Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4920833 | Fire Safety Journal | 2017 | 11 Pages |
Abstract
Double glazing is increasingly employed in glass curtain walls, but very little is known about its thermal response under fire conditions. In this work, a total of twenty seven 600Â ÃÂ 600Â mm2 double glazing units, with 6Â mm, 9Â mm and 12Â mm air spacings, were tested. Three different installation types were adopted: 1) exposed frames, 2) horizontal-hidden frames and 3) vertical-hidden glass in order to study their potential effects on the glazing breakage behavior. A 500Â ÃÂ 500Â mm2n-heptane pool fire was used to heat the glass panes. The breaking time, surface temperature, total heat flux, heat release rate, and crack and fallout morphology were measured and analyzed. The test result suggests that different installation types have a significant effect on the fracture behavior of double glazing, especially for glass panes located at the fire side. Glass in exposed framing is more prone to cracks than those in semi-exposed frame, but fallout may more easily occur in semi framing façades. When no, or very limited fallout occurs at the fire side pane, thicker air space leads to a longer breakage time of ambient glass panes, thus improving the unit's integrity during fire. The experimental results obtained in this study is valuable for the development of practical guidelines for fire safety design.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Engineering
Civil and Structural Engineering
Authors
Yu Wang, Qingsong Wang, Yanfei Su, Jinhua Sun, Linghui He, K.M. Liew,