DIN4102 Flammability Class B1 Vertical Shaft Furnace at Technische Universität Braunschweig, iBMB, Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

Sample Holder for DIN4102 Flammability Class B1 Vertical Shaft Furnace

750°C Furnace to test A1 and A2 Class Combustibility as per DIN4102 Part 1 at TU Braunschweig

Flammable liquid warning sign

Flammability is the ease with which a substance will ignite, causing fire or combustion. Fire is the heat and light energy released during a Chemical reaction, in particular a combustion reaction. Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of Exothermic chemical reactions between a Fuel and an Oxidant accompanied by the production of The degree of difficulty required to cause the combustion of a substance is subject to quantification through fire testing. A fire test is a means of determining whether or not Fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a Building code or other applicable legislation Internationally, a variety of test protocols exist to quantify flammability. The ratings achieved are used in building codes, insurance requirements, fire codes and other regulations governing the use of building materials as well as the storage and handling of highly flammable substances inside and outside of structures and in surface and air transportation. A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as Buildings and Nonbuilding For instance, changing an occupancy by altering the flammability of the contents requires the owner of a building to apply for a building permit to make sure that the overall fire protection design basis of the facility can take the change into account. Occupancy is a defined Legal term in Building Construction and Building codes It refers to the use or intended use of a building or part thereof In Architecture, Construction, Engineering and real estate development the word building may refer to one of the following Any man-made Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of Fires ref>NFPA Fire Protection Handbook pg

Testing

A fire test can be conducted to determine the degree of flammability. A fire test is a means of determining whether or not Fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a Building code or other applicable legislation Test standards used to make this determination include, but are not limited to the following:

• Underwriters Laboratories UL 94 Flammability Testing
• International Electrotechnical Commission IEC 60707, 60695-11-10 and 60695-11-20
• International Organization for StandardizationISO 9772 and 9773. Underwriters Laboratories Inc (UL is a US non-profit privately owned and operated Product safety testing and certification organization The International Electrotechnical Commission ( IEC) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental international Standards organization that prepares and publishes
• National Fire Protection Association NFPA 287 Standard Test Methods for Measurement of Flammability of Materials in Cleanrooms Using a Fire Propagation Apparatus (FPA)
• NFPA 701: Standard Methods of Fire Tests for Flame Propagation of Textiles and Films

Categorisation of building materials

DIN4102 A1 noncombustible rockwool	DIN4102 A2 gypsum fireproofing plaster leavened with polystyrene beads	DIN 4102 B1 (difficult to ignite/often self-extinguishing) Silicone caulking used as a component in firestopping piping penetration	DIN 4102 B2: Timber, normal combustibility
DIN 4102 B3: Polyurethane foam (easy to ignite = lots of hydrocarbon bonds usually)

Materials can be tested for the degree of flammability and combustibility in accordance with DIN 4102. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA is a US organization (albeit with some international members charged with creating and maintaining minimum standards and requirements Gypsum is a very soft Mineral composed of Calcium sulfate dihydrate with the Chemical formula Ca[[sulfur S]] O 4·2 "Fireproof" redirects here For the album see Fireproof (album. The term plaster can refer to plaster of Paris Lime plaster, or Cement plaster. Polystyrene ˌpɒliˈstaɪriːn ( IUPAC Polyphenylethene is an aromatic Polymer made from the aromatic Monomer Styrene Silicones are largely inert compounds with a wide variety of forms and uses A firestop is a Passive fire protection System of various components used to seal openings and joints in fire-resistance rated wall For other uses see Pipe. Within Industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey Fluids ( Liquids and A penetration, in Firestopping is an opening, such as one created by the use of a cast-in-place sleeve, in a wall or floor assembly required to have a In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. DIN 4102, as well as its British cousin BS476 include for testing of passive fire protection systems, as well as some if its constituent materials. Passive fire protection (PFP is an integral component of the three components of structural Fire protection and fire safety in a Building. System (from Latin systēma, in turn from Greek systēma is a set of interacting or interdependent Entities, real or abstract The following are the categories in order of degree of combustibility as well as flammability:

• A1 (100% noncombustible = nichtbrennbar)
• A2 (~98% noncombustible = nichtbrennbar)
• B1 difficult to ignite (schwer entflammbar) Example: intumescents and some high end silicones
• B2 normal combustibility (like wood)
• B3 easily ignited (leichtentflammbar)

Important Characteristics

Flash point

Flash points below 100 °F (38 °C) are regulated in the United States by OSHA as potential workplace hazards. An intumescent is a substance which swells as a result of Heat exposure thus increasing in Volume, and decreasing in Density. Silicones are largely inert compounds with a wide variety of forms and uses Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs The flash point of a flammable liquid is the lowest Temperature at which it can form an ignitable mixture in air Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736 a German Physicist who proposed it in 1724 The Celsius Temperature scale was previously known as the centigrade scale. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA is an agency of the United States Department of Labor.

Vapour pressure

• The vapour pressure is an important parameter in determining the ease of ignition. Vapor pressure (also known as equilibrium vapor pressure or saturation vapor pressure) is the Pressure of a Vapor in equilibrium The higher the vapour pressure, the more flammable vapour is evolved from a free liquid surface at a given temperature.

