Fire Resistance of Structural Composite Lumber Products

Use of structural composite lumber products is increasing. In applications requiring a fire resistance rating, calculation procedures are used to obtain the fire resistance rating of exposed structural wood products. A critical factor in the calculation procedures is char rate for ASTM E 119 fire exposure. In this study, we tested 14 structural composite lumber products to determine char rate when subjected to the fire exposure of the standard fire resistance test. Char rate tests on 10 of the composite lumber products were also conducted in an intermediate-scale horizontal furnace. The National Design Specification/Technical Report 10 design procedure for calculating fire resistance ratings of exposed wood members can be used to predict failure times for members loaded in tension. Thirteen tests were conducted in which composite lumber products were loaded in tension as they were subjected to the standard fire exposure of ASTM E 119. Charring rates, observed failure times in tension tests, and deviations from predicted failure times of the structural composite lumber products were within expected range of results for sawn lumber and glued laminated timbers.

Author: United States Department of Agriculture

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: Feb 14, 2015

Number of Pages: 32 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: 1508445966

ISBN-13: 9781508445968