With the addition of a new test furnace and
dedicated fire test room, Quantum can now
test to the additional following standards:

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ASTM E119; UL 1709; CANULC-S101;

ASTM E1354

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The nationally recognized standard used to conduct tests in

the United States is the American Society for Testing and

Materials Standard for Fire Tests of Building Construction,

also known at the ASTM E119. It is used to generate data to

measure the integrity of building assemblies subjected to

fire exposure.

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Our new furnace accurately follows the required time-temperature

curve of this test which is intended to represent an intense, fully

developed fire within a building. The value of the time-temperature

curve in ASTM E119 is its reproducibility and its relationship to variables such as building contents, materials of construction and ventilation conditions. This standardization enables the building code community to specify a minimum fire-resistant rating for the performance of building assemblies. 

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Some fire conditions have been identified as sufficiently different from those represented by the time-temperature curve in ASTM E119, meriting an additional time-temperature curve such as in the Test Standard UL 1709,  Rapid Rise Fire Tests of Protection Materials for Structural Steel, that specifies fire test-chamber temperatures that rise at a quicker rate than those specified in ASTM E119. The time-temperature curve in UL 1709 represents the conditions associated with burning pools of hydrocarbon fuels. With our new furnace, we can test to the UL 1709 Standard. Over the past 20 years, UL 1709, Rapid Rise Fire Tests of Protection Materials for Structural Steel, has grown in importance across the worldwide petrochemical industry for evaluating the protection of structural steel from the effects of hydrocarbon-based fires, such as those experienced in chemical, oil and gas production and distribution facilities. The standard requirements are applicable in many parts of the world, particularly in those countries that actively reference guidance documents for the petrochemical industry published by the American Petroleum Institute (API). 

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Plus, we can also test according to CANULC-S101 Fire Endurance Test of Building Construction and Materials which is critical for fire-resistance rating acceptance, as it is required by the National Building Code of Canada (NBC).

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The ASTM E1354 Standard for the cone calorimeter sets out to determine the response of materials exposed to controlled levels of radiant heating with or without an ignition source. The cone calorimeter became the premier dynamic research tool based on the principle of oxygen consumption calorimetry. Radiant heat is the major cause of fire spread and the cone measures intensity of the peak rate of heat release (PRHR) and the speed to reach PRHR; the critical factors in predicting the growth rate of fire. Various output data are collected including peak rate and average rate of heat release, total heat released, effective heat of combustion, specific extinction area, exhaust flow rate, mass loss rate and final sample mass, time to sustained ignition, O2, CO, CO2, and toxic gas concentrations, and smoke density as a function of time.

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Our small scale, without load testing is a cost-effective way to determine the fire resistance of assemblies and has greatly enhanced our capacity for research and development of our fire resistant coatings. To further assist our customers in cost-reduction of approvals for code requirements, we will reduce the costs of testing when our coatings are used in test assemblies that are tested in our facility.

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We look forward to assisting you in the near future with your  test requirements according to the above standards. Please contact us for further information and pricing on these tests based on your specific requirements.  

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