Examples of flammable liquids

Flammable liquids include, but are not limited to:

• Gasoline
• Ethanol
• Acetone
• Diesel
• Alcohol

Examples of nonflammable liquids

• Water
• Sodium silicate

Codes

Building codes

Building codes typically apply to new construction, whereas fire codes apply to existing structures. Generally a flammable liquid means a liquid which may catch Fire easily Acetone (also known as propanone, dimethyl ketone, 2-propanone, propan-2-one and β-ketopropane) is a colorless mobile flammable Diesel or Diesel fuel (ˈdiːzəl in general is any Fuel used in Diesel engines The most common is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum In Chemistry, an alcohol is any Organic compound in which a Hydroxyl group ( - O[[hydrogen H]]) is bound to a Carbon Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. E550 redirects here For the Italian locomotive see FS Class E550 Sodium silicate, also known as water glass or liquid glass, available Early Building codes saw materials as either combustible or noncombustible. A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as Buildings and Nonbuilding The typical combustibility tests are rather harsh, usually exposing a sample to a fire test and then quantifying the loss of mass afterwards. A fire test is a means of determining whether or not Fire protection products meet minimum performance criteria as set out in a Building code or other applicable legislation Mass is a fundamental concept in Physics, roughly corresponding to the Intuitive idea of how much Matter there is in an object Materials that pass those tests include concrete, stone, steel, etc. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 Over time, more building materials became available that had combustible constituents. It therefore became necessary to quantify the degree of combustibility, which roughly tracks the percentage of covalently bound, or organic ingredients by percentage, as a general rule of thumb. There are exceptions, of course, due to the use of fire retardant ingredients, whose purpose is to reduce the flammability of the end product. With the advent of materials of "limited combustibility", codes are continuing to be refined in terms of what degree of combustibility to allow in which occupancy. Occupancy is a defined Legal term in Building Construction and Building codes It refers to the use or intended use of a building or part thereof For example, in Ontario, the Ontario Building Code differentiates between "Part 9" (of the OBC) buildings, which are combustible, such as timber frame single family homes, and "Part 3" (of the OBC) noncombustible buildings. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec But even within these categories, degrees of combustibility are noted for certain applications. For instance, one may use foamed plastics, even in a Part 3 building, but only if sufficiently concealed with noncombustible elements. Drywall is an example of a limited combustibility product, as the paper burns, whereas the gypsum calcines in a fire. For the musical group "Drywall" see Drywall (musical project Drywall is a common manufactured Building material Fire is the heat and light energy released during a Chemical reaction, in particular a combustion reaction. Certain types of plastic pipe are permissible even in some Part 3 buildings, for instance CPVC piping for use in fire sprinkler applications, provided the building is not too tall and firestops are correctly employed. A fire sprinkler is the part of a Fire sprinkler system that discharges water when the effects of a fire have been detected such as when a predetermined temperature has A firestop is a Passive fire protection System of various components used to seal openings and joints in fire-resistance rated wall ABS piping, on the other hand, is not ordinarily allowed in Part 3 buildings because of its flammability. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS, ( Chemical formula (C8H8· C4H6·C3H3Nn is ABS catches on fire and spreads fire very quickly, whereas plastics with lower flammability do not pose as large a problem. With the presence of significant quantities of flammable substances, special provisions are employed to ensure that if a fire should occur, it is less likely to get out of control. An example of this is if a transformer, which contains flammable liquids, is often located in a fire compartment with a three hour fire-resistance rating, whereas many other walls and floors in the same building can have lesser ratings, such as 2 hours and 1 hour. A transformer is a device that transfers Electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled Electrical conductors In structures such as land-based Buildings traffic Tunnels Ships aerospace vehicles, or Submarines compartmentalization is the fundamental A fire-resistance rating typically means the duration for which a Passive fire protection System can withstand a standard fire resistance test.

Fire codes

For existing buildings, fire codes focus on maintaining the occupancies as originally intended. Occupancy is a defined Legal term in Building Construction and Building codes It refers to the use or intended use of a building or part thereof In other words, if a portion of a building were designed as an apartment, one could not suddenly load it with flammable liquids and turn it into a gas storage facility, because the fire load and smoke development in that one apartment would be so immense as to overtax the active fire protection as well as the passive fire protection means for the building. Active fire protection (AFP is an integral part of Fire protection. Passive fire protection (PFP is an integral component of the three components of structural Fire protection and fire safety in a Building. The handling and use of flammable substances inside a building is subject to the local fire code, which is ordinarily enforced by the local fire prevention officer.

Linguistics: Flammable vs. inflammable

The word "inflammable" came from Latin inflammāre = "to set fire to", where the prefix in- means "in" as in "inside" (compare English "in flames"). But there have been instances of people thinking that this "in-" prefix means "not" as in "invisible" and "incombustible" etc, and thus wrongly thinking that "inflammable" means "cannot burn". To avoid this safety hazard, the shortened word "flammable" has come into use in recent years. Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the Safety, Health and welfare of people engaged in

The Elements of Style ("Strunk and White") says:

Flammable. The Elements of Style ( Strunk & White) is an American English Writing Style guide. An oddity, chiefly useful in saving lives. The common word meaning "combustible" is inflammable. For an Authority Having Jurisdiction, combustibility is defined by the local code But some people are thrown off by the in- and think inflammable means "not combustible. " For this reason, trucks carrying gasoline or explosives are now marked FLAMMABLE.

See also

• Fire test
• Fire protection
• Active fire protection
• Passive fire protection
• Flammable liquids
• Lower flammable limit
• Upper flammable limit

External links

• Videos showing flammability of cables based on jacket rating
• Fire Performance of Ageing Cable Compounds, NFPA Treatise by Dr. Perry Marteny