FPInnovations is involved in a large research project regarding CLT construction. One objective of this research is the creation of a design methodology for calculating the fire-resistance of CLT assemblies/construction. This methodology will foster the design of fire-safe buildings of wood or hybrid construction. In order to establish such calculation methods, a series of experimental tests has been undertaken. A total of eight full-scale CLT fire resistance tests have been conducted at the NRC fire laboratory where the panels were subject to the standard ULC S101 [1] fire exposure. The series consisted of three wall and five floor tests. Each test was unique using panels with a different number of plies and varying thicknesses. Some of the assemblies were protected using CGC Sheetrock® FireCode® Core Type X gypsum board while others were left unprotected.
The panels were instrumented with thermocouples and deflections gauges. Thermocouples were placed in accordance with the standard layout. In addition, thermocouples were placed in between the CLT plies and at mid-depth of each ply at five locations. In tests where the panels were protected, thermocouples were also placed between the layers of gypsum board as well as between the gypsum board and the panels.
Test 1 was a 3-ply floor assembly protected with two layers of ½” Type X gypsum board. A load of 2.7 kPa was applied. The test was terminated at 77 minutes due to equipment concerns from the laboratory staff; therefore structural failure was not reached. The maximum deflection of the floor was 32.1 mm.
Test 2 was a 3-ply wall assembly protected with two layers of ½” Type X gypsum board, which failed structurally due to buckling after 106 minutes when subjected to a load of 333 kN/m. From one data point a charring rate of 0.4 mm/min was calculated. The maximum average deflection of the wall was 47.5 mm. The two layers of gypsum delayed the onset of charring in both the floor and wall tests by approximately 60 minutes.
Test 3 was an unprotected 5-ply floor with an applied load of 11.75 kPa. The floor failed after 96 minutes when flames were observed at one of the joints. The maximum deflection was 129.4 mm.
Test 4 was an unprotected 5-ply wall with an applied load of 333 kN/m. The wall failed after 113 minutes due to structural failure. The assembly popped out of the furnace possibly to a loading eccentricity that developed as the panels charred during the test. The maximum deflection was 47.7 mm.
Test 5 was a 3-ply floor protected with one layer of 5/8” Type X gypsum board. A load of 2.4 kPa was applied. The floor failed after 86 minutes due to flames observed at one of the joints. The maximum deflection was 321.4 mm.
Test 6 was a 5-ply floor protected with one layer of 5/8” Type X gypsum board. A load of 8.1 kPa was applied. The floor failed after 124 minutes due to flames observed at one of the joints. The maximum deflection was 153 mm.
Test 7 was an unprotected 7-ply floor. A load of 14.58 kPa was applied. The floor failed after 178 minutes due to structural failure. The maximum deflection was 170 mm.
Test 8 was a 5-ply wall with 21 mm plies. A load of 72 kN/m was applied. The wall failed after 57 minutes due to structural failure. The maximum deflection was 77 mm.