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Fire Performance of External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) Facades with Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Insulation and Thin Rendering

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Abstract

External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) facades with expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and thin rendering are applied frequently in buildings. Considering high combustibility of EPS, with these facades concerns also arise regarding spread of a possible fire between neighbouring compartments of high-rise buildings. Fire tests of two large-scale facades were performed to study two parameters presumably influencing significantly the fires of such facades in real-life settings, i.e. incident heat flux upon the facade’s surface (IHFFS) and damage of the facade’s render (the latter being a consequence of poor or unfinished construction work, ageing or fire-induced thermal strain). The first facade was rendered fully and was exposed to moderately-fast increasing IHFFS. In the second (partially unrendered) facade case the IHFFS progressed faster. The facade flame body (temperatures and shape) was monitored by thermocouples, photo and video cameras. For detection of melting of EPS and internal burning, thermocameras were used within the facades areas outside the visible plume. In the plume zone, however, a group of thermocouples was embedded inside EPS and the shapes (plateaus and slopes) of the collected time-temperature graphs were observed for these purposes. The IHFFS imposed on the facades during fire testing were estimated by numerical calculations. In both cases the first pronounced render crack was evolved at the estimated average between-windows IHFFS of around 30 kW/m\(^2\) and was followed by internal burning of EPS. While the latter did not seem to spread across the facade for the fully-rendered facade, a fast fire spread was detected for the second specimen.

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Notes

  1. The term ‘render’ (or ‘rendering’) in this paper refers to a group of layers comprising thin external render, primer, and reinforcement mesh with base coating.

  2. The terms ‘deformable’ and ‘cracking’ apply to cracks in the render being a consequence of facade damage, poor or unfinished construction of the facade, or of thermal strains of the render induced in fire.

  3. Following the technical sheets of the supplier, the surfaces of the EPS blocks were not covered by the adhesive entirely but this was only applied over a part of the EPS/concrete contact surface (Figure 5d).

  4. The term ‘voids’ refers to the gaps along the EPS/concrete wall interface and along the interfaces between individual EPS blocks where no adhesive was applied (Figure 5d). These gaps progressed during the test due to penetration of hot gases along them and consequential shrinking and melting of the neighbouring EPS. In addition, the term voids also refers to the gaps inside the insulation itself established after release of the blowing agent and shrinking of the EPS (normally observed around the EPS temperature of 80\(^{\circ }\)C).

  5. The escaping gaseous mixture obtained in this figure could partially also be a consequence of escaping vapour from concrete walls.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fire Laboratory and Fire Engineering, ZAG - Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Dimičeva 12, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Milan Hajduković, Nataša Knez & Jerneja Kolšek

  2. Laboratory for Efficient Use of Energy and Acoustics, ZAG - Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Dimičeva 12, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Friderik Knez

Authors
  1. Milan Hajduković
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  2. Nataša Knez
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  3. Friderik Knez
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  4. Jerneja Kolšek
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Correspondence to Nataša Knez.

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Hajduković, M., Knez, N., Knez, F. et al. Fire Performance of External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) Facades with Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Insulation and Thin Rendering. Fire Technol 53, 173–209 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-016-0622-2

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