building will remain intact.
In order to fulfil the require-
ments of Building Regulations to
`maintain the building's stability
for a reasonable period', there-
fore, the load bearing elements
in the structure must not be
allowed to heat up to a temper-
ature at which they begin to
weaken and eventually, collapse.
There are several mechanisms
by which steel structures can be
insulated from the heat generat-
ed in a fire, in order to prevent
or, at worst, delay collapse of the
building. Active mechanisms
include installing sprinklers or gas
release systems, are intended to
be activated as soon as a fire
breaks out, to extinguish a fire
within reach as soon as possible.
Passive fire protection systems
are installed on or around the
elements to be protected and provide localised pro-
tection generally by thermal insulation. Active and
passive systems complement each other to provide
holistic fire protection measures in buildings.
Typical passive (built in) systems include fire
resistant boards, mineral fibre, cementitious
sprayed systems and intumescent coatings.
The Construction Markets Annual Survey (Corus
Construction and Industrial, 2003) showed that
intumescent coatings at that time held over 40% of
the multi-storey market and that of this, two-thirds
was applied on site and one-third off site (in shop).
The Steel Construction Institute (SCI) publication
P160 provides design guidance on the use of off-
site applied thin film intumescent coatings for
structural steelwork in buildings. Guidance on
intumescent coatings, both in general and for com-
mercially available systems, is also available in the
Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP)
publication `Fire Protection for Structural Steel in
Buildings', otherwise known as the `Yellow Book'.
The current publication provides guidance in
the specification and use of intumescent coatings
applied on site and deals specifically with hot
rolled structural sections and hot rolled structural
hollow sections designed for use in buildings. A
new section 6 dealing with beams with web
openings was introduced in 2007.
However, to assist further, a new up-to-date
Technical Guidance Document (TGD 0011) has
been produced by the ASFP that considers the
entire process of fire protection using intumescent
coatings. Its prime objective, however, is to estab-
lish procedures for the specification, application
and control of intumescent coatings on site.
The ASFP had previously produced several
Technical Guidance Documents (No's 3, 6 and 7)
dealing with various aspects of intumescent
installation. But now, all of these documents
have been withdrawn in favour of the recently
introduced TGD 0011.
Not only will the procedures discussed ensure
that the required level of fire protection is provided
for the structure, but they should provide the evi-
dence necessary to satisfy the `responsible person'
that the installation has been correctly carried out.
The new Code of Practice provides sections on:
Factors affecting system performance
Correct specification
Design life, 1st maintenance and repair
procedures
Surface preparation and application procedures
Control of site application procedures
Standards of cosmetic finish that may be
available
Inspection criteria and thickness measurements.
Recommended records and reports
Site quality and inspection checklist
Contract validation checklist
Most importantly, the Code of Practice also
provides differentiation between the guidance on
compliance with new EU Environmental Regula-
tions that are intended to reduce the amount of
organic solvents emitted to the atmosphere via the
European Solvent Emissions Directive 1999/13/EC
for off-site applications and that applicable to
on-site application via the Paints Directive
2004/42/EC, which has been implemented in UK
law as `VOC's in Paints, Varnishes and Vehicle
Refinishing Products Regulations 2005.
Copies of TGD 0011 can be downloaded
from the ASFP website at www.asfp.org.uk or
can be obtained from the ASFP, Tournai Hall,
Evelyn Woods Road, Aldershot GU11 2LL.
Tel: 01252 357832. Fax: 01252 357831. Email:
info@asfp.org.uk IFP
INTERNATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION 59
NEW PROCEDURES FOR THE INSTALLATION OF ON-SITE INTUMESCENT COATINGS
FIRE RESISTANT COATINGS
or the installation
scent coatings

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72Page 73Page 74Page 75Page 76Page 77Page 78Page 79Page 80Page 81Page 82Page 83Page 84Page 85Page 86Page 87Page 88Page 89Page 90Page 91Page 92 Produced by PageSuite