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Sandwich Panels: UK Insurance industry attitudes and guidance on IPN core panels.
Mark Harris -Divisional Building Technology Director.
Nordbygg – March 2012.
Agenda
What is a sandwich panel?
Panels - Where are they used in UK?
What is IPN?
UK Insurance Industry tests and guidance
Sandwich Panels
Cores –– Mineral fibre– Polyisocyanurate (PIR / IPN)– Polyurethane (PUR)– Expanded Polystyrene
IndustrialCommercial
Distribution Retail
Building types and applications –UK IPN core panels.
Industrial
What is IPN?
Rigid urethane polymer family
Is combustible but not a plastic.
Special formulation– Strong molecular structure
– Thermosetting polymer
– Good heat resistance
Ignition temperature c445 deg.C
Forms strong char on exposure to fire.
The key definition of IPN is Certification – Reaction to fire
Euroclassification B- s1, d0 (EN 13501) EI 30 / EI 60
Nordics – SP FIRE 105 Façade test.
Insurance Industry Certification –FM GlobalLoss Prevention Certification Board -UK
+ Supported by Real fire case studies.
The fundamental problem is that from the mid – 1980s serious fires involving certain types of sandwich panels have created Insurer concerns about the fire performance of all sandwich panel systems
How did UK insurers react?
Key issue – UK experience
Commercial Property Insurance
Where does the underwriter Where does the underwriter turn to for help?turn to for help?
Source – AVIVA.
UK Building Regulation Reaction to Fire Tests
• Key objective is specifically life safety rather than property conservation.
• UK National tests are generally small scale and do not differentiate well between different levels of performance.
• New European system – EN 13501.
• All combustible core panels achieve Euroclass B
Loss Prevention Certification Board
Completely independent – Part of Building Research Establishment in UK
LPCB provide research, testing and fire test approvals.
LPCB still has very close connections to ABI, FPA and Lloyds.
LPS 1181 is a wall and ceiling lining test to evaluate insulated panels.
Comparative - Fire Performance Data
EPIC - ARUP Warrington - LPCB- LPS 1181 Fire Tests
KINGSPAN LPCB SYSTEM
Thick char protects core foam from fire attack.
FM Global
Major insurer with own test facilities and standards for building cladding systems.
FMRC 4880 approval requirements for class 1 fire classification with no height restriction.
Approved suppliers are subject to detailed quality surveillance.
APPROVED
F M
FM Grades
FMRC 4880 Class 1 - Walls & Ceilings
–No height restriction–Max 50ft height –Max 30ft height
Technical bulletin on the fire performance of sandwich panels – partially revised August 2008.
Association of British Insurers
‘For insurance underwriting purposes, Insurers use the Design Guide for the Fire Protection of Buildings as a basis for providing guidance on what they require for property protection purposes, subject to a broad based risk assessment. In respect of external composite (Sandwich) panels, these must be suitable for the intended end use application and should either have non-combustible cores or be LPCB approved to the appropriate requirements of LPS 1181(see paragraph 3.11) and fully satisfy insurers fire resistance requirements (insulation and integrity) through appropriate testing.”
ABI Statement -
Correct approach to building design
Holistic fire safety engineering
Combining personnel protection with property conservation
Insurer certified panel systems can play a key role in performance based design.
Construction Details.
Full construction details from manufacturers is important part of the design process.
Original LPC Design Guide - 1999.
New Core Documents –
Essential Principles
Protected Zones
UK Fire Protection Association guidance
Risk assessment. Points based system. Only acceptable panel systems
are those approved by LPCB(essentially PIR/IPN & mineral fibre)
UK Fire Protection Association guidance – Food Factories
Conclusions
UK insurers have suffered significant losses which contributed to the development of their own fire certification tests.
LPCB & FM tests provide realistic full scale tests.
UK insurers fully accept LPCB approved PIR / IPN core panel systems for virtually all situations.
All combustible core panels are not the same!