Testing times – how we developed Protect FrameSafe FR

 

 

 

Jim Smith, our head of technical, played a crucial role in the new product development and coordinated extensive product assessment of the membrane. He also led the work in fire testing the membrane, which was carried out via an independent third-party laboratory, both free hanging material and also as part of a system with sealing tape. Here he picks up the story of how and why Protect FrameSafe FR came to be and the benefits of specifying a Class A fire membrane.

Why develop Protect FrameSafe FR and why now?

We recognised that there was a gap in our range. Speaking with our customers it was clear that with Building Regulations in place for 11m & 18m developments and the Building Safety Act providing a more stringent process for higher risk occupied buildings, now more than ever there is a growing demand for a fire rated external wall breather membrane for projects. Building on this, we wanted to create a product that would offer added protection against the development of a fire whilst ensuring we undertook the required due diligence by independently fire testing with a third party both as a system with tape and as standalone material.

Protect FrameSafe FR features an intricately woven glass fibre fabric with a uniquely developed waterproof and fire resistant coating to help improve the fire performance of the overall wall structure. It also benefits from strong UV stability so can withstand exposure up to six months, making it perfectly suited to high rise developments.

How can we accurately verify Protect FrameSafe FR’s performance?

Designing and developing the product was only half the story. The membrane testing was absolutely critical to ensure that it could be relied on to offer the best possible protection from fire when set up in the laboratory as part of a wall structure to replicate a real-life setting – giving specifiers total peace of mind.

Protect FrameSafe FR was independently first tested against two industry recognised methods, as specified in BS EN 13501-1:2018. The first (BS EN ISO 1716:2018) assesses the amount of energy released when a material is completely combusted within a bomb calorimeter, and the second (BS EN 13823:2020+A1:2022) assesses how a material behaves when exposed to thermal attack by a single burning item.

The single burning item test simulates a fire starting in the corner of a room with the material under test exposed to the development stage of a fire and monitored for a period of 20 minutes. This measures how a material reacts to a sustained heat source, including total heat and energy release during the period, combustion gases generated, level of smoke produced and any flame spread or flaming droplets. Protect FrameSafe FR’s s1, d0 rating shows little to no smoke was generated during the test and no burning droplets were produced.

We went above and beyond just a free-hanging material fire test by carrying out the BS EN 13823 test on Protect FrameSafe FR as part of a system with laps sealed with Protect FR tape. During this additional test the membrane was mechanically fixed to a substrate comprising a Class A1 rock fibre insulation substrate and separately, with a low-density Class A2 plasterboard. The same Class A2-s1, d0 reaction to fire rating was achieved, meaning it can be installed with the lowest density of Class A2 substrate without its fire rating being compromised. The results show that any substrate with a fire classification of A2 or higher and a board density equal to or higher than the tested density of 37.5kg/m³ is acceptable for use in order to achieve a Class A2-s1, d0 result for the wall structure using our FR sealing tape.

When choosing an FR membrane supplier, what are the key aspects to check in terms of the integrity and transparency of technical claims?

It’s important for a specifier to check technical claims for a Class A or B fire rated membrane to ensure the product is fit for purpose for its intended application.  This includes reviewing independent fire test data to ensure that the reaction to fire classification achieved is based on the same field of application as the intended substrate that will be used on the specification.  It’s also key to review whether the membrane has been independently fire tested both free hanging and as part of a system with sealing tape so that this can be offered as a complete FR packaged solution for the external wall. It’s equally important to ensure that the FR membrane is not solely dependent on the substrate to achieve fire rated performance as this can reduce the fire classification of the overall wall system.

What are the advantages of specifying a membrane like Protect FrameSafe FR with Class A2-s1, d0 reaction to fire rather than Class B?

In Building Regulations Approved Document B for structures over 11m, the reaction to fire of membranes is exempted in as far as the minimum requirement for an external wall membrane is Class B. However, Regulation 7 for materials and workmanship in the document highlights that materials used as part of an overall external wall on a building needs to achieve at least a Class A2-s1, d0 reaction to fire. By including a membrane that achieves Class A2 performance both free hanging and as part of a system, this is designing to the regulation rather than meeting the exemptions. Although a relaxation is currently in place for membranes, this will very likely be reviewed going forward and removed from future revisions of the approved document due to the growing availability of Class A2 compliant products such as Protect FrameSafe FR.

 

There is also a difference in fire performance between a Class B and a Class A2-s1, d0 membrane such as FrameSafe FR. Class B membranes are classified as combustible materials with very limited contribution to fire, whereas A2 membranes have limited combustibility and very limited contribution to fire.

Full transparency – trust is everything

Being completely transparent is one of our guiding principles so we’ve made sure all the detailed fire test classification reports are available on request at info@glidevaleprotect.com.  We even filmed the membrane being fire tested to BS EN 13823 on both A1 and A2 substrates so if you want to see this for yourself as well as reading the results, you can watch it here: https://glidevaleprotect.com/videos/

Our technical team is on hand to support specifiers at every stage. We’ve also put together a detailed FAQ document, technical data sheets, specification clause, fixing instructions and a BIM object, which are all available to download from the website here.

We are confident that we’ve done our due diligence to make sure Protect FrameSafe FR is a product you can rely on – giving you peace of mind that it will perform as well in the real world as under controlled test conditions in a laboratory. It’s tried and tested by us so it can be trusted by you.

To find out more call 0161 905 5700, email the technical team on technical@glidevaleprotect.com.

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