BRITISH STANDARD BS 476-4:1970 | incorporating amendments iseued CONFIRMED March 1978 DECEMBER 2007 (AMD 2483) and September 1983 a WNC ‘ Fire tests on building materials and structures — Part 4: Non-combustibility test for materials NO COPYING WITHOUT BSI PERMISSION EXCEPT AS PERMITTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW |BS 476-4:1970 ee Cooperating Organizations ‘The Fire Standards Committee, under whose supervision this British | Standard was prepared, consists of representatives from the following Government departments and scientific and industrial organizations: Board of Trad Institution of Ci Engineers County Coun Asoiation Inetitation of Fie Engines" Depurtineat of Enpoyment and Prodstvity* —Institation of Manipal Seainers* Pie Extinguisher Prades Assocation Ministry of Housing and Local Goverament® Chief Fine Ofcers Assocation” Ministry of Pblc aiding and Werks Fe Offic Comnitees Ministry of Technol Fire Protction Auooaton™ Ministry of Pshndlony-—Jont Bite Research Greater London Gown ‘Ortanzatn and Fis Ofves Commitee Greater Londan Counel Landon Fite Nasoal Couns of sting Material Dries) Prodacere, Home Offs” Raya Insite o British Areitsta® Industrial Fae Protection Association of Great Britsin ‘The Government departments and scientific and industrial organizations marked with an asterisk in the above list, together with the following, were directly represented on the committee entrusted with the preparation of this British Standard Association of British Roofing elt Inporied Fibre Building Board Federation Manufacturers {eathereioth and Coated Fabrics British Consteuetional Stclwork Assocatibn Manufacturers British Pire Services Assbeation Mastic Aaphalt Employers Federation British Plastics Peeration Miniety of Technology-—Porest Products Britch Rubber Manufacturers Assoeiatim....) Research Laboratory Lad é National Coal Boar British Steel Industry Natioual Bederation of Builing Trades Building Board Manufacturers Assocation of Employers Great Britain a Rubber and Plastics Research Associaton of Confederation of British Industry Great trtain Department of Edveatcn a Science ‘Timbor Research and Development Felt Roofing Contractors Advisory Board Acsciation Fibre Building Board Development United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Organisation Lily ‘Wood Weel Building Slab Mamutfactavere ypaum Plasteiboart Develbpment “Assocation ‘Association | India manufacturers ‘This British Standard, having then approved hy tho Pie Standaris Committee snd tendorsed by the Chairman ofthe Bualding Divisional Coal, wae Published inde the authority of the Bxecutive Board an 26 Janay, 1970 © St 12-1998 BS 476 first published in Amendments issued since publication Become 3 iat sovision, 198 : Pare frst published Amd. No. | Date Comments Samay. 1970 7 2488 March 1978 The follaing BS| references 4390 September | Indicated by a sideline in the margin relate to the work Oa this : andar 1983 Commitee vfereneo FSMN, 7 FSM/L Draft for esnient 67728189 SBN 580 05604 5BS 476-4:1970 © BSI 12-1998 Contents il AR. Page Co-operating organizations Inside front cover General Foreword ii 1 Scope 1 2 Definitions 1 3 Size and number of specimens 1 4 Preparation of specimens 1 5 Conditioning of specimens 1 6 Apparatus 1 7 Test procedure 2 8 Designation of non-combustibility 2 9 Test report 2 Figure 1— General arrangement of non-combustibility apparatus 3 Figure 2— Furnace and specimen thermocouple 4 Figure 3 — Specimen holder 5BS 476-4:1970 ee General foreword In order to keep abreast of progress in the industries concerned, British Standards are subject to periodical review. Suggestions for improvements will be recorded and in due course brought to the notice of the committees charged with the revision of the standards to which they refer. ‘A complete list of British Standards, numbering over 9,000, fully indexed and with a note of the contents of each, will be found in the BSI Catalogue which may be purchased from BSI Sales Department. The Catalogue may be consulted in many public libraries and similar Institutions. ‘This standard makes reference to the following British Standard: BS 4422, Glossary of terms associated with fir. fad 3 BS 476 was first published as a single volume in 1952/4 revision was published in three parts as follows: “ — Part 1:1958: Fire tests on building materials. and structures; — Part 2:1955: Flammability tess for thin flexible materials; — Part 8:1958: External fire exposure roof test. In the present revision the three sections of Part 1, covering tests for combustibility of materials, surface spread of flame on materials and fire resistance of structures, have been preprod as separate parts and given new part numbers. As each of these parts is issued it will supersede the corresponding section of Part 1. Part 2:1955 is boing withdrawn as a result of publication of BS 2782, “Methods of testing plasties®, Part 5, “Miscellaneous methods”, which includes Method 508, “Flammability”. In order to avoid confusion none of the new parts will be numbered 1 or 2:Part 3:1958 is under revision. Additional parts for ignitability and fire propagation tests are in preparation. ‘This in effect means that the standaéd will comprise the following parts: — Part 3: External fore exposure roof tests; —Part 4: Non-combustibility test for materials; — Part 5: Ignitability test for materials; — Part 6: Fire propagation test for materials; —Part 7: Surface spread of flame test for materials; — Part 8: Fire resistance lests for elements of building construction. Other tests being stuslied may result in the issue of further