Deriving the Charring Rate of a Wood Fibre Insulation Board by Exposure to the ISO 834 Standard Fire

Abstract

Wood fibre insulation boards (WFIB) are widely used combustible building materials, commonly applied in energy-efficient construction for their thermal and hygric performance. The present study investigates the behaviour of the most common type of wood fibre insulation when exposed to the ISO 834 standard fire. The transient temperature profiles within the material have been measured by means of several thermocouples positioned at different depths of the sample, that is at different distances from the fire-exposed surface. These temperatures were registered during an exposure time of 60 min. Evaluating the data resulted in the determination of the charring rate, which has been compared to that of other wood-based building products available in literature. To get a broader view of these boards' reaction to fire, Helium Pycnometry, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) have been conducted as well. An average value of 2.6 mm/min was found for the charring rate of this wood fibre insulation board.