Astm E648
Astm E648
Astm E648
for the
Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
ε1 NOTE—In A2.2.1(1) (b), the value for density was corrected editorially from 1333 kg/m3 to 1442 kg/m3 in January
2020.
FIG. 1 Flooring Radiant Panel Test Showing Carpet Specimen and Gas Fueled Panel
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5.4 The test is applicable to floor-covering system speci- 6.2.3 When the rate of flame front advance is to be
mens that follow or simulate accepted installation practice. measured, a metal scale marked with 10-mm intervals shall be
Tests on the individual elements of a floor system are of limited installed on the back of the platform or on the back wall of the
value and not valid for evaluation of the flooring system. chamber.
5.5 In this procedure, the specimens are subjected to one or 6.2.4 When the extent of flame travel is to be measured after
more specific sets of laboratory test conditions. If different test a prescribed burning period, for example, 15 min, the metal
conditions are substituted or the end-use conditions are scale described in 6.2.3 shall be used.
changed, it is not always possible by or from this test method 6.2.5 The top of the chamber shall have an exhaust stack
to predict changes in the fire-test-response characteristics with interior dimensions of 102 6 3 mm wide by 380 6 3 mm
measured. Therefore, the results are valid only for the fire test deep by 318 6 3 mm high at the opposite end of the chamber
exposure conditions described in this procedure. from the radiant panel.
6.3 Radiant Heat Energy Source:
6. Apparatus 6.3.1 The radiant heat energy source shall be a panel of
6.1 General: porous material mounted in a cast iron or steel frame with a
6.1.1 The test chamber employed for this test shall be radiation surface of 305 by 457 mm. It shall be capable of
located in a draft-protected laboratory. operating at temperatures up to 816°C. The panel fuel system
shall consist of a venturi-type aspirator for mixing gas3 and air
6.2 Test Chamber: at approximately atmospheric pressure, a clean, dry air supply
6.2.1 The test chamber, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, shall consist of an capable of providing 28.3 NTP m3/h at 76 mm of water, and
enclosure 1400 6 10 mm long by 500 6 10 mm deep by 710 suitable instrumentation for monitoring and controlling the
6 10 mm above the test specimen. The sides, ends, and top flow of fuel to the panel.
shall be of 13-mm calcium silicate, 0.74 g/cm3 nominal 6.3.2 The radiant heat energy panel shall be mounted in the
density, insulating material with a thermal conductivity at chamber at an angle of 30 6 5° to the horizontal specimen
177°C of 0.128 W/(m·K). One side shall be provided with an plane. The horizontal distance from the 0 mark on the specimen
approximately 100 by 1100-mm draft-tight fire-resistant glass fixture to the bottom edge (projected) of the radiating surface
window so the entire length of the test specimen is observable of the panel shall be 89 6 3 mm. The panel-to-specimen
from outside the chamber. vertical distance shall be 140 6 3 mm (See Fig. 3).
6.2.2 The bottom of the test chamber shall consist of a
sliding steel platform that has provisions for rigidly securing
the test specimen holder in a fixed and level position. The free, 3
Gas used in this test shall be commercial grade propane having a heating value
or air
2
access, area around the platform shall be 2300 to 3225 of approximately 83.1 MJ/m3 , commercial grade methane having a minimum purity
cm . of 96 %, or natural gas.
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FIG. 4 Flooring Radiant Panel Tester Schematic Low Flux End, Elevation
6.6.4 With the gas flow properly adjusted and the pilot 6.7.1.1 The thermocouple shall be kept clean to ensure
burner in the test position, the pilot flame shall extend from accuracy of readout.
approximately 63.5 mm at either end to approximately 127 mm 6.8 Exhaust System:
at the center. 6.8.1 An exhaust duct with a capacity of 28.3 to 85 NTP
6.6.5 The holes in the pilot burner shall be kept clean. A soft m3/min decoupled from the chamber stack by at least 76 mm
wire brush has been found suitable to remove the surface on all sides and with an effective area of the canopy slightly
contaminants. Nickel-chromium or stainless steel wire with an larger than plane area of the chamber with the specimen
outside diameter of 0.5 mm is suitable for opening the holes. platform in the out position is used to remove combustion
6.7 Thermocouples: products from the chamber.
6.7.1 A 3.2-mm stainless steel sheathed grounded junction 6.8.1.1 Before igniting the panel, but with the exhaust hood
Chromel-Alumel thermocouple shall be located in the flooring operating and the dummy specimen in place, the air flow rate
radiant panel test chamber (see Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). The chamber through the stack shall be 76.2 6 15.2 m/min when measured
thermocouple is located in the longitudinal central vertical with a hot wire anemometer at least 30 s after insertion of the
plane of the chamber 25 mm down from the top and 102 mm probe into the center of the stack opening at a distance of 152
back from inside the exhaust stack. mm down from the top of the stack opening.
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6.8.1.2 The hot wire anemometer shall have an accuracy of 6.10.1 The total heat flux transducer used to determine the
60.1 m/s. flux profile of the chamber in conjunction with the dummy
6.9 Dummy Specimen: specimen shall be of the Schmidt-Boelter4 type, have a range
6.9.1 The dummy specimen that is used in the flux profile from 0 to 1.5 W/cm2 , and shall be calibrated over the operating
determination shall be made of 19-mm inorganic 0.74 g/cm3 flux level range from 0.10 to 1.5 W/cm 2 in accordance with the
nominal density calcium silicate board (see Fig. 5). It shall be procedure outlined in Annex A1. A source of 15 to 25°C
250 mm wide by 1070 mm long with 27-mm diameter holes cooling water shall be provided for this instrument.
centered on and along the centerline at the 100, 200, 300, ... , 6.10.2 The heat flux transducer output shall be measured
900 mm locations, measured from the maximum flux end of with a data acquisition system or a high impedance or
the specimen. To provide proper and consistent seating of the potentiometric voltmeter with a range from 0 to 10 mV and
flux meter in the hole openings, a stainless or galvanized steel reading to 0.01 mV.
bearing plate shall be mounted and firmly secured to the
underside of the calcium silicate board with holes correspond- 6.11 Timing Device:
ing to those previously specified. The bearing plate shall run
the length of the dummy specimen and have a width of 76 mm.