parts. ‘The need for @ glossary covering terms used in BS 476 has been established and this will be published separately as a British Standard glossary of terms and definitions associated with fire. Foreword ‘The present standard replaces the combustibility test specified in BS 476-1.1;1953 and is issued under the authority of the Fire Standards Committee. The test has been revised and renamed in the light of practical experience in the United Kingdom and of joint investigation and discussion in an international context. The name “non-combustibility test” was thought on balance to be more logical than "combustibility test” and in line with the proposals of the International Organization for Standardization (SO). Consideration was given to the possibility of using a bomb calorimeter but it was decided not to recommend a test on this basis. The new test recommends that a continuous recording of the furnace temperature is made and requires “observations as to whether a sample produces a flame. Materials are classified as ‘combustible or non-combustible by identifying those which make little or no thermal contribution to the heat of the furnace and do not produce a flame, and by calling the remainder “combustible”. © BSI 12-1998BS 476-4:1970 SS. ee ___ ‘Three samples are required instead of six as in the earlier test, but the sample size remains practically unchanged. A long steel cone is now attached to the bottom of the testing furnace to act as an air-flow stabilizer, As part of BSI's programme of metrication this standard is expressed in metric terms. ‘The metric values are given in SI units, For further information reference should be made to BS 3763) and PD 5686” A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application. Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations. Summary of pages ‘This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i to iv, ages 1 to 5 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 caver. ys $763, “International System (SP unite / PD 5686, "The ase of SL unite” Eat: x ORSI 12-1998 iiiblankBS 476-4:1970 7 _._.,._ 1 Scope ‘This British Standard specifies a method of test for determining whether building materials are non-combustible within the meaning of the definition, ‘Materials used in the construction and finishing of buildings or structures are classified “non-combustible” or “combustible” according to their behaviour in the “non-combustibility test’. ‘This test is intended for building materials), whether coated or not, but itis not intended to apply to the coating alone. 2 Definitions For the purposes of this British Standard, the definitions given in BS 4422" apply. 3 Size and number of specimens ‘Three specimens shall be prepared, each with the following dimensions: width and breadth height volume 40 mm/*9, mm, 50 £3 mm, 80-04 5-0em’. 4 Preparation of specimens If the thickness of the material is less than the height as specified in Clause 8, each specimen shall be made of a sufficient number of layers to achieve this thickness. These layers shall occupy a horizontal position in the specimen holder and shall be held together firmly, without compression, by means of fine steel wires to prevent air gaps between layers. The density of the specimen shall be representative of the density of the material. For composite materials ofa thickness such that an integral number of layers cannot be put together to give a specimen of the specified size (see Clause 8), the specimen shall be prepared to the required thickness by adjusting the thicknesses of the different components so that their proportions in the specimen ehaill be the same as those in the material. If it is not possible to follow either procedure in the preparation of the specimens, tests shall he performed on the individual component layers of the material and reported accordingly. 5 Conditioning of specimens Before test, the specimens shall be dried in a ventilated oven at 60+5 °C for 24 h and then cooled to ambient temperature in a desiccator containing anhydrous caleium chloride, 6 Apparatus 6.1 General. Before the commencement ofa test it is necessary to ensure that the air stabilizer is internally clean. The apparatus shall not be placed ina partofthe laboratory where it might be exposed to draughts, or to lighting which would make observation of flaming difficult 6.2 Furnace. The apparatus shall be a tubular electric furnace comprising a tube of refractory material of a density between 1500 and 3 200 kg/m®, an intornal diameter of 75 mm, a height of 150 mm and an overall wall thickness between 10 and 13 mm, The furnace shall be located within an insulated surround as shown in Figure 1 ‘To the underside of the furnace shall he attached a cone-shaped air-flow stabilizer, 500 mm long and reducing from 75 mm internal diameter at the top to 9 mm internal diameter at the lower end. The stabilizer cone shall be made of steel sheet, approximately 1 mm thick, and finished smooth on. the inside, particular attention being given to the joint with the furnace, which should be a close, airtight fit and finished smooth internally. At the open top of the furnace a draught shield shall be provided; it shall be made of the same material as the stabilizer cone, with an internal diameter of 75 mm and a height of 50 mm. ‘The electric winding of the furnace shall be so arranged that a vertical zone of at least 60 mm length in the central part of the empty furnace maintains the operating temperature, uniform to within + 10 °C as measured by the thermocouple located 10 mm from the wall (see Figure 2). This uniformity can be achieved