Pilkington Pyrostop® glasses produced in 1981 have been tested by an independent body to verify their fire resistance in a fire test furnace in Gelsenkirchen. The results have shown an extraordinary durability.
“To provide some answers to frequently asked questions about the sustainability of fire-resistant products, it is appropriate to rely on practical experiments, above all for glasses,” said a company spokesperson.
“For important safety reasons it is essential that the features of resistance to fire declared, are guaranteed for all the time in which they remain in the construction and the building is used. Considering the high number of completed buildings, the safety evaluation, and the fire resistance of the older buildings, it becomes even more important in the case of restructuring and related risk analysis.”
The numerous quality controls, regulations, the fire resistance tests, however, leave open many questions on aspects related to the durability of the products. To give a definitive answer to these questions, it is appropriate to audit those products which for a long time, 2-3 decades, perform their function without being replaced.
The continuous high quality of Pilkington Pyrostop® glass is guaranteed by tests on production, by periodic verification of resistance to fire and by a series of optical controls on the production samples.
In addition, Pilkington researchers have always wondered what could be the performance of fire-resistant glass windows already installed, that for the past twenty years and more must protect people and objects from the danger of fire.
Pilkington has tested in the company’s test furnace the glass fire-resistant installed in a fireproof EI 30 closing 31 years old, achieving positive results.
An independent body has submited two Pilkington Pyrostop® glasses coming from the plant of Gelsenkirchen to a fire safety test according to the rules, at the DMT Laboratory in Lathen.
The sizes of the glasses, placed in a wooden frame dating back to 1981, are 925 mm x 1405 mm and 900 mm x 1,405 mm , the 15 mm thickness , as well as the composition of the layers, correspond to the current product Pilkington Pyrostop® 30-10, the basic version of glazing with fire resistance class EI 30.
These samples passed the fire resistance test without any problem, which largely exceeds the 30-minutes minimum time resistance with the following results: 48 minutes with regard to the integrity (E), 46 minutes for the insulation (I) and 48 minutes for the irradiance (W), which correspond to a full classification EI 45 (details on the tests are shown in the DMT – 61-013 DO – DMT report).
Excellent results regarding the safety of fire-resistant glazing EI 30, older than 33 years. In this case we can speak with certainty of durable glasses!
The conclusion is certainly that fire-resistant glazing and systems which employ Pilkington Pyrostop® fulfil their original function even after 2-3 decades, ensuring in case of fire integrity and insulation of buildings, respecting the existing EN national and international standards. To get this sort of performance the glass needs to be installed correctly, subjected to regular maintenance (in case of removable components) and not damaged.