Bushfire Testing - Warringtonfire Australia

BUSHFIRE TESTING

QUALITY ASSURANCE FROM A TRUSTED TESTING PARTNER ABOUT US Warringtonfire offers a comprehensive range of fire safety services, globally. Our services include fire safety engineering, fire testing, fire assessment and product certification. Warringtonfire can help with all aspects of fire and life safety.

Our business has been built on consistency of service, commitment to our clients and our people, and our growing desire for excellence in our profession. Our dedicated team of engineers and technicians are experts in their field with in-depth local knowledge. We provide every client with a dedicated team consisting of engineers, a project manager and support staff to ensure your project is delivered on time and to budget. When we work with you, we become a part of your team.

We have an established and extensive presence in Australia including our NATA accredited laboratory in Melbourne and our consulting offices located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth.

SIMUL ATED BUSHFIRE TESTING Construction of buildings in bush fire prone areas is explicitly specified in AS 3959:2018 which is referenced in the National Construction Code (NCC).

AS 3959:2018 outlines the procedures that local councils use to determine Bushfire Attack Levels (BAL) and is based on the surrounding vegetation and terrain. AS 3959:2018 further outlines the deemed to satisfy provisions for each BAL level to satisfy the minimum requirements of the NCC or the need for simulated bushfire testing in accordance with AS 1530.8.1:2018 and AS 1530.8.2:2018 in order to gain compliance.

Simulated bushfire testing is used to evaluate the performance of external elements of construction for buildings exposed to radiant heat and flaming sources. The test specimens must be full scale samples of materials or representative components that may be exposed to varying levels of irradiance from a bushfire front.

Simulated bushfire testing is a systems based test centred around the behaviour and interaction that one element of construction may have on another. For example, a burning deck interacting with an adjacent external wall.

Warringtonfire’s capability for bushfire testing includes: · External walls · Roof systems · Skylights · Vertical glazed elements · Doors · Decks.

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Building assurance in the minds of our customers and offering solutions for a complex world underpins everything that we do at Warringtonfire. To consistently deliver on our promise, we work to three guiding principles, technical excellence, operational excellence and customer excellence.

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BUSHFIRE TESTING

TESTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH A S 1530.8.1:2018

R&D BUSHFIRE TESTING

AS 1530.8.1:2018 details the test method for tests on elements of construction for buildings exposed to simulated bushfire attack – radiant heat and small flaming sources. Specimens will be assessed for performance against one of these levels of exposure - BAL 12.5, BAL 19, BAL 29 or BAL 40.

Pilot scale indicative testing can identify which is the better performing variation of a product within a range prior to full scale testing. A BAL rating will not be assigned however this can be a cost effective alternative when developing a product range.

Test specimens will be subjected to an irradiant profile simulating exposure to radiant heat from the fire front of a bushfire with additional exposure to direct flame impingement from small secondary fires simulating burning debris.

AS 1530.8.2 details the test method for tests on elements of construction for buildings exposed to simulated bushfire attack – large flaming sources. This standard is specific for a bushfire attack level of flame zone (BAL FZ). The objective is to classify the performance of elements required to resist exposure to direct flame impingement from the fire front and large secondary fires.

The specimen is exposed to the same crib and radiant heat profiles of a full-scale test, however testing is conducted on the pilot scale furnace (1.2 m x 1.2 m).

KE Y CONTACT DETAIL S Warringtonfire Australia Unit 2, 409-411 Hammond Road Dandenong, Victoria t: +61 3 9767 1000 e: info.fire.melbourne@warringtonfire.com

Unlike AS 1530.8.1 which exposes specimens to radiant heat, testing to AS 1530.8.2 exposes the specimen to the furnace conditions as described in AS 1530.4 for 30 minutes and is intended for elements of construction that would likely be in the direct path of a bushfire front.

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