Thermomass Achieves 4-hour Fire Resistance Rating

Thermomass, the leading manufacturer of building insulation systems for the concrete industry, is proud to announce the successful completion of the ASTM E-119 fire test.

The fire test was conducted on a sandwich wall panel consisting of a 2-inch exterior wythe of concrete, 2-inch insulation core, and a 5-inch interior wythe of concrete. The interior wythe was loaded to 4,000 pounds per foot gravity load and exposed to fire for a duration of 4-hours, with temperatures reaching 2,000° F.

According to Darryl Dixon, director of technical services at Thermomass, "During the 4-hour test, the temperature on the exterior wythe of concrete increased by only 130° F, which is only 50 percent of the allowed temperature increase per ASTM E-119."

The successful 4-hour mark is the first and only ASTM E-119 test on an integrally insulated sandwich wall using an energy efficient FRP wythe connector. Venkatesh Seshappa, PE, SE, director of engineering at Thermomass noted, "The ASTM E-119 test expands on the ICC-ESR on our MC/MS Series connectors, and provides an unprecedented level of testing achievements for the concrete sandwich wall panel industry."