Numerical studies of gypsum plasterboard panels under standard fire conditions

Gypsum plasterboards are commonly used as a fire safety material in the building industry. Many research studies have been undertaken to investigate the thermal behaviour of plasterboards under standard fire conditions. However, there are many discrepancies in relation to the basic thermal properties of plasterboards while simple equations are not available to predict the ambient surface time–temperature profiles of gypsum plasterboard panels that can be used in simulating the behaviour and strength of steel studs or joists in load bearing LSF wall and floor systems. In this research, suitable thermal properties of plasterboards were proposed based on a series of tests and available results from past research. Finite element models of gypsum plasterboard panels were then developed to simulate their thermal behaviour under standard fire conditions. The accuracy of the proposed thermal properties and the finite element models was validated by comparing the numerical results with available fire test results of plasterboard panels. This paper presents the details of the finite element models of plasterboard panels, the thermal analysis results from finite element analyses under standard fire conditions and their comparisons with experimental results.

► Finite element models were developed to investigate the thermal performance of gypsum plasterboard panels. ► Suitable thermal properties of gypsum plasterboards were proposed based on tests and review. ► Accuracy of the proposed thermal properties and the numerical models was validated using fire test results. ► Finite element models simulated the thermal behaviour under standard and realistic design fire conditions. ► Developed simple equations to predict the ambient surface time–temperature profiles of gypsum plasterboard panels.