Fire
Tests

The Fire Testing Centre carries out tests in accordance with different standards. Its testing is accredited* and can be defined on a case-by-case basis to meet customer requirements.
Tests are carried out on materials, products, structural members, and works of engineering and cover different scales depending on objectives.

*The scope of the accreditation (by the French Committee for Accreditation) is available at cofrac.fr

Fire resistance tests.

For example, the fire resistance tests cover the following normative methods:

EN 1363 standard – Fire resistance tests
EN 1364 standard – Fire resistance tests for non-loadbearing elements
EN 1365 standard – Fire resistance tests for loadbearing elements
EN 1366 standard – Fire resistance tests for service installations
EN 1634 standard – Fire-resistance and smoke-control tests for door and shutter assemblies, openable windows and elements of building hardware
EN 13381 standard – Test methods for determining the contribution to the fire resistance of structural members

Depending on the type of works, other test standards may be applied (UL standard, ASTM standard, FTP code, CETU guide, ENGSIN (EDF SEPTEN), etc.)

Our equipment

ATLAS furnace

Furnace for testing vertical and horizontal non-loaded and non-loadbearing test pieces (doors, windows, partitions, penetration seals, etc.)
Vertical bay of 4 m x 3 m (W x H).
Horizontal bay of 4 m x 1.3 m (W x D).
Different fire curves (ISO 834, HC, HCM, RWS, EUREKA, etc.).

Prométhée furnace

Furnace for testing loaded and loadbearing vertical and horizontal test pieces and large elements.
Vertical bay of 4 m x 2.6 m up to 6 m (W x H).
Horizontal bay of 4 m x 6 m (W x D).
Different fire curves (ISO 834, HC, HCM, RWS, EUREKA, etc.).
Multi-directional loading, up to 300 tonnes point loading.

Airflow test rig

A rig for testing the fire resistance of all kinds of ventilation and smoke-control ducts (sheet metal, plasterboard, calcium silicate, precast or cast-in-place concrete, etc.).
Duct internal dimensions of up to 4 m x 3 m
Maximum extraction rate in excess of 100,000 m3/h.

Intermediate-scale
screening tests
and thermo-mechanical
characterisation tests.

Screening tests

Studying the fire performance of a system: intermediate-scale screening tests can be used to try different parameters (shape, type of system components, mix design, etc.) in order to cover a range of solutions.
Defining your project: screening tests also serve to fine-tune a technical solution before proceeding with full-scale tests.

Thermo-mechanical characterization tests

Studying the evolution of compressive and tensile strengths, modulus of elasticity and thermal expansion as a function of temperature.
Determining the behavioural laws of materials for use in advanced numerical models.

These tests can be carried out for concrete with the RILEM protocols (TC 129 – Test Methods for Mechanical Properties of Concrete at High Temperatures).

Fire propagation tests on facades (LEPIR II test, BS 8414…).

A fire propagation test can be performed to estimate the performance of a façade system. The purpose of such testing is to examine the lateral spread of a fire and its spread within cladding or across the façade–floor interface. In some cases such a test is recommended by fire regulations applicable to the types of buildings for which the system is intended (France’s Class 3 and Class 4 dwellings, buildings open to the public, offices, etc.), depending on its design (use of combustible insulation, air gap, etc.).

The Fire Testing Centre habitually uses the LEPIR II test protocol* when performing fire-propagation tests. If need be, other standards (e.g. BS 8414) can be used to assess the spread of fire in cladding.

The Fire Testing Centre has its own test facility for evaluating your range of construction solutions for façade systems (habitually applying France’s IT 249 regulations) and has a full range of instrumentation (regulatory temperatures, airflows, anemometers, video recording, other relevant measurements).

* Two-storey real-fire testing facility

Our brochure

Contact us for any information

Our other activities.

Special &
In situ Tests.

Fire safety
engineering
.

Research and
Development.