Fire Resistance Properties of Low-density Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) Bosser Timber

Abstract

The inherent flammability of timber rises the concern of society about the stability and firmnessof timber materials when exposed to fire. This study illustrated the fire resistance properties oflow-density Neolamarckia cadamba timber to evaluate its charred area (CA), charred depth (CD),mass loss rate (MLR), and charring rate (CR). Three different burning durations – 60, 90, and120 min – were subjected to the timber test pieces following the NIST PS1-09 2010 standard.The CA and CD of the test pieces were measured using ImageJ before the determination ofMLR and CR. N. cadamba showed a statistically significant difference on the top CA (14040.56mm2) at 90 min compared to its side CA (1957.93 mm2). CD remained statistically unchangedfor three burning durations. Top CA increased gradually with burning durations. Side CA andCD, however, were reduced to 1957.93 and 17.84 mm2, respectively, for 90 min, before beingincreased back to 120 min. For CR and MLR, a gradual dropped in trend can be seen in theburning durations. Significant differences were detected when comparing the CR (0.30 mm/min) at 60 min with that in 90 min (0.20 mm/min), whereas the MLR was 2.15 g/m2s at 60 minwith 1.42 g/m2s at 120 min. Generally, top CA, side CA, and CD showed an increased trend inthe area and depth value. whereas CR and MLR showed the opposite.