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Points to Consider in Fire-Resistant Façade Designs
C O N T E N T S
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Volume 8 | Issue 3 May - June 2022
PUBLISHED BY F & F Media and Publications C-55, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase - 1, New Delhi-110 020 T: +91-11-40623356 FOUNDER Amit Malhotra TECHNICAL PANEL Mahesh Arumugam Director Meinhardt Façade Consultants KR Suresh Regional Director Axis Façade Consulting EDITORIAL Renu Rajaram renu@wfmmedia.com +91 9312864830 Shefali Bisht editorial@wfmmedia.com DESIGN & CONCEPT BY Chandan Sharma MARKETING & OPERATIONS Kapil Girotra kapil@wfmmedia.com +91 9560925255 SUBSCRIPTION & CIRCULATION Devagya Behl support@wfmmedia.com +91 9871151112 Mukesh Kumar mukesh@wfmmedia.com +91 9560088995
RNI: DELENG/2014/57870 16 Points to Consider in Fire-Resistant Façade Designs Devesh Kumar, Head (GM) Product Specialist, & Solutions, Aludecor 20 Fire Safety - Mitigation Measures Dhiren K Gada, Sr. Manager – Sales & Operations, Sejal Intelligent Façade Solutions Pvt. Ltd. 25 Role of Façade & Fenestration in Fire Safety Rajesh Chander Sharma, Former Director, Delhi Fire Services 30 Fire Safety and Fenestration Design & Technologies Farid Khan, Director & CEO, profine India Window Technology Pvt. Ltd. 33 Need for Inspection and Performance Testing Jatin Shah, Managing Director, Technical Due Diligence, Colliers India1 38 Need for Fire-Safe Designs and Performance Testing P Jothi Ramalingam, Director, Winwall Technology India Pvt. Ltd. 42 Fire-Safe Aluminium Cladding and Fenestration Nitin Mehta, Co-Founder and Executive Director, ALCOI 46 Façades and Fenestration Fire Mitigation Measures Piyush Shami, Fire Protection Engineer, B.E Fire Technology and Safety Engineering 57 Importance of Perimeter Fire Barriers in Curtain Wall Construction Aravind Chakravarthy V, Head- Codes and Approvals for Fire protection division, Hilti (India) Pvt. Ltd. 62 Vertical Greenery Systems – Fire Safety Implications and Routes to Compliance Luke Cameron, Senior Consultant - Fire & Life Safety, Middle East, WSP 70 Cover Story
Fire Safe Buildings - Role of Façades and Fenestrations Featuring views and Interviews with many experts on Fire Safety 101 Face to Face Interview with Ar. Ravideep Singh, Associate Director, Creative Designer Architects 110 Industry Speaks Interview with Sreenivas Narayanan, Technical and Compliance Director – MEI + AP, Siderise Insulation & Uday V Shetty, Director, Siderise India Pvt. Ltd.
DISCLAIMER: With regret we wish to say that publishers cannot be held responsible or liable for error or omission contained in this publication. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek expert advice before acting on any information contained in this publication which are very generic in nature. The Magazine does not accept responsibility for the accuracy of claims made by advertisers. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced in any form or context without the permission of publishers in writing. WRITE TO THE EDITOR Please address your suggestions to: The Editor, Window & Façade Magazine, C55, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase – 1, New Delhi, 110020 or email renu@wfmmedia.com. Please provide your full name and address, stating clearly if you do not wish us to print them. Alternatively log on to www. wfmmedia.com and air your views. The opinions expressed in this section are of particular individuals and are in no way a reflection of the publisher’s views. “Printed and Published by Amit Malhotra on behalf of M/s F & F Media and Publications Printed and published at Print Plus Pvt. Ltd. Name of the Editor-Ms. Renu Rajaram”
EDITO NOTE R’S
Façade and fenestration have a life-saving role in preventing the spread of fire and smoke for some time after the onset of fire. The façade of a building is one of its most vulnerable components, particularly in the event of a fire. While designing and constructing a building, aesthetics, cost, energy efficiency, materials, sustainability, and other factors take centre stage, barely considering fire safety precautions. With the relentless growth of high-rise structures, the situation has become more complicated, posing a larger fire hazard.
