Fire protection of metal structures with Tecbor Panel
Actualizado a fecha: 7 February, 2019
A common solution for fire protection of metal structures is to coat the metal element using a Fire Panel such as our Tecbor Panel.
The Tecbor is a rigid panel consisting of Magnesium Oxide, Silicates and other additives coated on both sides by a fiberglass mesh that has an excellent fire performance, as well as a very good performance in terms of hardness and mechanical strength.
Its applications are many and we have undergone many tests of resistance to fire both under the ISO fire curve (the usual) and others much harder as the RWS, Hydrocarbon Curve or the American UL, for industries, extraction ducts, tunnels protection with concrete, etc.
In this post, we want to talk about a new test we have done on metal structures with results of both thickness and economy and simplicity of assembly of the system that will place us as a referent in the market.
First, what we achieve with this test is that the steel does not reach a critical temperature of 500 ° C when it is coated with a Tecbor Panel of a determined thickness according to the mass of the profile and the fire resistance that is intended to be achieved. What we achieve is to maintain the bearing capacity “R” of the steel expressed in minutes. It should not be confused with Isolation and Integrity “EI” that is used for non-bearing elements. For example, we may think that we are performing an EI-120 transformer, ceiling or partition with its corresponding certificate and that at the same time we are protecting a beam or a metal pillar. First, the criteria “EI” is tested “without load” under a specific test standard and it is measured that the system is integrated after the test and that there is a certain temperature gradient between the exposed and the unexposed side. In order to guarantee the bearing capacity R, it is tested “with load” and where the steel does not reach 500 ° C, so that a non-load-bearing division does not always have to guarantee the bearing capacity of a steel element. This is sometimes a very common misinterpretation of the current test nomenclature.
The fixing system of the Tecbor Panel to the metal structure must done by a connecting element that can adsorb the expansions that this profile will have during its heating, avoiding that the rigid panel is broken by its rigidity and the protection is not effective. These joining elements may be metal “clips”, but other types of omega-type or channel-like profiles may also be used in the construction with laminated gypsum boards.
This fire protection system is not the most economical, compared to a projected one for example, but it has the advantages of reducing to the maximum the section of the protected metal element and it can leave the system with an unbeatable aspect.