ASFP Advisory Note 3: Version 01-12-2010 JOINT ASFP - BCF ADVISORY NOTICE

Introduction
This advisory notice is produced jointly by the Association for Specialist Fire Protection and the British Coatings Federation as the representative bodies in the UK of the manufacturers and suppliers of fire protection products to structural steel. It is targeted at specifiers, fabricators, contractors and enforcement authorities, and anyone else with an interest or responsibility for providing adequate fire protection within steel framed buildings. WARNING: Current practices adopted in structural frame design drawings and schedules for the specification of fire resistance performance may be inadequate, given the sophistication that may have been adopted in structural design. This could lead to the provision of inadequate levels of fire protection to steel members. Explanatory information and guidance is given in this document.

Background
With the advent of the new European Structural design codes, and BS5950; Part 8, both covering the design of steel structures in fire, designers are provided with the opportunity to exploit the properties of structural steel to its maximum capacity. Previously, under more traditional national structural design codes, applied loads appropriate to the building occupancy, and the application of defined safety factors dictated the height/span and cross sectional shape of steel members (beams or columns) to be used in buildings. Generally, this provided for a conservative working stress within the members that represented approximately 50% of the stress that would induce their failure. Such a simplified approach, assuming a standard load utilisation for all members, provided a maximum allowable temperature that could be tolerated by any structural member when exposed to fire. Reviewing the strength vs. temperature relationship for steel, the reduction in the strength of steel with increasing temperature produces approximately a 50% reduction in strength at a temperature of around 500oC to 600oC. Therefore, a single limiting temperature within this range (e.g. 550oC for columns and 620oC for beams) became the target performance for fire protection products applied to structural steel members to prevent collapse. Within the context of new design codes, however, the designs of the individual component members may be optimised for efficiency and economy, and the stress level in any single member may be higher or lower than may be associated with the historical conventional design approaches. This requires a more complex and comprehensive analysis of the fire insulation capability of the fire protection material over a range of temperatures, resulting in a required minimum thickness associated with any temperature. Such analyses are now becoming more common for any fire protection material but these more sophisticated approaches are primarily used for major high profile projects where whole building design software is used. However the most common method of determining the required fire protection thickness for a particular component member is to use product specific look up tables. The limiting temperature for a particular member is found in Table 1 of the ASFP Yellow Book and the values given are also those given in Table 6.3 of BS 5950 Part 8. Many modern structural steel frames will include a variety of innovative designs of steel elements, much of which is targeted at reducing the storey height. The provision and use of beams with a wide variety of apertures, or openings in the web of the steel, has significantly increased. These openings allow the beam to be penetrated by services that otherwise would have to pass beneath the beams. The individual design of each member will dictate at what position and at what temperature structural failure during fire is likely to occur. It is essential, therefore, that in order to provide an adequate level of fire protection to any steel member, more information has to be provided about the requirements: it

is not sufficient to just specify the fire resistance period required. It is absolutely essential that associated critical temperature as a consequence of the design is also determined. In order to determine the limiting temperatures products are subjected to the required test protocol given in the ASFP Yellow Book. The test protocol provides web post modification factors depending on the web post width and other variables. This test data is then inputted into a structural model which generates tables of limiting temperatures dependant on the specific beam geometry. In the same manner described above the required fire protection thickness is then determined from product specific thickness tables. It is equally essential that the structural engineer considers the nature of the proposed fire protection when undertaking the design of the structural steelwork. A minimum weight design at ultimate limit state (ambient temperature design) that does not account for the period of fire resistance may include steelwork sections that cannot be fire protected with certain products due to the required performances being in excess of those that can be provided by the fire protection material.

Reliability of the fire protection

As mentioned above, most modern fire protection products are subject to more complex and comprehensive testing and assessment than previously, providing the manufacturers of these products with the ability to answer to properly specified requirements for fire protection. Those that have proven performance and reliability will be subject to third party product conformity certification as provided by a UKAS accredited certification body and as recommended by Approved Document B to The Building Regulations. The fire performance of the product is not, however, assured until it is applied correctly in accordance with the correct specification. Much depends upon this being realised in practice. Once again, following the recommendation of Approved Document B, the application of the fire protection should be required to be undertaken by third party accredited contractors/applicators.

Adequate specification of fire protection to steel members

To ensure the highest standard of fire protection of steel members is assured, structural design drawings and associated schedules of the various members should ideally specify: The required period of fire protection, e.g. 30 mins, 60 mins, 90 mins for each structural member. The temperature for design (if known) which shall not be exceeded by the critical part of the member within the specified fire protection time. Otherwise use the guidance given in the ASFP Yellow Book and BS5950: Part 8 or in the case of cellular beams use the limiting temperatures from product specific tables of limiting temperatures.

In addition to the above, to ensure reliability of the installed fire protection product, the specification should ideally require: Fire protection to be offered by a product that is subject to third party product certification. Application/installation of the product to be carried out by a contractor that is subject to third party accreditation.

EXAMPLE: The following reflects good practice in the specification of fire protection requirements: 30 minutes fire protection to a limiting temperature for design of 480 C to be provided by (type of material) that has been third party certificated to have the requisite performance, and to be installed by a third party accredited contractor