DETERMINATION OF FIRE CHARACTERISTICS OF SPRUCE WOOD BY NEW MEDIUM-SCALE LABORATORY METHOD
Keywords:
angles of inclination of the samples; charred layer; lignocellulosic material; mass loss; temperature courses.Abstract
The paper is focused on the evaluation of spruce wood (Picea abies L.) used in building construction using the new medium-scaled test method, which is a modification of the standard test method according to standard STN EN ISO 11925-2. The significance of the new medium-scale test method lies in its accessibility compared to standard test methods and in the ability to test samples of various dimensions (lengths up to 1 meter) at different angles of exposure to the heat source. The new medium-scale method is based on exposing the samples (300 × 100 × 100 mm) to a 1 kW flame source for 1800 s. The test setup was placed on the laboratory scale with thermocouples placed in the samples for the duration of the test. This enabled us to measure the mass loss, temperature courses, charred layer depth, and charring rate. With this method, the mentioned parameters were determined for three different angles of inclination (0°, 45°, 90°) for the samples, which simulate the actual placement of a wooden building element in a structure. Values of mass loss ranged from 3.33 ± 0.62% (0° angle) to 4.66 ± 0.33% (90° angle). The temperature courses at the angles of inclination 90° and 45° were similar. Nevertheless, at the 90° angle, the maximum temperature reached was 75.6℃ lower. The charring rate reached its maximum value of 0.49 mm·min-1 at an inclination angle of 45°. The results showed the influence of the angle of inclination and wood grain directions on fire characteristics.
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