either by having closer \windinge at the two ends of the furnace tube or by means of separate windings at the two ends regulated independently of the central section. To minimize temperature fluctuations in the furnace it is necessary to use a voltage stabilizer in the cireuit able to maintain voltage within £05 % of the nominal value. NOTE When the furnace is mounted an a stand with the lower end ofthe air low stabilize near oor level, draughts are ikl to disturb the air ow inthe furnace and lead to temperature Auction. This cam bo overcome by the provision ofthis, ‘consisting of bards 4-8 mm thick, fsed around the stand toa Ineight of appresimately 550 mm from the Moor, Doubts have been expressed about the validity of the test as applied to materials less than 80 kg/m density and further studies are necessary om the subject, "BS 1422, “Glossary of terms associated with fre, Part 1, “The phenomenon of fie” © BSI 12.1998BS 476-4:1970 ee 6.3 Specimen holder and insertion device. The specimen shall be placed in a holder made of nichrome of heat resisting steel wire of 10-1 5 mm. diameter, a fine metal gauze tray of heat resisting steel being placed in the bottom, as shown in Figure 3. The weight of the holder assembly shall not exceed 20 g. This holder shall be suspended from the lower end of an adjustable tube of heat resisting steel, which has an outside diameter of approximately 6 mm and an internal diameter of 2 mm. The specimen insertion device shall consist essentially of a metallie rod moving freely in a vertical tube fitted to the side of the furnace, the heat resisting steel tube with the specimen holder being fixed by means of a space bar to the sliding. rod. This device shall be so designed and operated that the specimen is inserted into the furnace quickly and without any mechanical shock. During the test the specimen holder shall occupy a predetermined position in the furnace, in the middle of the constant temperature zone and equidistant from the walls. 6.4 Temperature measurement. ‘Mineral-insulated stainless-steel-sheathed thermocouples shall be used, having an external diameter of 1.5 mm, with nickel/chromium vy. nickeValuminium thermocouple elements of 0.3 mm nominal diameter. The junction shall be of the insulated type ‘The furnace thermocouple shall be located in its correct position by means of small steel spacers attached to the top and bottom edges of the dravght shield and having 25 mm diameter holes, or temperature observation it is desirable to use a temperature recorder, say of 1 000 deg range, which will give a continuous measurement during the test. F ‘The temperature measuring equipment shall have an accuracy of at least 0-5 %. 7 Test procedure ‘The test shall be carried out in the furnace described in Clause 6, The furnace temperature shall be measured by the thermocouple, positioned so that its hot junction is 10 mm from the wall of the furnace and at mid-height of the specimen. A second thermocouple shall be placed in the centre of the specimen, inserted from the top through a 2 mm, diameter hole drilled, where necessary, for this purpose, This shielded thermocouple shall maintain contact with the material at the bottom. ‘The furnace shall be heated and its temperature stabilized at 750+ 10 °C for a minimum period of 10 min. The specimen shall then be inserted! in the furnace, the whole operation being verformed ih not more than 6 s. A record shall be made for & further 20 min ofthe temperature ofthe tro thormocouples by moans ofa contimuuis reconder; the occurrence and duration of any flaming in the farnaco shall be noted. The stabilized heating current shall be maintained wnehs poriod of the test 8 Designation of non-combustibility ‘The material shall be doomed non-combustible if, during the test, none ofthe tree specimens either 1) causes the temperatuve reading from either of the two thermocouples to rise by 50 degC or more above the initial furnace temperature, or 2) is observed 10 flame continuously for 10 s or ‘more inside the furnace. Otherwise, the material shall be deemed combustible, 9 Test report ‘The test report shall include the following information: 1) Name or identification mar‘ of material. 2) Brief description of material, '3) Density of material 4) Date of receipt of material, 5) Date or dates of test 6) Test results. 7) Designation of material as combustible or non-combustible, according to the test criteria, RSTBSI 12-1998 BS 476-4:1970 120 Specimen insertion device 300 eciinen holder edia Spege Furnace thermocouple Draught shield 50 (steel 1mm) Thermocouple spacers Insulation Refractory tube (O"13 mim wall thickness) Heating coil(s) Oraught shiel Air flow stabilizer Gteel {mm All di jensions in mm. Figure 1 — General arrangement of non-combustibility apparatusBS 476-4:1970 6mm outside dia |. 2mm inside dia heat resisting steel tube Specimen thermocouple 50 }mm to LSmm dia eat resistin: le—steel wire (weight < 20 9) 40 Wire gauze Internal dimensions Ait dimensions in mm Figure 3 — Specimen holder © BST 12-1998 7BSI 889 Chiswick High Road London, Wa 4AL | This BSI — British Standards Institution BS is the independent national body responsible for preparing British Standards, It presents the UK view on standards in Europe and at the intemational leve.Ieis incorporated by Royal Charter. Revisions British Standards are updated by amendment or revision. Users of British Standards should make sure that they possess the latest amendments or editions. Itis the constant aim of BSI to improve the quality of our produtcts and services. 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