Fire resistance evaluation of a steel roller shutter with water-film cooling system

• To investigate the fire resistance of a steel roller shutter with water-film system.
• The large-scale door/wall refractory tests are conducted.
• A good fire resistance rating can be achieved by the proposed water-film system.

The full-scale fire evaluations with a large-scale door/wall refractory furnace are conducted to investigate the fire-protection performance of a non-heat-resistant fireproof steel roller shutter with a water-film cooling system. There are two methods in the water-film design, one is formed on “unexposed surface” and another is formed on “exposed surface” of the shutter slat. The main findings indicate that the water-film system combined with the steel roller shutter can effectively improve the heat resistance and the temperature of the shutter slat surface can be controlled to around 100 °C. While the water film formed on “unexposed surface” of the shutter slat cannot control the temperature inside the roller box, it is not suitable for actual applications because of the amount of splash and steam generated. In contrast, compared with the former one, the water film formed on “exposed surface” of the shutter slat with two rows of perforated pipes in the roller box can decrease lots of drawbacks. It not only fulfills to resist the intensive radiation in a fire but also extends the heat-resistance period beyond 120 min. Furthermore, no matter which side of the roller shutter is exposed to fire, a good fire resistance rating can be achieved by the proposed water-film system in this study.