Performance of a single glazing assembly exposed to enclosure corner fires of increasing severity

Abstract

Abstract The results of 19 experiments in which a single pane glazing assembly was exposed to enclosure corner fires of increasing severity are presented. The glazing assembly was exposed to a two zone fire enclosure environment, with consistency and repeatability within each set of three experiments conducted at each fire severity level, evident from the enclosure gas temperature profiles. The results presented include heat release rates, enclosure and local gas temperatures, heat flux distributions, glass surface temperatures, shaded glass temperatures thermally induced stains, crack bifurcation patterns and loss of integrity of the glazing assembly. The results and observations obtained are presented in the form of a toolkit for the estimation of the occurrence of cracking and failure of single glazing in enclosure fires. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.