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Performance
At ArcelorMittal Europe, we have advanced knowledge regarding fire safety as we have developed a unique R&D team dedicated to fire engineering and solutions development in order to propose high performance products and solutions:
- Our organic coated Granite® is classified A1 Euro class - the best possible level, meaning non-combustible.
- Our composite floor product range such as Cofrastra® and innovative combined sections and composite flooring system CoSFB are R120 fire resistant without any additional fire protection.
We are continuously innovating new products and solutions and our expertise in fire engineering design concepts also enables architects and engineers to optimise building safety with competitive solutions, as demonstrated in multi-storey car parks in most European countries.
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ApplicationFire safety
Fire safety is one of the key requirements for construction. Each building has to ensure the safety of its occupants in case of a fire. This means it must enable quick and easy detection and escape, but also strongly limit fire spreading.
Useful information
MoreFire Resistance & Fire Reaction
In terms of fire safety, it is necessary to make a distinction between:
- Fire resistance (length of time for which the construction application limits spread in spite of the action of the fire)
- Fire reaction (how the material behaves and brings fuel to the fire and the development of the fire)
Fire resistance indicates the amount of time during a fire a construction application (flooring, facade, structure, etc.) conserves its properties:
- R classification: The construction application conserves its load-bearing capacities during the indicated time.
- RE classification (formerly FP, Fireproof): In addition to R classification, the tested element must be resistant to flames and inflammable gases. The element prevents, for the indicated time, the spread of combustion gases and smoke on the non-affected compartments.
- REI classification (formerly FS, Fire stop): In addition to RE classification, this classification limits the rise in temperature of the surface not exposed to the fire (thermal insulation) to 140°C (on average) and 180°C (maximum). The element prevents heat spreading from the non-affected side for the length of time indicated.
Fire reaction indicates the way the material behaves as a combustible:
- Combustibility corresponds to the quantity of heat emitted by complete combustion of the material (reference to calorific power), and inflammability corresponds to the quantity of more or less inflammable gases emitted by the material under the action of a heat source.
- Construction materials and products are classified under “Euro classes" (classification recognised in all European Union member countries).
- The classification system (Euro classes) now takes two other criteria into account: smoke given off (S for smoke) plus potential projected burning droplets (D for drop or droplets).
Solutions by
PerformanceRelated news and technical articles
New SiCA lecture: Practical ways of achieving fire resistance of steel structures
12 October 2023The mechanical properties of all common building materials decrease with a high elevation of temperature. Steel structural elements should possess appropriate fire resistance to resist the risk of partial or total collapse, flame penetration, or excessive temperature rise on the unexposed faces.In our latest SiCA: Steel in Construction Academy lecture, the inherent fire resistance of unprotected steelwork is introduced and the influence of a variety of insulating systems - of partial member exposure and of composite action - is discussed.
Website newsIntroducing the new TitanThermic™ hot finished tube solution
26 July 2022ArcelorMittal Tubular Products is proud to present its newly named TitanThermic™ small welded tube product. This product is the best in the hollow sections family, being manufactured with a hot process that provides the superior quality and optimal safety needed for demanding applications.
Product newsWinners of 2021 Pritzker Prize blend sustainability with space
30 March 2021On 16 March, French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal became the newest laureates of the prestigious Pritzker Prize - the highest distinction in the world of architecture. Known for their private and social housing, public space, and institutional building design, Lacaton and Vassal meld sustainability with respect for pre-existing structures.
Industry news
New SiCA lecture: Practical ways of achieving fire resistance of steel structures
The mechanical properties of all common building materials decrease with a high elevation of temperature. Steel structural elements should possess appropriate fire resistance to resist the risk of partial or total collapse, flame penetration, or excessive temperature rise on the unexposed faces.
In our latest SiCA: Steel in Construction Academy lecture, the inherent fire resistance of unprotected steelwork is introduced and the influence of a variety of insulating systems - of partial member exposure and of composite action - is discussed.
SiCA: Steel in Construction Academy
SiCA is a self-learning online platform for those in, or joining, the construction industry focussed on the use of steel as the material of choice for construction applications and required performances.
Sustainable and circular construction, composite construction, steel performances, construction physics, applied stability, steel grades and qualities, and mechanical properties are just some of the topics covered in SiCA.
New lectures are being added regularly, and we will keep you updated!
Text:
Constructalia
Images:
ArcelorMittal
Related link(s)
Introducing the new TitanThermic™ hot finished tube solution
ArcelorMittal Tubular Products is proud to present its newly named TitanThermic™ small welded tube product. This product is the best in the hollow sections family, being manufactured with a hot process that provides the superior quality and optimal safety needed for demanding applications.
Text:
ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Images and video:
ArcelorMittal Tubular Products
Related link(s)
Winners of 2021 Pritzker Prize blend sustainability with space
On 16 March, French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal became the newest laureates of the prestigious Pritzker Prize - the highest distinction in the world of architecture. Known for their private and social housing, public space, and institutional building design, Lacaton and Vassal meld sustainability with respect for pre-existing structures.
Sustainable designs that favour expanding space
Lacaton and Vassal, from the eponymous agency they founded in 1987, are known for their architecture that infuses humanism with sustainable and affordable designs that favour the expansion of space. They also received the Sustainable Architecture Prize in 2018. Their most notable works include: 14 houses for the Cité Manifeste in Mulhouse (2005), the Bordeaux University Management Sciences Centre (2008), the rehabilitation of the Bois-le-Prêtre Tower in Paris with ArcelorMittal metallic coated steel (2010), the transformation of 530 housing units - buildings G, H, I - in the Grand Parc district of Bordeaux (2017; with Frédéric Druot and Christophe Hutin), and a residential and office building in Chêne-Bourg, Switzerland (2020).
Their work is grounded in an intention to respond to ecological and social imperativeness, especially in the sphere of urban housing. “They accomplish this through a powerful sense of space and materials that creates architecture as strong in its forms as in its convictions, as transparent in its aesthetic as in its ethics.” (Pritzker press release)
Lightness and simplicity
With the use of winter gardens and balconies, the architects economically expand living space, conserving energy and bringing the outdoors in. “Our job is to solve constraints and problems and find spaces that can create uses, emotions, and feelings” explains Jean-Philippe Vassal. “At the end of this process and all of these efforts, there must be lightness and simplicity, when everything that came before was so complex." (Pritzker press release)
Discover how Lacatan and Vassal, along with Frédéric Druot, brought this breathability to the constrained space of the Bois-le-Prêtre Tower through renovation in our case study.
Text:
Constructalia
Images:
Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal photo courtesy of Laurent Chalet
ArcelorMittal