• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.299-311
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• 2018

As engineered timber such as Glulam is seeing increasing use in tall timber buildings, building codes are adapting to allow for this. In order for this material to be used confidently and safely in one of these applications, there is a need to understand the effects that fire can have on an engineered timber structural member. The post-fire resilience aspect of glulam is studied herein. Two sets of experiments are performed to consider the validity of zero strength guidance with respect to short duration fire exposure on thin glulam members. Small scale samples were heated in a cone calorimeter to different fire severities. These samples illustrated significant strength loss but high variability despite controlled quantification of char layers. Large scale samples were heated locally using a controlled fuel fire in shear and moment locations along the length of the beam respectively. Additionally, reduced cross section samples were created by mechanically carving a way an area of cross section equal to the area lost to char on the heated beams. All of the samples were then loaded to failure in four-point (laterally restrained) bending tests. The beams that have been burnt in the shear region were observed as having a reduction in strength of up to 34.5% from the control beams. These test samples displayed relatively little variability, apart from beams that displayed material defects. The suite of testing indicated that zero strength guidance may be under conservative and may require increasing from 7 mm up to as much as 23 mm.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.1-7
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• 2020

Due to the complexity and large size of buildings, plastic resin is widely used as a building material. Accordingly, the occurrence of fires caused by plastics is increasing. Due to the nature of plastic resin fires, the amount of damage to properties and human life caused by combustion products such as smoke are large, and these damages are related to smoke production and smoke generation. Therefore, this study reviews smoke measurement methods and laws on domestic buildings and fire services. Experiments were conducted based on three smoke-related test standards (ISO 5660-1, ISO 12136, ASTM E 662). The experiment results indicate a total smoke production and generation by PP, PVC, and PMMA of 43.27, 32.83, and 12.33 ㎡, and 27.855, 9.599, and 6.975 g, respectively.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.545-551
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• 2016

Membrane structures which can be used large spatial structure are being expanded because of various advantages. However, despite the diverse membrane structure buildings and materials, the standard for membrane material performance that considering fire safety is still inadequate. Therefore, this study applied basalt or glass woven fabric with flame resistance on architectural membrane, and report the fire safety for architectural membrane using the strength properties, flammability and incombustibility. From the test result, the architectural membrane using basalt or glass woven fabric showed a low heat release rate and total heat release. Therefore, it was confirmed that the fire safety is relatively high.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.17-23
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• 2016

Membrane structures can be used to create diverse lightweight structural forms using ductile membranes made of coated fabric. Using membrane structures, it is possible to construct large covered spaces relatively quickly and economically, and hence, they are being applied within various applications. The structures are light-weight, transparent, flexible in their application, economical and easy to maintain, and as such, their usage is being expanded. However, despite their prevalence, the standard for membrane material performance in terms of fire safety is still inadequate, and the development of membrane materials with excellent flame resistance performance is being demanded. This study determined flame resistance performance of architectural membranes, including PTFE, PVDF, PVF and ETFE film membranes, through flammability testing and incombustibility testing.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.330-337
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• 2021

3D printing is not only at the fundamental study and small-scale level, but has recently been producing buildings that can be inhabited by people. Buildings require a lot of cost and labor to work on the form work, but if 3D printing is applied to the building, the construction industry is received attention from technologies using 3D printing as it can reduce the construction period and cost. 3D printing technology for buildings can be divided into structural and non-structural materials, of which 3D printing is applied to non-structural materials. Because 3D printing needs to be additive manufacturing, control such as curing speed and workability is needed. Since cement mortar has a large shrinkage due to evaporation of water, cement polymer dispersion is used to improve the hardening speed, workability, and adhesion strength. The addition of polymer dispersion to cement mortar improves the tensile strength and brittleness between the cement hydrate and the polymer film. Cement mortar using polymer materials can be additive manufacturing but it has limited height that can be additive manufacturing due to its high density. When light-weight materials are mixed with polymer cement mortar, the density of polymer cement mortar is lowered and the height of additive manufacturing, so it is essential to use light-weight materials. However, the use of EVA redispersible polymer powder and light-weight materials, additional damage such as cracks in cement mortar can occur at high temperatures such as fires. This study produced a test specimen incorporating light-weight materials and EVA redispersible polymer powder to produce exterior building materials using 3D printing, and examined flame resistance performance through water absorption rate, length change rate, and cone calorimeter test and non-flammable test. From the test result, the test specimen using silica sand and light-weight aggregate showed good flame resistance performance, and if the EVA redispersible polymer powder is applied below 5%, it shows good flame resistance performance.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.423-430
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• 2021