The huge glass facades seen in today’s gaudy buildings, when constructed without adequate provisions to deal with fire, can prove to be a death trap for its occupants. Further, recent architectural trends coupled with sophisticated product innovations increasingly point toward higher use of glass as a fire-rated material due to its transparency, low maintenance and longevity. However, conventional soda-lime silicate glass offers extremely poor fire-resistance capabilities. All of the fire accidents in highrise buildings have two commonalities – very high response time to overcome the flames and the relative unpreparedness of both the occupants and the fire authorities to deal with escape routes and save lives. Many of the buildings do not have any firedetection system to warn their occupants.
According to the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act 2006, new buildings that are above 15 meters should have a well-equipped fire safety system based on the height and occupancy of the building, and the fire hazards.
Before we delve into the details of modern fire-rated systems and general fire-safety guidelines, it is important to understand the generic fire-prevention systems available today. There is a lot of ambiguity in choosing the right materials due to consideration of inappropriate/inadequate information during procurement. In the recent past, a significant shift from conventional materials to fire-retardant (FR) materials is observed in developing countries, with the spread of knowledge on standards, norms, testing and codes.
Team WFM discussed the major reasons for building fires, factors affecting fire occurrence in high-rise buildings, fire mitigation measures, the need for façade inspections, performance testing & certification, fire codes and standards, etc., with many experts including architects, engineers and consultants, and found that the main factors influencing the fire risks and spread of fire in buildings are fire safety evacuation ability, building fire prevention capability, and building fire safety management status.
Do read this edition and let us know your comments. Waiting to hear from you on what do you think about these articles.
Renu Rajaram
renu@wfmmedia.com
A building ravaged by fire
“What happens if there is a fire accident?” “How have we correctly designed the components to react in the event of a fire?” “Are we using the proper codes?” “Are we answering the above questions when designing a façade?”
Accidents have occurred not only in developing countries but also in developed countries. These accidents have occurred in places that are thought to be the safest, so why are we not alarmed?
The products used and how they react to fire should be the first consideration when designing a fire-rated façade. We have had a lot of debate in India, specifically, about the use of international codes, but we still don’t use them. The products in the Bill of Quantity (BOQ) are still referred to as “Class B, Class B1, Class A2, Class 1, Class 1A, Class A1, and so on”. The issue with such nomenclature is that we aren’t writing the testing parameters and code, so B, A1, and other such classes have no meaning. This creates an advantageous situation for manufacturers and contractors, who can easily tamper with quality. As a result, understanding the code and writing the proper nomenclature is critical, and the first step.
Understanding the Fire Code
The five factors to consider when selecting a product for use in a façade are as follows: 1. Flame height 2. Fire propagation 3. Smoke released 4. Molten droplets 5. Heat released
The code chosen should have the test methodology to check all the above parameters. One of such codes is EN 13501 which has test parameters to check all the above properties. Accordingly, a classification for products has been prepared:
EN13501 Classification
A1 & A2
B
C
D
E
F
Coverage
Will cover products which do not contribute to the development of fire
Will cover products which have a very little contribution to fire
Will cover products which have limited contribution to fire
Will cover products that have a contribution to fire Will cover products that have a contribution to fire and can resist ignition by a small flame for a very short period Will cover products that have shown no performance criteria
So, depending on the façade, we can select a product that meets EN13501 Class A2 or Class B.
It is also necessary to test the entire system that is being installed. The generic what we’re writing is still not a testing process, but rather a simple line like “the system should withstand fire for 2 hours”. Again, without a code or a testing procedure, this has no meaning. Codes such as NFPA 285 or BS8414 are available to test the entire installation. These tests are designed to simulate a real-world fire scenario and determine whether or not the entire system is capable of spreading fire. In this article, we’ll look at NFPA 285 as an example of fire performance testing for external cladding.
EN13501-1 SBI Testing for checking Fire Growth, Smoke and THR The following details are included in the façade design that passes the test: • The product used for the façade shall be Class B or A2 in accordance with
EN13501 • The details of structural support are provided • The positioning of fire stoppers is depicted This test evaluates the overall performance of the cladding system.
The key point to remember is that “if the product passes the test, it will pass in all scenarios” is not correct. Therefore, the report includes a detailed description of cladding, including all of its elements and the system’s design”.
This means that if the product is installed with the same system, only it will pass the test and the situation will not become generic.
NFPA-Testing - Testing of materials and systems for fire safety
Certifications/Test Reports
Fire certification is specific to a product line. For example, if the alloy grade AA3105 is mentioned in the certificate, then the ACP of AA3105 is certified and not any other alloys such as AA1100, AA3003, AA5005, and so on that could be used to make ACP.
