IE20150434A1

IE20150434A1 - Fire protective sleeve

Info

Publication number: IE20150434A1
Application number: IE20150434A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Alfred Ward Derek
Original assignee: Intumescent Systems Ltd
Priority date: 2014-12-19
Filing date: 2015-12-17
Publication date: 2016-12-14
Also published as: GB2533395A; GB2533395B; IE87164B1

Abstract

A protective sleeve for surrounding a pipe, ducting or the like, comprises a multi-layered tube formed of a layer of intumescent material sheathed in a layer of metallic foil or the like, with a layer of reinforcing material being adhered to the foil on the outer surface only.

Description

Field of the Invention This invention relates to fire protective sleeves.

Background of the Invention Fire protective sleeves are used in buildings to protect cables, pipes and trunking passing through fire~rated ceilings, floors, walls, including block, brick, concrete and hollow plasterboard floors and walls. The sleeves can be flexible, allowing expansion and contraction of water pipes, for example, and give protection from corrosion caused by close contact with cement, plaster and other potentially corrosive buiiding materials.

A layer of intumescent material is present in the sleeve, which expands in the presence of heat caused by a fire, with the aim of reducing the airflow space within the sleeve to prevent the spread of fire through the building and/or to maintain the integrity of the ceiling, floor or wall of the building, at least for a particular time period.

However, this expansion often does not block the airflow completely (or substantially) and so there remains the possibility of fire spreading and/or failure of structural integrity in a short time period.

It is an aim to provide an improved fire protection sleeve.

Summary of the Invention A first aspect of the invention provides a protective sleeve for surrounding a pipe, ducting or the like, the sleeve comprising a layer of intumescent material having inner and outer surfaces, a layer of metallic material in contact with each of said inner and outer surfaces, and a layer of reinforcing material in Contact with the metallic material on the outer surface.

Such a sleeve is found to expand inwardly only (or substantialiy so) by virtue of the reinforcing material on the outer surface; this tends to substantially block or hinder airflow through the sleeve, and can even crush into melting plastic pipes, trunking and ducts, improving performance. The metallic material, which can be a foil-type material, helps transfer heat to the intumescent material to promote said expansion.

The sleeve preferably comprises a further layer of metallic material on the outer surface of the reinforcing material.

The reinforcing material is preferably provided in sheet form, for example a glass fibre sheet, cloth or similar material. The sheet may be woven. The sheet is lapped or wound around the outer surface, and is secured so that it is taught against the structure.

The intumescent material may be graphite or graphite based.

The sleeve may be substantially rectangular or circular in cross section.

A second aspect of the invention provides a protective sleeve for surrounding a pipe, ducting or the like, the sleeve comprising a multi—|ayered tube formed of a layer of intumescent material sheathed in a layer of metallic foil or the like, with a layer of reinforcing material being adhered to the foil on the outer surface only to promote inwards expansion of the intumescent material, e.g. in the event of fire.

A third aspect of the invention provides a method of forming a protective sleeve, comprising the steps of: providing a layer of intumescent material; adhering a layer of metallic material to the intumescent material on both surfaces; adhering a layer of reinforcing material to the metallic material layer on one surface only; and wrapping the resulting layered material to form a tubular sleeve with the reinforcing material on the external side.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will now be described, by way of non—limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment fire protective sleeve in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a close-up view of a cross-sectional part of the Figure 1 sleeve; Figure 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment fire protective sleeve in accordance with the invention; and Figures 4a and 4b are schematic, cross-sectional views of any one of the Figure 1 and 3 sleeves, useful for understanding their operation in the event of a fire.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments Embodiments described herein provide a fire protective sleeve for surrounding cables, pipes, ducting or the like, in buildings; typically, the sleeve is used at the point where the cables, pipes or ducting pass through a ceiling, floor or wall and the sleeve itself passes at least partially through the ceiling floor or wall with the aim of preventing or hindering the transfer of fire from one part of a building to another, at least for a particular time period.

Referring to Figure 1, a first embodiment fire protective sleeve (hereafter ‘‘sleeve’’) 1 is shown ready for fitting. It will be appreciated that alternative sleeves can be of any cross- section, including circular, and have different dimensions. The sleeve 1 is formed of several layers of material, including an intumescent layer which expands in the presence of heat in a known manner. The intumescent layer can be graphite or graphite —based.

To indicate the layers employed in the sleeve 1, Figure 2 shows a close-up view of a corner cross~section 3 taken along the plane indicated by reference numeral 2.

The main part of the sleeve 1 is formed by an intumescent layer 5, to which is adhered, on both the inner and outer sides, respective layers of aluminium metallic material 7, 9 which ' help transfer heat to the intumescent layer 5 to promote its expansion in the presence of a fire. The aluminium layers 7, 9 can be separate sheets, or a single sheet which covers the end walls (front and rear).

