firestopping & smoke seal for curtain wall · traditional firestop method for curtain walls •...

FIRESTOPPING & SMOKE SEAL FOR CURTAIN WALL

Sam Keung

Regional Manager (BU Fire Protection), Hilti Corporation

February, 2018

Sydney

POOR FIRE PROTECTION MEASURES RESULTED IN FIRE ON THE 21ST FLOOR TO SPREAD ALL OVER

Firestopping for Façade | Sam Keung | Feb, 2018 2

Location: Edificio Windsor, Madrid

Time and Date: 11:00 PM, February 12, 2005

Construction Type: Reinforced concrete core with waffle slabs

supported by internal RC columns and steel beams, with perimeter

steel columns that were unprotected above the 17th Floor level at the

time of the fire.

SEALING CURTAIN WALL JOINT WITH PROPER FIRESTOP TECHNIQUES DELAYS THE TIME TAKEN BY FIRE TO SPREAD


1. Propagation of a fire from a room via the window to

the outside and through or along the façade itself to

the storey(s) above.

2. Propagation of a (fully developed) fire from a room

via a window to the outside and back in through a

window above.

3. Propagation of a fire from a room to the room above

via the gap between the floor slab and the façade

(curtain wall).

CURTAIN WALL JOINT: VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL


Vertical Joint

Fire rated wall

Horizontal Joint

Floor slab

STEEL PLATE FOR SEALING HAS MANY DRAWBACKS

Firestopping for Façade | Sam Keung | Feb, 2018

• Difficult to inspect

• No movement capability

• Many installation steps can go wrong

• Sheet metal needs to be mechanically fixed

• More Expensive

• Slow and labor intensive

Steel plate for sealing Curtain Wall joints

is neither the cheapest nor the best

solution available!

TRADITIONAL METHOD FOR SEALING CURTAIN WALL JOINTS LEAVES SEVERAL GAPS FOR FIRE AND SMOKE TO SPREAD


Insulation Gaps Non-Fire Rated Sealant Un-Insulated Mullions

7

ELEMENTS OF A PROPER PERIMETER JOINT SYSTEM

Flexible Firestop

(Movement capable)

Mineral Wool (Compressed)


TESTED SYSTEM FOR CURTAIN WALL STRETCH AS THE CURTAIN WALL EXPANDS THUS MAINTAIN INTEGRITY


Traditional Firestop Method for Curtain Walls

• Outward buldging rips materials that do not stretch

• Most codes do not address the anchor connection – it is important

to maintain system integrity

• Lighter facades heat up faster

Tested Firestop Method for Curtain Walls

• In a fire situation, the curtain wall will expand

• A flexible, expandable firestop system expands with the curtain

wall thus preventing formation of gaps

• The sealing material (mastic spray) must also expand

Fire Stop

Firestop DropsFirestop Stretches

Sealant Stretches

Fire Stop

EVEN IN NON-FIRE CONDITIONS, THERE ARE MOVEMENTS IN CURTAIN WALLS THAT CAN ALLOW SMOKE TO PASS


Type of MovementSource of

MovementAmount of Movement Figure

1 Horizontal Shear

between façade and

floor

a) Wind Drift

b) Seismic

c) Thermal

3.175 mm (1/8in) max

2 Vertical movement

between brackets at

floor level

Dead + Live Load 9.5 mm (3/8in) max deflection

for 9m/30ft slab

3 In-and-out

movement between

brackets at floor

level

Wind pressure

and rolling

vortexes

± L/175

Where L is distance between brackets

1. Horizontal Shear between façade and floor

2. Vertical Movement between brackets at floor level

3. In-and-out movement between brackets at floor level

IN EVENT OF FIRE, HEAT CAUSES THE CURTAIN WALL TO BULGE

OUT CREATING SPACE FOR SMOKE AND FIRE TO SPREAD


CW Panel

Slab

CW Bracket

L1

Plug Values Triangulation Gap Growth ∆

L1 1500 S1 750 50 95%

T1 23 S2 752 100 48%

L2 1503.0065 S3 48 125 38%

T2 400 150 32%

α Aluminum 0.000023 200 24%

Anchor Movement 10

S3 + Gap

L2

S1

S2

S3

11

MOVEMENT : IS 25% MOVEMENT REALLY WORK FOR SEALANT?


A FEW EXAMPLES OF RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS FOR CURTAIN WALL PERIMETER JOINT SEALING

Firestopping for Façade | Sam Keung | November, 2017 12

13

JOINT SPRAY SYSTEM OFFER QUICK AND EASY INSTALLATION

VS STEEL PLATE COVER


ASTM E2307 TEST: RATING FOR NON-FIRE RATED CURTAIN WALL PERIMETER SYSTEM

Cross-section view

backface

View from front face


ASTM E 2307 in 1990s

EN 1364-3 CURTAIN WALLING – FULL CONFIGURATION


Horizontal Joint

Vertical Joint

MOVEMENT TEST IS PART OF THE QUALIFACTION IN US AND EUROPEAN APPROVAL


SUMMARY

17

US EU CN HK AU

1. Material Non-Combustible

2. Leaf forging Evaluated in

ASTM 2307

Spandrel Required (no Sprinkler Trade off) Spandrel

Required

(Sprinkler

Trade off

permitted)

3. Perimeter

Joint system

ASTM 2307

+

“UL Listing”

EN1364

(Perimeter

Seal)

+

“CE

marking”

GB23864

Spray or

Sealant

+

“CCC

marking”

EN1364

(Perimeter

Seal)

+

Smoke test

EN1634

No test

required


FIRE TEST FOR VERTICAL JOINT – BS EN 1364-3


Before Test 1:55 hr After 2 hr test

APPLICATION ON PROJECT


Vertical joint

Horizontal joint

KEY TAKEAWAYS


• Curtain Wall perimeter joint is critical

• System Test (eg: ASTM 2307 / EN 1364) is

the industry standard method which offer

movement flexibility

• Challenge in Asia Pacific Region to implement

“System” solution

• The current code requirement in AU is behind

the industry standard. Owner / Architects need

to specify additional measure on Curtain Wall

Fire stopping.


THANK YOU

firestopping & smoke seal for curtain wall · traditional firestop method for curtain walls •...

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