This means that the manufacturer may or may not provide you with a product with the same fire rating as AA3105. As a result, we must ensure the product range specified in the certificate. The product should be certified, and the validity of the certification can be checked with the certifying agency, as the certifying agency is required to make the certification public on its official website.
What to Add in the Bill of Quantity (BOQ)
We should always include the following two points for Fire properties in the product description and installation procedures in the BOQ:
• The product must pass Class
B (or any other classification depending on the cladding design) of EN13501 (the product’s fire code), and it must have a factory production certificate
• that is valid for the duration of the project. If we simply write
Class B, it could fall under any code description, which could be fire-related or not.
As a result, writing the code is critical. • The cladding design must pass NFPA 285 (or any other system test) and the system must be the same as shown in the test report; if there are any changes from the design in the test report, the contractor must submit a new test report with the changed system design.
The code is important, and the specific design must pass the test. If the system design differs from what is stated in the test report, the design may or may not pass the test. These points would ensure that the product and design are fire safe. Also, generic statements such as “2 hours fire resistance” should be avoided because they have no meaning without a code and testing process.
Design Checks for Fire
In the case of a façade, people usually check the system’s performance for water and air penetration. In addition, the system’s behaviour under a specific wind load is examined, i.e., whether the system is structurally stable under the calculated wind loads or not. However, few people check the performance of fire. Manufacturers of components such as fire stop, insulation, rain screen product, and so on should be contacted when designing a fire-safe façade. They must provide the fire properties of their product and assist in the development of appropriate methodologies for making the design fire safe. The contractor should submit the design along with the system’s fire test report, just as he does for water penetration, air penetration, structural stability, and so on. If using an older test report that has passed the fire test, the contractor should ensure that there are no changes in the location of fire stoppers, that the panel sizes remain the same, and that the thickness of the back support may be increased according to wind load, and that the number of screws used to attach the panels remain the same or increase and never decrease. Any of the critical products’ fire properties must also remain unchanged.
Conclusion
In the BOQ, product nomenclatures with complete codes should be used, and certification for the specific product being used should be requested.
There should be no generic certifications accepted. When the product manufacturer requests system tests, the methodology and materials for installation must remain the same and should not be treated as valid for all construction and installation.
The façade contractor must perform system tests for the specific installation methodology. These changes could provide 90 per cent relief from accidents turning into major tragedies, allowing us to save lives while also controlling property damage.
DEVESH KUMAR
Head (GM) Product Specialist & Solutions,
Aludecor
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Devesh Kumar is a Civil Engineer with 17 years of experience, 11 of which he has worked in the façade industry. He has designed metal façades and has participated in fire testing and the design of fire-rated metal composite panels. Apart from this, he has also conducted workshops for architectural students on metal façade design at various colleges such as the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, Sir JJ College of Architecture in Mumbai, and others.
Devesh Kumar is an FR expert on ACPs with Aludecor (www.aludecor. com), India’s premier and leading brand of metal composite panels. For any queries on FR composite panels, for more information, contact: info@aludecor.com.
Fire Safety - Mitigation Measures
Building with various passive and active fire safety mitigation materials to be incorporated during construction
Fire accidents can happen during construction and postconstruction, or after any structure is occupied. It can be a residential building, commercial office building, or factory building. During the event of a fire, most people die due to smoke inhalation and panic situations. To resolve the issue of trapped smoke, various materials and systems are available. Design can be developed by architects and construction consultants to control panic situations. Proper guidelines should be disseminated and regular training and drill must be conducted from time to time.
Firstly, we have to ensure that fire accident should not happen due to any human error, secondly, if the fire accident happens due to any reason, by natural or by human error, in such situation a plan must be ready for how to come out from the panic situation with zero loss of life. To mitigate the fire safety concern during the period of construction, it’s the responsibility of all the stakeholders including builders, architects and construction consultants who are practically working at sites. It should be mandatory to follow the guidelines given by site safety officers for all kinds of safety measures including fire safety. All the construction equipment and tools which are combustible but necessary to use during construction. E.g. Gas / Electric Welding machines, etc. must be used safely and with maintaining the required distance from the other combustible material and also should store safely to avoid any unpredictable incidents.
Automatic fire smoke ventilation system – the image shows how the smoke can be let out with the help of smoke ventilation and fresh air can come in
Automatic smoke escape ventilators, which can be installed on the rooftop of the bungalow, and in any window in a high rise or low rise building
