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Home My WebLink AboutTEST FOR SURFACE BURNINGCOM MERCIAL TESTING C041-WINY so'1215 South Hamilton Street • Post Office Box 985 • Dalton, GA 30722 Telephone (705) 278-0935 • Facsimile (706) 278-3936 NunuJ `'��1 do 'S8 4AQQ ,)o Standard Method of Test for Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials ASTM E 84-06 Commercial 95 Report Number 06-10314 Test Number 3829-3112 October 16, 2006 Gale Pacific USA, Inc. Lake Mary, Florida Commercial Testing Company is accredited for the ASTM E 84 test by the United States Department of Commas, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NISI),. through the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) for conformance with criteria set forth in NIST Handbook 150:2001, and all requirements of LSO/IEC 17025:1999. .. . Commercial Testing Company '.(Authorized Signature) This report is provided for the exclusive use of the client to whom it is addressed. It may wed in its entirety to gain product acceptance from duly constituted authorities. The test results presented in this report apply only to the samples tested and are not necessarily indicative of apparent identical or similar materials. Sample selection and identification mere provided by the client.,A sampling plan, if described in the referenced test procedure, axis not mcessanly followed. This report, or the rove of Commercial Testing Company, shall not be used under any circumstance in advertising to tire general public. TESTED TO BE SURE® Since 1974 Page 1 of 4 INTRODUCTION This report is a presentation of results of a surface flammability test on a material submitted by Gale Pacific USA, Inc., Lake Mary, Florida. The test was conducted in accordance with the ASTM International fire test response standard E 84-06, Surface Burning Characteristics of Building Materials, sometimes referred to as the Steiner tunnel test. This test is applicable to exposed surfaces such as walls and ceilings. The test is conducted with the specimen in the ceiling position with the surface to be evaluated exposed face down to the ignition source. The ASTIVI E 84 test method is technically identical to NFPA No. 255 and UL No. 723. This standard is used to measure and describe the response of materials, products, or assemblies to heat and flame under controlled conditions, but does not by itself incorporate all factors required for fire -hazard or fire -risk assessment of materials, products, or assemblies under actual fire conditions. PURPOSE The purpose of the test is to provide only the comparative measurements of surface flame spread and smoke development of materials with that of select grade red oak flooring and fiber -reinforced cement board, Grade II, under specific fire exposure conditions. The test exposes a nominal 24-foot long by 20- inch wide test specimen to a controlled air flow and flaming fire adjusted to spread the flame along the entire length of a red oak specimen in 5.50 minutes. During the 10-minute test duration, flamespread over the specimen surface and density of the resulting smoke are measured and recorded. Test results are calculated relative to the red oak flooring, which has an arbitrary rating of 100, and fiber -reinforced cement board Grade II, which has a rating of 0. The test results are expressed as Flame Spread Index and Smoke Developed Index. The Flame Spread Index is defined in ASTM E 176 as "a number or classification indicating a comparative measure derived from observations made during the progress of the boundary of a zone of flame under defined test conditions." The Smoke Developed Index, a term specific to ASTM E 84, is defined as "a number or classification indicating a comparative measure derived from smoke obscuration data collected during the test for surface burning characteristics." There is not necessarily a relationship between the two measurements. The method does not provide for measurement of heat transmission through the surface tested, the effect of aggravated flame spread behavior of an assembly resulting from the proximity of combustible walls and ceilings, or classifying a material as noncombustible solely by means of a Flame Spread Index. The zero reference and other parameters critical to furnace operation are verified on the day of the test by conducting a 10-minute test using 1/4-inch.fiber-reinforced cement board. Periodic tests using NOFMA certified 23 /32-inch select grade red oak flooring provide data for the 100 reference. TEST SAMPLE The test sample, selected by the client, was identified as Commercial 95, a knitted polyethylene shade cloth with a total weight of 10.8 ounces per square yard. The material was conditioned to equilibrium in an atmosphere with the temperature maintained at 71 t 2°F and the relative humidity at 50 t 5 percent. For testing, two lengths of the fabric, each measuring 2 feet wide by 12 feet in length, were free laid over a 2-inch hexagonal wire mesh supported by 1/4-inch diameter steel rods spanning the ledges of the tunnel furnace at 24-inch intervals. This method of auxiliary sample support is described in Appendix X1 of the E 84 standard, Guide to Mounting Methods, Sections X1.1.2.2 and X1.1.2.3. Page 2 of 4 TEST RESULTS The test results, calculated on the basis of observed flame propagation and the integrated area under the recorded smoke density curve, are presented below. The Flame Spread Index obtained in E 84 is rounded to the nearest number divisible by five. Smoke Developed Indices are rounded to the nearest number divisible by five unless the Index is greater than 200. In that case, the Smoke Developed Index is rounded to the nearest 50 points. The flame spread and smoke development data are presented graphically on Page 4 of this report. Test S ecimen Flame Spread Index Smoke Develo ed Index Fiber —Reinforced Cement Board Grade Il Red Oak Flooring 0 100 0 100 Commercial 95 25 1 60 OBSERVATIONS Specimen ignition over the burners occurred at 0.08 minute. Surface flame spread was observed to a maximum distance of 5.01 feet beyond the zero point at 1.18 minutes. The maximum temperature recorded during the test was 497°F. CLASSIFICATION The Flame Spread Index and Smoke Developed Index values obtained by ASTM E 84 tests are frequently used by code officials and regulatory agencies in the acceptance of interior finish materials for various applications. The most widely accepted classification system is described in the National Fire Protection Association publication NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, where: Class A 0 — 25 Flame Spread Index 0 — 450 Smoke Developed Index Class B 26 — 75 Flame Spread Index 0 — 450 Smoke Developed Index Class C 76 — 200 Flame Spread Index 0 — 450 Smoke Developed Index Class A, B, and C correspond to Type I, I1, and III respectively in other codes such as SBCCI, BOCA, and ICBO. They do not preclude a material being otherwise classified by the authority of jurisdiction. Page 3 of 4 ASTN1 E 84 TEST DATA Client: Gale Pacific USA, Inc. Test Number: 3829-3112 Material Tested: Commercial 95 Date: October 16, 2006 Test Results: Time to Ignition = 00.08 minutes Maximum Flamespread Distance = 05.01 feet Time to Maximum Spread = 01.18 minutes 20 18 16 14 d 12 10 0 8 6 4 2 0 100 90 80 IR 70 60 c z� 50 E 40 30 20 10 0 Flame Spread Index = 25 Smoke Developed Index = 60 Time, minutes Time, minutes Page 4 of 4