or acoustic), boards (wall/ceiling), mortars, adhesives, and thin coatings. The studied products exhibited very different fire properties from non-combustible to easily combustible. In order to more effectively differentiate non-combustibles and combustibles within building products, the modified heat of combustion was calculated using all test results according to EN ISO 1716 and EN ISO 1182. The revision of criteria for Euro class A1 and A2 is proposed to obtain more realistic reaction-to-fire evaluation. In conclusion, it is advised to use single limit for heat of combustion for A1 and A2 Euro class. The proposed approach for modified heat of combustion is a convenient tool for the fast and cost-effective initial test method for non-combustibility evaluation and seems to be the proper method for distinguishing between non-combustibles and combustibles within building products. It is a better reflection of the real physical process of combustion than the current one. The third A1 criterion is questionable, regarding time to auto-ignition in EN ISO 1182 cylindrical furnace. The measurement for gross heat of combustion by EN ISO 1716 method is proposed for all Euro classes of building products with different limit values.