Sandwich Panels: UK Insurance industry attitudes and guidance on IPN core panels.

Mark Harris -Divisional Building Technology Director.

Nordbygg – March 2012.

Agenda

What is a sandwich panel?

Panels - Where are they used in UK?

What is IPN?

UK Insurance Industry tests and guidance

Sandwich Panels

Cores –– Mineral fibre– Polyisocyanurate (PIR / IPN)– Polyurethane (PUR)– Expanded Polystyrene

IndustrialCommercial

Distribution Retail

Building types and applications –UK IPN core panels.

Industrial

Manufacturing Hospitals

Health Pharmaceutical

Building types and applications –UK IPN Core panels

Education Leisure

Motor Public

Building types and applications – UK IPN core panels.

Internal applications

What is IPN?

Rigid urethane polymer family

Is combustible but not a plastic.

Special formulation– Strong molecular structure

– Thermosetting polymer

– Good heat resistance

Ignition temperature c445 deg.C

Forms strong char on exposure to fire.

The key definition of IPN is Certification – Reaction to fire

Euroclassification B- s1, d0 (EN 13501) EI 30 / EI 60

Nordics – SP FIRE 105 Façade test.

Insurance Industry Certification –FM GlobalLoss Prevention Certification Board -UK

+ Supported by Real fire case studies.

UK Insurance Industry Reaction

The fundamental problem is that from the mid – 1980s serious fires involving certain types of sandwich panels have created Insurer concerns about the fire performance of all sandwich panel systems

How did UK insurers react?

Key issue – UK experience

Commercial Property Insurance

Where does the underwriter Where does the underwriter turn to for help?turn to for help?

Source – AVIVA.

UK Building Regulation Reaction to Fire Tests

• Key objective is specifically life safety rather than property conservation.

• UK National tests are generally small scale and do not differentiate well between different levels of performance.

• New European system – EN 13501.

• All combustible core panels achieve Euroclass B

Loss Prevention Certification Board

Completely independent – Part of Building Research Establishment in UK

LPCB provide research, testing and fire test approvals.

LPCB still has very close connections to ABI, FPA and Lloyds.

LPS 1181 is a wall and ceiling lining test to evaluate insulated panels.

Loss Prevention Certification Board – LPS 1181 - EXT

LPS 1181

Loss Prevention Certification Board

Comparative - Fire Performance Data

EPIC - ARUP Warrington - LPCB- LPS 1181 Fire Tests

KINGSPAN LPCB SYSTEM

Thick char protects core foam from fire attack.

Polystyrene Panel Systems

FM Global

Major insurer with own test facilities and standards for building cladding systems.

FMRC 4880 approval requirements for class 1 fire classification with no height restriction.

Approved suppliers are subject to detailed quality surveillance.

APPROVED

F M

FM Grades

FMRC 4880 Class 1 - Walls & Ceilings

–No height restriction–Max 50ft height –Max 30ft height

FM Global 50ft Wall Test OnKingspan Panels

A pass can result in unlimited height

approval

Technical bulletin on the fire performance of sandwich panels – partially revised August 2008.

Association of British Insurers

‘For insurance underwriting purposes, Insurers use the Design Guide for the Fire Protection of Buildings as a basis for providing guidance on what they require for property protection purposes, subject to a broad based risk assessment. In respect of external composite (Sandwich) panels, these must be suitable for the intended end use application and should either have non-combustible cores or be LPCB approved to the appropriate requirements of LPS 1181(see paragraph 3.11) and fully satisfy insurers fire resistance requirements (insulation and integrity) through appropriate testing.”

ABI Statement -

Correct approach to building design

Holistic fire safety engineering

Combining personnel protection with property conservation

Insurer certified panel systems can play a key role in performance based design.

Construction Details.

Full construction details from manufacturers is important part of the design process.

Panel Identification.

Panel ID is important for insurance surveyors.

Original LPC Design Guide - 1999.

New Core Documents –

Essential Principles

Protected Zones

UK Fire Protection Association guidance

Risk assessment. Points based system. Only acceptable panel systems

are those approved by LPCB(essentially PIR/IPN & mineral fibre)

UK Fire Protection Association guidance – Food Factories

Engineered Panels In Construction

UK Trade Association for PIR/IPN Core Sandwich Panels.

Conclusions

UK insurers have suffered significant losses which contributed to the development of their own fire certification tests.

LPCB & FM tests provide realistic full scale tests.

UK insurers fully accept LPCB approved PIR / IPN core panel systems for virtually all situations.

All combustible core panels are not the same!

Questions?

Learn about Fire Safety Engineering with Prof. Van Hees at 14.30pm this afternoon.

Learn about real fire case studies at 15.45pm this afternoon.