Fire-Stopping Product with Pre-Compressed Intumescent Core
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fire-stopping products for ventilated façades take too long to activate and close cavities during a fire, failing to meet the 5-minute requirement set by ASFP Technical Guidance Document TGD19, which allows fires to spread quickly across buildings.
Innovation Solution
A fire-stopping product comprising a resilient, porous material impregnated with an intumescent agent, held in compression by a releasable restraint that yields on exposure to heat, allowing the material to expand and expose the intumescent agent to hot gases quickly, thereby activating faster than previous products.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an EPDM tape compounded with intumescent graphite is used, then the fire-stopping product provides permanent resistance to fire, but the activation time is too long (approximately 6 minutes) to meet the 5-minute requirement
Solution Approach 1:
The fire-stopping product is segmented into two functional components: a resilient porous material that provides immediate expansion and a restraint mechanism that controls activation timing. This segmentation allows the material to expand rapidly when triggered while maintaining stability during normal conditions, resolving the contradiction between fast activation and reliable fire resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient porous material is pre-compressed and held in a compressed state by the restraint before fire exposure. When heat is detected, the restraint releases, allowing the material to immediately expand to its full volume. This preliminary preparation enables the system to achieve both rapid activation (within 5 minutes) and effective fire stopping, as the expansion action is already prepared and only needs to be triggered.
2Reliability
If a high-density intumescent material is used, then the fire-stopping product provides durable fire protection, but the thermal conductivity is poor and activation time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the density parameter of the fire-stopping material from high-density to low-density (resilient porous) form. This parameter change allows the material to expand rapidly when triggered while still providing effective fire protection. The porous structure enables faster thermal response and quicker activation without sacrificing the durability of fire protection, as the intumescent agents are preserved within the porous matrix.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the resilient porous material is held in compression by a restraint, then the material remains stable during normal operation, but the restraint must yield reliably on heat exposure to enable quick expansion
Solution Approach 1:
The restraint mechanism utilizes phase transitions (such as melting or thermal decomposition) in response to heat exposure. This phase transition causes the restraint to lose its compressive holding capability and release the pre-compressed resilient porous material, which then rapidly expands. The phase transition provides a reliable and predictable mechanism for the restraint to yield only under fire conditions, maintaining stability during normal operation while ensuring reliable activation when needed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables the fire-stopping product to activate within 1-2 minutes, effectively blocking the spread of fire across a building façade by ensuring the intumescent agent is rapidly exposed to hot gases, meeting the regulatory time requirement and preventing fire spread.
Implementation Method 1
the resilient, porous material is held in compression by a releasable restraint, wherein the restraint yields on exposure to heat and/or flames
Implementation Method 2
the intumescent agent is very quickly exposed to the hot gases that result from a fire. The result of the initial expansion is that intumescence occurs early on in the event of a fire
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides a fire-stopping product, an insulated building façade comprising a fire-stopping product, and a method of making a fire-stopping product. The fire-stopping product comprises a resilient, porous material at least partially impregnated with an intumescent agent and held in compression by a releasable restraint. When exposed to hot gases from a fire, the restraint yields to release the resilient, porous material in an initial expansion, thereby exposing the intumescent agent to the hot gases and allowing rapid intumescence to occur. When implemented in a ventilated building façade, the fire-stopping product is able to close an air gap in a short amount of time.