Laboratory → Testing

Nine test methods

Every method below runs at Templeborough. Specimen requirements, mounting and conditioning are written into the quotation so that nothing about the specimen is decided on the day.

BS EN ISO 1182

Non-combustibility

A 20 mm specimen is held in a furnace at 750 °C for 30 minutes while temperature rise, mass loss and sustained flaming are recorded. It is the gateway test for an A1 or A2 classification, and it is unforgiving — a product either survives it or it does not.

  • Furnace stabilised at 750 °C ± 5 °C
  • Five specimens per product as standard
  • Temperature rise, mass loss and flaming duration reported separately
  • Result feeds directly into BS EN 13501-1
BS EN 13823

Single burning item (SBI)

The corner test. Two wings of the product are mounted in an L-shape and exposed to a 30 kW sand-bed burner for 20 minutes while heat and smoke release are measured continuously. Most B, C and D classifications are decided here.

  • 30 kW propane burner in a corner configuration
  • FIGRA, THR600s, SMOGRA and TSP600s all reported
  • Lateral flame spread and flaming droplets observed
  • Mounting and fixing recorded in full — it changes the result
BS EN ISO 11925-2

Single flame source

A small 20 mm flame applied to the edge or surface of a specimen for 15 or 30 seconds. Cheap, fast, and the test that most often catches a product before it reaches the expensive ones.

  • Surface and edge exposure
  • 15 s and 30 s exposure options
  • Flame spread to 150 mm measured
  • Filter paper used to detect flaming droplets
ISO 5660-1

Cone calorimeter

Oxygen consumption calorimetry at a set irradiance, usually 35 or 50 kW/m². It does not produce a European classification on its own, but it is the most useful development tool we run.

  • Irradiance from 10 to 75 kW/m²
  • Peak and average heat release rate
  • Time to ignition and total heat released
  • Smoke production measured in the same run
BS EN ISO 1716

Gross heat of combustion

Bomb calorimetry to establish the potential heat content of a product. Paired with non-combustibility for A1 and A2 classifications, and run on each component of a composite separately.

  • Bomb calorimeter, three determinations per component
  • PCS reported in MJ/kg
  • Composite products broken down by layer
  • Homogeneity assessed before testing
BS EN ISO 5659-2

Smoke density and toxicity

Smoke accumulation in a closed chamber under radiant heat, with optional FTIR analysis of the gases produced. Required for rail and marine work far more often than for construction.

  • 25 and 50 kW/m² irradiance, with or without pilot flame
  • Specific optical density Ds at 4 and 10 minutes
  • FTIR gas analysis available
  • Rail (EN 45545) and marine (FTP Code) parameter sets
BS EN 1364 / BS EN 1365

Fire resistance — walls and floors

Loadbearing and non-loadbearing elements taken to the standard time-temperature curve in the large furnace. Integrity, insulation and, where relevant, loadbearing capacity are recorded to failure.

  • 3 m × 3 m vertical furnace, 4 m × 3 m horizontal
  • Standard, hydrocarbon and slow-heating curves
  • Integrity (E), insulation (I) and loadbearing capacity (R)
  • Deflection and cotton pad results in the report
BS 8414-1 / -2

External wall systems

Full-scale cladding rig with a 3 MW timber crib in the combustion chamber. Nine metres of wall, instrumented, burned once. Nobody runs this test speculatively.

  • Freestanding (8414-1) and returned-face (8414-2) rigs
  • External and internal thermocouple levels
  • Assessed against BR 135 performance criteria
  • Full photographic and video record supplied
BS EN 13501-1

Classification reports

The document a specifier actually reads. We prepare classification reports from our own test data and, where the evidence supports it, extended application (EXAP) assessments.

  • Classification from A1 to F, with s and d sub-classes
  • Direct and extended field of application stated separately
  • Field of application limits written in plain terms
  • Reissued free of charge if a typographical error is ours

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