Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
  • E04B9/00—Ceilings; Construction of ceilings, e.g. false ceilings; Ceiling construction with regard to insulation
  • E04B9/001—Ceilings; Construction of ceilings, e.g. false ceilings; Ceiling construction with regard to insulation characterised by provisions for heat or sound insulation
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E04—BUILDING
  • E04B—GENERAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTIONS; WALLS, e.g. PARTITIONS; ROOFS; FLOORS; CEILINGS; INSULATION OR OTHER PROTECTION OF BUILDINGS
  • E04B9/00—Ceilings; Construction of ceilings, e.g. false ceilings; Ceiling construction with regard to insulation
  • E04B9/30—Ceilings; Construction of ceilings, e.g. false ceilings; Ceiling construction with regard to insulation characterised by edge details of the ceiling; e.g. securing to an adjacent wall
  • E04B9/303—Ceilings; Construction of ceilings, e.g. false ceilings; Ceiling construction with regard to insulation characterised by edge details of the ceiling; e.g. securing to an adjacent wall for flexible tensioned membranes

Definitions

• This invention relates to fire barriers.
• a fire barrier which is especially, but not exclusively, suitable for use in the area above a suspended ceiling.
• partition materials include fire resistant fabric curtains, typically made of asbestos cloth. The use of such cloth is particulary convenient, since it can be readily folded around cables, pipes and other obstructions.
• more recent partition materials include rigid building boards such as plasterboard though these require considerably more effort to install. More recently, it has been recognised that integrity alone is not enough. Fire can be propagated by ignition of combustible material in contact with the "cold" faces of such barriers and 15 minutes insulation (by which is meant that the temperature of the "cold" face shall not rise more than 140°C above ambient whilst the "hot” face follows the cellulosic curve of BS 476 Part 20) is now required by the Building Regulations (1991) , for any cavity barrier greater than lm by lm in size.
• a flexible fire barrier comprises at least two non-asbestos heat-resistant fabric layers spaced apart to define an air gap therebetween, at least one surface of each fabric being coated with a reflective metal layer.
• the intermediate layer or layers are preferably coated on both faces with a reflective metal layer.
• a reflective metal layer particularly preferred heat-resistant fabrics include fabrics made from mineral fibres, especially glass fibre fabrics.
• the reflective metal layer is preferably an aluminium foil loosely attached to the fabric with or without the aid of an adhesive.
• the reflective metal layer may also be applied by a vacuum/vapour deposition process although discontinuous bonding is preferred.
• the fabric has a textured surface, being made from textured yarns or subsequently treated by a brushing/raising process. The fabric is preferably treated to enhance its resistance to heat/flame.
• the simple construction of this invention is capable of surviving a relatively severe fire test such as the one described earlier.
• a fire barrier was made from two glass fibre fabrics spaced apart 30mm. The inner or confronting fabric surfaces were loosely coated with an aluminium foil.
• the face opposite the one to which the fire was actually applied exhibited a temperature rise of only 88°C after thirty minutes.
• a single layer of the same fabric with the same aluminium foil applied to both faces survived only two minutes before the temperature on the non- exposed side exceeded 140°C.
• the construction is symmetrical, to ensure that the fire performance is as far as possible the same from both sides of the partition.
• confronting fabric surfaces are coated with a reflective metal layer.
• glass fibre fabric in addition to the preferred glass fibre fabrics, it may also be possible to use specialised organic material such as, for example, partially carbonised acrylic fibres.
• specialised organic material such as, for example, partially carbonised acrylic fibres.
• glass fibre fabric particularly when treated with proprietary high temperature fabric dressings, will be preferred for most applications.
• a high temperature paper material a high temperature paper material.
• Fabric in this present context thus includes papers and boards.
• the aluminium foil be bonded to the fabric, the actual strength of the bond may not be critical since in use, the fixing system for the fire barrier will also help to support the metal foil.
• the foil should, however, be strong enough to withstand disruption of the adhesive system, at least for sufficiently long to pass the fire test. A certain amount of experimentation may be necessary in order to determine the appropriate type of metal foil to use with a particular fabric.
• the preferred discontinuous bonding of the foil to the fabric can be achieved in several ways.
• adhesive can be printed onto the foil and/or fabric as a pattern of isolated dots.
• Hot melt adhesive is also available in a mesh form.
• discontinuous bonding is to reduce transmission of heat, whilst at the same time optimising reflection of heat.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view partly in section, of a fire barrier in accordance with the invention
• Figure 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of how a metal foil and a fabric may be bonded together for the purposes of Figure 1, and
• Figure 3 is a diagrammatic illustration of another way in which a metal foil and a fabric may be bonded together for the purposes of Figure 1.
• a fire barrier in accordance with the present invention comprises a pair of generally vertically disposed side frames in the form of metal channel members 2, 3. It will be appreciated that these side frames are selected to suit a particular end use; they will be configured to fit into a specific roof space area as regards their height and lateral separation.
• the channels support two composite fabric layers 4, 5 which are spaced apart by the width of the channels.
• Each composite fabric is made up of a textile fabric layer 6 and an aluminium foil layer 7, the two layers being relatively loosely bonded together, as for example by the methods illustrated in Figure 2 and Figure 3. It will be appreciated that relatively loose bonding can also be achieved in other ways.
• the layers may be bonded together only in the vicinity of their attachment to the supporting channel members 2, 3. This is illustrated in Figure l, where the layers are shown attached to the channel members only by clips, 9, 10, 11 and 12 respectively.
• a roll of composite fabric layer comprises a textile fabric layer and an aluminium foil layer 7, the latter being pre-treated with an adhesive applied selectively as a pattern of dots 15 ( Figure 2) or as a mesh 16 ( Figure 3) .
• a preferred textile fabric layer 6 is as woven glass fibre fabric, especially one treated with a heat resistant coating such as WELDSTOP (Registered trade mark) which enhances integrity under severe heat conditions.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Architecture (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Building Environments (AREA)
• Laminated Bodies (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=10741022

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (3)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 1993
  • 1993-08-25 GB GB9317688A patent/GB2281322B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1994
  • 1994-08-23 DK DK94924918T patent/DK0715670T3/da active
  • 1994-08-23 WO PCT/GB1994/001842 patent/WO1995006173A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1994-08-23 EP EP94924918A patent/EP0715670B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1994-08-23 AU AU75023/94A patent/AU7502394A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1994-08-23 DE DE69407054T patent/DE69407054T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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