Panel Engineering (PTY) Ltd

Panelman Insulated Panel Passing Large Scale Fire testing.

Panelman Mineral Wool or better known as Rockwool Insulated Metal Panels Pass SANS 10177-2 Large Scale Testing therefore satisfies the South-African Building Code SANS 10400.

For the past 20 years, the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) testing standard has been lending a great level of assurance that tested assemblies could withstand a fire event.

Now, Panelman Mineral wool Panel passing the SANS 10177-2 Standard Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Resistance of Wall Systems Containing Non-Combustible Components can offer even greater assurance of fire protection to specifiers and building owners.

Panelman believes that large-scale fire testing is vital to understand the way a product functions in a fire event.

Testing gives assurance to the design community and to owners that Panelman Panels have been proven to perform in fire conditions modelled similar to their end use.

There are three known Testing facilities: SABS Fire Department, The Firelab and Ignus Fire.

The SANS 10177-2 fire test is constructed as a full-scale, 2.7m x 2.7m wall assembly within a furnace. The test lasts 120 minutes with an increase of heat input over a time temperature curve starting at 0 *C to 1050 *C. A fire source is placed on the inside of the furnace and thermocouples are used to measure temperature on the exposed side as well as the unexposed side.

The heat of the fire not only attempts to ignite and consume the core, but also creates expansive forces in the metal skins that must be constrained. This is the primary challenge to a successful outcome to fire testing with, thin light gauge insulated metal panels.

Advantage of Panelman Panels

It’s important to note that SANS 10177-2 is an assembly test, which means that all components must be tested together to be compliant. Consequently, panel systems offer a great advantage as an all-in-one enclosure system.

With other systems and materials, architects are challenged to combine individual manufacturers’ tests of various components, barriers, insulation, structural steel, sheathing and cladding in an attempt to assemble a compliant system. In many cases, this isn’t possible, and the proposed design requires a project specific test.

Based on the high level of regulation that products must meet for compliance in the South-African market, a high level of confidence is imparted to architects that the Panelman panels they are specifying will perform well under a variety of conditions and events.

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