Fire tests of LATONIT fiber cement boards

The testing laboratory of the scientific and test center of fire safety of FGBU VNIIPO of EMERCOM of Russia (Federal State-Financed Establishment «All-Russian Research Institute for Fire Protection of Ministry of Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters») has carried out fire tests on evaluation of fire hazard (GOST 31251-2008 "Facades of buildings. Fire hazard test method") of a sample of a design of the curtain wall system with air gap. The colored pressed LATONIT fiber cement boards manufactured by Lato, OJSC are used as facing of the base plane of a facade (protective and decorative screen) of the hinged ventilated facade with air gap.

In the process of test the sensor values, as well as the following events and time of their realization which characterize fire hazard of the tested design of the hinged ventilated facade are registering:

• fire propagation over the surface of the fiber cement panel;
• ignition of the gases which are emitted in the thermal decomposition of the materials used when manufacturing the sample of the curtain wall system on his end faces;
• formation of the burning fusion and particles,
• flame level;
• collapse of elements of the sample of the curtain wall system faced with LATONIT fiber cement panels.

Except the events mentioned above in the process of test the following were registering:

• time of appearance of cracks, openings, peelings in the fiber cement panels and the nature of their development;
• time of change of color and density of the smoke which is emitted from the materials used when manufacturing the fiber cement panels because of their burning or thermal decomposition;
• time of appearance and change of odor intensity characteristic of thermal decomposition of organic materials of the fiber cement panel;
• other external features of reaction of the fiber cement panel to thermal influence.

Registration of these facts was carried out visually, organoleptically (method for determination of product quality indexes on the basis of analysis of perceptions of sense organs: vision sense, sense of smell, sense of hearing, sense of touch and taste) and using video and photos, including by comparison with the data of system of measurement and registration of parameters of the controlled characteristics of fire hazard of designs.

When the tested design of the hinged ventilated facade made of LATONIT facade boards got cold, it was inspected for the purpose of determination and registration of the sizes and the nature of damage of the fiber cement panels used when manufacturing a sample of the hinged ventilated facade.

As a result of the conducted tests, LATONIT fiber cement facade panels didn't ignite, didn't keep fire propagation and didn't break. Time of fire influence – 40 minutes.

On the results of fire tests it is found that the curtain wall system with air gap faced with LATONIT fiber cement panels, mounted on external walls from outer side belongs to K0 class of fire hazard in accordance with GOST 31251-2008, so this system is NON FIRE-HAZARDOUS.