In order to evaluate the fire risk and fire risk rating of wood for construction materials, this study focused on fire performance index-III (FPI-III), fire growth index-III (FGI-III), and fire risk index-IV (FRI-IV) according to Chung's equations-III and -IV. Western red cedar, needle fir, ash, and maple were used as the specimens. The fire characteristics were investigated using a cone calorimeter (ISO 5660-1) equipment on the specimen. The FPI-III measured after the combustion reaction was 0.86 to 12.77 based on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). The FGI-III was found to be 0.63 to 5.26 based on PMMA. The fire rating according to the FRI-IV, which is the fire rating index, was 0.05 to 6.12, and the western red cedar was 122.4 times higher than that of the maple. The fire risk rating according to the FRI-IV increased in the order of maple, ash, needle fir, PMMA and western red cedar. The CO peak concentration of all specimens was measured as 103 to 162 ppm, and it was 2.1 to 3.2 times higher than 50 ppm, the permissible exposure limits of the US occupational safety and health administration. Materials such as western red cedar, which have a low bulk density and contain a large amount of volatile organic substances, have a low FPI-III and a high FGI-III, so they have a high fire risk rating.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.75-82
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• 2021

This study investigated the fire risk assessment of woods and plastics for construction materials, focusing on the fire performance index-III (FPI-III), fire growth index-III (FGI-III), and fire risk index-IV (FRI-IV) by a newly designed method. Japanese cedar, red pine, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were used as test pieces. Fire characteristics of the materials were investigated using a cone calorimeter (ISO 5660-1) equipment. The fire performance index-III measured after the combustion reaction was found to be 1.0 to 15.0 with respect to PMMA. Fire risk by fire performance index-III increased in the order of PVC, red pine, Japanese cedar, and PMMA. The fire growth index-III was found to be 0.5 to 3.3 based on PMMA. Fire risk by fire growth index-III increased in the order of PVC, PMMA, red pine, and Japanese cedar. COpeak concentrations of all specimens were measured between 106 and 570 ppm. In conclusion, it is understood that Japanese cedar with a low bulk density and PMMA containing a large amount of volatile organic substances have a low fire performance index-III and high fire growth index-III, and thus have high fire risk due to fire. This was consistent with the fire risk index-IV.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.144-152
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• 2023

To evaluate the fire risk of combustible materials, Chung's equations VII, VIII, and IX were newly established. The fire risk index-IX (FRI-IX) and fire risk rating (FRR) were calculated. Ginkgo, dawn redwood, toona, lime, walnut, and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were selected as test specimens. The combustion characteristics were evaluated using a cone calorimeter according to ISO 5660-1. After combustion, the fire performance index-VII (FPI-VII) of the specimens, varied between 15.15 and 182.53 s²/kW, as determined by Chung's equations, and the fire growth index-VII (FGI-VII) varied between 0.0023 and 0.0165 kW/s². The fire performance index-VIII (FPI-VIII) based on PMMA varied between 0.29 and 3.45, and the fire growth index-VIII (FGI-VIII) varied between 2.88 and 20.63. The FRI-IX, which is the fire risk rating, showed dawn redwood has a very high fire risk, with FRI-IX values of 71.14 (fire risk rating: G). Therefore, wood with a large amount of volatile organic compounds and a low bulk density showed a high value of FRI-IX by lowering FPI-VII and FPI-VIII and increasing FGI-VII and FGI-VIII.