Cooperating organizationss

The Fire Standards Committee, under whose direction this British Standard was prepared, consists of representatives from the following:

Aluminium Federation*

Association of Metropolitan Authorities

British Automatic Sprinkler Association

British Fire Protection Systems Association Ltd.

Chartered Institution of Building Services

Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association*

Concrete Society Limited*

Confederation of British Industry

Constructional Steel Research and Development Organization*

Department of the Environment (Building Research Establishment, Institution of Municipal Engineers Fire Research Station)*

Department of the Environment (Construction Industry Directorate)*

Department of the Environment (PSA)*

Department of Trade (Marine Division)*

Engineering Equipment Users' Association*

Fire Extinguishing Trades Association

Fire Insurers' Research and Testing _{Organization (FIRTO)*}

Fire Offices Committee*

Fire Protection Association*

Greater London Council*

Health and Safety Executive*

Home Office*

Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors

Industrial Fire Protection Association of Great Britain

Institution of Civil Engineers

Institution of Fire Engineers*

Institution of Structural Engineers

Ministry of Defence

National Council of Building Materials Producers*

Royal Institute of British Architects*

Scottish Health Services

Trades Union Congress

The organizations marked with an asterisk in the above list, together with the following, were directly represented on the Technical Committee entrusted with the preparation of this British Standard:

This British Standard, having been prepared under the direction of the Fire Standards Committee, was published under the authority of the Board of BSI and comes into effect on 31 August 1982

The following BSI references relate to the work on this standard: Committee reference FSB/1 Draft for comment 79/14300 DC

Asbestos Cement Manufacturers' Association Limited

Association of British Roofing Felt Manufacturers

Association of Building Component Manufacturers Limited

Association of Structural Fire Protection Contractors and Manufacturers

British Fire Services Association

British Floor Covering Manufacturers' Association

British Plastics Federation

British Railways Board

British Rigid Urethane Foam Manufacturers' Association

British Rubber Manufacturers' Association

British Steel Industry

British Wood Preserving Association

British Woodworking Federation

Cement and Concrete Association

Chemical Industries Association

Department of Education and Science

EPS Association

Eurisol (UK) Association of Manufacturers of Mineral Fibre Insulation

Felt Roofing Contractors' Advisory Board

Fibre Building Board Development Organization Ltd.

Flat Glass Manufacturers' Association Gypsum Products Development Association

Mastic Asphalt Council and Employers' Federation

National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Mechanical Services Contractors

National Coal Board

National GRP Cladding Federation

Rubber and Plastics Research Association of Great Britain

The Wood Wool Slab Manufacturers' Association

Timber Research and Development Association

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

United Kingdom Antimony Oxide

Manufacturers' Association

Warrington Research Centre Coopted member

The following BSI references relate to the work on this standard: Committee reference FSB/1 Draft for comment 79/14300 DC

Foreword

This part of BS 476 is published by BSI Standards Limited, under licence from The British Standards Institution.

This standard has been superseded by the current BS EN ISO 1182, but it has been retained based on legitimate need for the standards within non-EU markets.

This Part of this standard, prepared under the direction of the Fire Standards Committee, is the first in a new series of methods for evaluating the different properties of building materials, components and structures under fire conditions, which are to be published within the BS 476 series. Part 10¹⁾ will form an introduction to this new series of methods.

This Part describes the equipment and procedure used for the assessment of heat emission from building materials. Engineering drawings for the apparatus, which is similar to that described in ISO 1182, will be published as PD 6508. In line with other new methods under preparation, this standard specifies the way in which test results are to be recorded but does not attempt to specify acceptance criteria, which depend upon the conditions of use of the material tested.

Fire is a complex phenomenon: its behaviour and its effects depend upon a number of interrelated factors. The behaviour of materials or combinations of materials in a fire depends upon the characteristics of the fire, the method of use of the materials and the environment in which they are exposed. A method such as is described in this standard deals only with a simple representation of a particular aspect of the potential fire situation typified by a defined heat source, and it cannot alone provide any direct guidance on behaviour or safety in fire. This test is not intended to assess the effect of materials on fire growth and for this purpose other fire tests in the BS 476 series are more appropriate, but a test of this type may be used for comparative purposes or to ensure the existence of a designated level of performance considered to have a bearing on fire performance generally. It would be wrong to attach any other meaning to performance in this test.

Attention is drawn to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and the need to ensure that the method described in this standard is carried out under suitable environmental conditions to provide adequate protection to personnel against the risk of fire, inhalation of smoke and/or toxic products of combustion.

CAUTION. The mechanical sawing and drilling of asbestos cement components attracts the provision of the Asbestos Regulations 1969. Adequate methods exist to control levels of dust during such operations and these are detailed in the Control and Safety Guides issued by the Asbestos Research Council²⁾.

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

Summary of pages

This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii, pages 1 to 16, an inside back cover and a back cover.

This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on the inside front cover.

1 Scope

This Part of this British Standard describes a method for assessing the heat emission from building materials when inserted into a furnace at a temperature of 750 °C.

This method is applicable to simple materials or mixtures of materials, either manufactured or naturally occurring, that are reasonably homogeneous and from which it is possible to obtain specimens representative of the material as a whole. It is also applicable to non-homogeneous materials providing that irregularities within the material, such as density gradient, particle size, and/or voids, are not disproportionately large compared with the size of the specimen.

This method is not normally suitable for assessing combinations of materials, such as those that are surface coated, veneered or faced or that contain discrete layers of materials that have been fixed or glued together as laminates. However, providing that sufficiently representative specimens can be produced, the individual discrete materials may be assessed separately [see clause 8f)].

NOTE The titles of the publications referred to in this standard are listed on the inside back cover.

2 Specimen construction and preparation

2.1 Number and size of specimens.

2.2 Preparation of specimens

2.3 Conditioning of specimens.

3 Apparatus

3.1 General

3.2 Furnace, stand and draught shield

3.3 Specimen holder and insertion device

3.4 Thermocouples

4 Ancillary equipment

4.1 Electrical equipment

4.2 Temperature indicator.

4.3 Timing device.

4.4 Balance.

4.5 Observation mirror.

5 Setting up procedure

5.1 Test environment.

5.2 Interconnection of apparatus and ancillary equipment

5.3 Furnace stabilization.

5.4 Furnace calibration

6 Test procedure

6.1 Procedure

6.2 Observations during test

7 Expression of results

7.1 Temperature rises.

7.2 Flaming.

7.3 Density.

7.4 Mass loss.

8 Report

BS 476-11:1982

Fire tests on building materials and structures - Method for assessing the heat emission from building materials

Published:

31 Aug 1982

Withdrawn:

4 Mar 2025