2023

6 large refractory building materials

Source: Network

Most fatal fires occur while people are sleeping at home because the smoke can cause a person to fall into a deep sleep. While no practical building material is truly fireproof, well-constructed homes and buildings can help prevent these types of tragedies by using relatively fire-resistant materials.

So it's not a question of if the fire will damage the building, it's a question of when. It's just that the effects of fire on refractory materials take longer. The key is to build a building where the fire is slow, allowing enough time for the occupants to flee and enough time for emergency crews to get to the scene.

This is also why the material itself is rated based on the time the fire affects its structural capacity. Even thick wood can be considered fire-resistant. However, it is combustible, while metals like aluminum or steel are non-combustible-instead, they bend easily at high temperatures. This article will explore some better building materials to prevent and stop the raging fire.

6: Flame-treated natural products

The fire resistance of natural building materials such as wood and cotton is generally poor compared to dense concrete and plaster. This plant-based substance is an easy fuel and can quickly be consumed by flames. However, builders have obtained specialized chemical treatments that can increase their resistance, allowing them to withstand a fire for a few minutes. Flame-treated wood is not immediately consumed, but forms a charred barrier on its surface, slowing further combustion. This type of wood is often used for exterior features to catch sparks before they reach the interior of the house.

Treated cellulose insulation can also be used as a flame retardant alternative to common insulators such as fiberglass and cotton. Cellulose is mainly derived from recycled paper and is chemically treated with borate fire protection to make it much less flammable than the original form. Once the insulation is sprayed on the wall, it can act as a considerable barrier to flames or warm weather.

5: fireproof glass

Windows are important for visibility and light, but can also cause fires. Even before the window comes into direct contact with the flame, the intense heat of a nearby fire can cause the glass to break. A broken window made it easy for flames to enter the building. In addition, the heat generated by an external fire may be sufficient to ignite flammable items in the home without direct contact.

To protect your house, consider installing fire-resistant windows. One example is double-pane windows, which, in addition to providing energy efficiency, doubles the time it takes for a fire to break a window. The outer layer will break before the inner layer. The strength of tempered glass after heat treatment is four times that of ordinary glass, and it is also effective.

Although they do not provide visibility, glass blocks are extremely fire-resistant while providing light. Perhaps better is steel wire glass, which is tempered glass reinforced with metal wire. Doors that require fire protection but also visibility are usually equipped with wired glass windows.

It is also wise to pay attention to the importance of window frames. Steel frame provides better fire performance, followed by wood and aluminum. Vinyl is less effective.

4: Concrete

Concrete is one of the more common building materials, but also an excellent refractory material. It is non-flammable and has low thermal conductivity, which means that it takes a long time for a fire to affect its structure, load-bearing capacity, and prevent the spread of fire. In fact, it is much more fireproof than steel and is often used to reinforce and protect steel from fire damage.

However, it is important to note that not all concrete is created equal. It consists of cement and aggregate, and the specific type and amount of aggregate used can vary. Aggregate accounts for 60% to 80% of the concrete volume. The exact fire resistance depends on the type and amount of aggregate used. Natural aggregates tend to perform poorly. The moisture in the aggregate expands when heated, causing the concrete to sinter after prolonged exposure.

Concrete is also often listed as one of the better fireproof roofing materials. You should not overlook the importance of the roof in terms of fire protection, as it is very susceptible to sparks from wildfires.

A newer development of concrete structures is known as insulated concrete form (ICF). This structure is usually used in the walls of apartments and commercial buildings. It consists of two polystyrene insulation panels with concrete in the middle. The finished material is similar to a concrete sandwich, with fast construction and low cost, while providing a good balance of climate heat insulation, sound insulation and fire resistance.

3: Plastucco

Plaster is a type of plaster that has been used for centuries for artistic and structural purposes. Modern plaster is made of Portland cement, sand and lime, it is an excellent, durable building fireproof finish material. It can cover any structural material, such as brick or wood. It usually consists of two or three layers of metal reinforcement mesh. A layer of 2.54cm thick plaster can easily give a wall or ceiling a fire rating of one hour, which means it takes one hour to catch fire.

Eaves (overhangs) are a fire hazard, but they can be protected with a shell of fireproof material. Plastucco is often recommend as one of the better materials for packing boxes in dangerous eaves.

2: Gypsum

In order to achieve a good fire rating, many structural materials will require an underlying gypsum sheath, and gypsum board is the more commonly used fire-resistant interior surface. Gypsum board, also known as drywall, consists of a layer of plaster sandwiched between two sheets of paper. The X-type gypsum board has been treated with special additives to further improve its fire resistance.

The paper on the surface of the X-type gypsum board burns slowly and does not help the fire spread. In addition, the gypsum board has a non-combustible core, which contains chemically combined water (in calcium sulfate). When affected by fire, the first thing that happens is that this water comes out in the form of steam. This effectively impedes heat transfer through the gypsum board. Even after the water disappears, the gypsum core can still resist the penetration of the fire for a period of time. Builders often use multi-layer plasterboard to upgrade the fire rating.

1: Brick

Since the bricks are made in a fire kiln, they already have high fire resistance. However, individual bricks are indeed more fireproof than brick walls. The brick wall is glued together with mortar, which does not work very well. However, brick is generally considered to be one of the better building materials for fire protection. Depending on the structure and thickness of the brick wall, the brick wall can reach a fire resistance rating of one hour to four hours.

Therefore, although some materials are more fire-resistant than others, there are several factors that may affect a builder's decision, including cost-effectiveness, ease of installation, and climate.

Key words:

6 large refractory building materials