Onto the external surface of the external silver layer 9 is adhered a reinforced flexible material 11, which is provided in sheet form and can be woven glass fibre cloth. The nature of the reinforced material 11 and its location external to the intumescent layer promotes mainly inwards expansion of the intumescent material in the event of a fire, into the internal cavity 15, and significantly less so in the outwards direction. This helps minimise or seal any air gaps that might allow fire to spread between different parts of a building, at least for a required period of time. Plastic pipes or ducting held within the cavity 15 tend also to be crushed as they melt in the presence of fire, again preventing its spread.

The reinforced material 11 is provided in close contact with the underlying material 9 and _ wrapped relatively taught around the structure so as to help minimise outwards expansion.

A further, aluminium metallic layer 13 is provided on the reinforced material 11, again, to promote the transfer of heat to the intumescent layer 5.

Figure 3 shows a second embodiment sleeve 20 which has the same layered structure as the first embodiment sleeve 1. in this case, the combined layers of reinforced material layer 11’ and the outer aluminium layer 13’ overlap themselves, as indicated by the portion with reference numeral 21. The underside of portion 21 is self-adhesive, having a peel-off layer.

In this embodiment, it is possible to encase the sleeve 20 around ducting of same or slightly larger dimensions to ensure a close fit. in use, a lengthwise cut is made, e.g. along the line 23, using a knife or saw, the sleeve 20 is located around the ducting, and the layers 11’, 13‘ . then adhered over the cut at the overlapping portion 21 using the self-adhesive base to re- connect the parts as indicated by the arrow.

It will be appreciated that the term ‘sleeve’ as used throughout is to be interpreted to cover sleeve—like structures sold or provided with such a cut.

Figures 4a and 4b indicate the effect of the sleeves 1, 20 in the presence of a fire. Figure 4a shows the sleeve 1, 20 surrounding a PVC duct 30 carrying first and second PVC pipes 32, 34 in normal use. Figure 4b shows the situation following a fire, in which the expansion of the intumescent material is directed substantially inwards to crush the duct 30 and pipes 32, 34. Outwards expansion is hindered by the reinforcing layer to promote this largely inwards expansion.

The aforementioned sleeves can be of any shape and dimension.

The forming of such a sleeve generally involves: (i) providing a layer of intumescent material; (ii) covering both the upper and lower surfaces of said intumescent material with metallic layers; (iii) applying a layer of reinforcing material to the metallic layer on the upper surface; and, preferably, (iv) applying an external layer of metallic material. The multi~layer material can be shaped to any suitable form, e.g. over a mould.

Fitting the aforementioned sleeves 1, 20 generally involves cutting a hole in the substrate, e.g. wall, following an outline of the sleeve. The sleeve 1, 20 is then cut to the appropriate depth, so that its near-end will be substantially flush with the wall. The sleeve 1, 20 is then located around the pipe or ducting (making a lengthwise slit and re-joining, if required, e.g. using the second embodiment sleeve 20) and then positioning the sleeve within the wall so that it is snug and flush—fitted.

' It will be appreciated that the above described embodiments are purely illustrative and are not limiting on the scope of the invention. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the present application.

Moreover, the disclosure of the present application should be understood to include any novel features or any novel combination of features either explicitly or implicitly disclosed herein or any generalization thereof and during the prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom, new claims may be formulated to cover any such features and/or combination of such features.

Claims

1. A protective sleeve for surrounding a pipe, ducting or the like, the sleeve comprising a layer of intumescent material having inner and outer surfaces, a layer of metallic material in contact with each of said inner and outer surfaces, and a layer of reinforcing material in contact with the metallic material on the outer surface.

2. A protective sleeve according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve comprises a further layer of metallic material on the outer surface of the reinforcing material.

3. A protective sleeve according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the reinforcing material is glass fibre cloth.

4. A protective sleeve according to any preceding claim, wherein the intumescent material is graphite or graphite based.

5. A protective sleeve according to any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is substantially rectangular or circular in cross section.

6. A protective sleeve for surrounding a pipe, ducting or the like, the sleeve comprising a multi-layered tube formed of a layer of intumescent material sheathed in a layer of metallic foil or the like, with a layer of reinforcing material being adhered to the foil on the outer surface only.

7. A method of forming a protective sleeve, comprising the steps of: - providing a layer of intumescent material; - adhering a layer of metallic material to the intumescent material on both surfaces; - adhering a layer of reinforcing material to the metallic material layer on one surface only; and — wrapping the resulting layered material to form a tubular sleeve with the reinforcing material on the external side.