The thickness of the bearing plate shall be varied as necessary 4
The sole source of supply of the apparatus known to the committee at this time
to maintain the flux meter height specified in 10.5 up to 3.2 mm is Medtherm Corp., P.O. Box 412, Huntsville, AL 35804. If you are aware of
maximum. alternative suppliers, please provide this information to ASTM Headquarters. Your
comments will receive careful consideration at a meeting of the responsible
6.10 Heat Flux Transducer: technical committee,1 which you may attend.
6.11.1 A timing device with a minimum resolution of 0.10 8.2 Standard ASTM sampling practice shall be followed
min shall be used to measure preheat, pilot contact, and where applicable; see Practice E122 for choice of sample size
flame-out times. to estimate the average quality of a lot or process.
ANNEXES
(Mandatory Information)
A1.1 Radiation Pyrometer meter. This calibration shall make use of the flooring radiant
A1.1.1 Calibrate the radiation pyrometer by means of a panel tester as the heat source. Measurements shall be made at
conventional blackbody enclosure placed within a furnace and each of the nine dummy specimen positions and the mean
maintained at uniform temperatures of 490, 500, and 510 6 value of these results shall constitute the final calibration.
2°C. The blackbody enclosure shall consist of a closed A1.2.2 Each laboratory shall maintain a dedicated cali-
Chromel metal cylinder with a small sight hole in one end.
brated reference flux meter against which one or more working
Sight the radiation pyrometer upon the opposite end of the
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A2.1 Introduction board for no more than 24 h prior to conditioning. (See 11.1 for
A2.1.1 This annex has been compiled as an aid in selecting storage and conditioning requirements.) Mount the specimen in
a method of mounting various floor covering materials in the testing frame as described in A2.2.1 and test in accordance
fire test chamber. The mounting methods in 9.2 are for test with standard procedure.
NOTE A2.2—In the absence of a manufacturer’s recommendation, apply
method uniformity and convenience and are to guide the user
the adhesive with a 3.2 mm V-notched trowel.
in the evaluation of an appropriate floor-covering system.
A2.2.3 Carpet, Other—Substitution of the actual subfloor
A2.1.2 Tests of carpet/cushion systems involving other than for the fiber-cement board substrate is acceptable.
the standard cushion are only applicable to the specific system
tested. Conversely, for regulatory purposes, the results of tests A2.3 Resilient Flooring
for carpets over the standard cushion are normally applied to
A2.3.1 Follow or simulate, or both, commercial installation
any cushion combination.
practice. This will, in most instances, mean bonding to the
A2.2 Carpet standard fiber-cement substrate.
A2.2.1 Carpet and Cushion Pad over Concrete, Simulated, A2.4 Hardwood Flooring
Cut the carpet specimens in the machine direction. To mount a
A2.4.1 Follow or simulate, or both, commercial installation
specimen, invert the holder on a clean, flat surface. Insert the
practice. In a typical system, the substrate would be a 16-mm
test specimen in the holder. Then insert the cushion pad with
plywood sheet covered with building paper. The oak flooring
the pattern side facing the carpet followed by the standard
strips would be nailed to the plywood then sanded, sealed, and
simulated concrete subfloor and a 13-mm 0.58 g/cm3 inorganic
waxed.
millboard. Finally, place the steel bar clamps across the
assembly and tighten firmly. Mount the test assembly on the A2.5 Laminate Flooring
specimen transport frame so that the pile lay faces the panel.
NOTE A2.1—The standard simulated concrete subfloor at times will A2.5.1 Laminate and Cushion Pad over Concrete,
spall during a test. This will be avoided by heating for 12 h at 163°C. Simulated—The laminate specimens shall be prepared with a
(1) The standard simulated concrete subfloor shall comply longitudinal seam near the centerline of the specimen holder.
with Specification C1288 or C1186, Grade II, and the follow- The manufacturer recommendations for sealing the seams shall
ing additional properties: be followed. The laminate and the proposed cushion shall be
(a) Nominal thickness shall be 1⁄4 in. (6.3 mm). conditioned in accordance with 11.1 for a minimum of 48 h.
(b) Density = 90 6 10 lb/ft3 (1442 6 160 kg/m3). Mount the laminate specimens by inverting the specimen
(c) The board shall be uncoated. holder on a clean, flat surface. Place the test specimens in the
(d) The board shall be suitable for test sample adhesion. specimen holder. Mount the cushion pad recommended by the
A2.2.2 Carpet with or without Integral Cushion Pad manufacturer with the pattern side facing the laminate followed
Bonded to Concrete, Simulated—Cut the carpet specimens in by a nominal 6.3-mm thick fiber-cement board having a
the machine direction. The adhesive shall be that recom- density of 1442 6 160 kg/m3 and meeting the requirements of
mended by the carpet manufacturer.6 Apply the adhesive to the Specification C1186 Grade II and Test Method E136 and a
13-mm 0.58-g/cm3 inorganic millboard. Place the steel bar
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smooth side of the fiber-cement board in accordance with the
directions provided by the adhesive manufacturer (Note A2.2). clamps across assembly and tighten firmly. Mount the test
Apply a nominal 9.1 kg roller, having a diameter of 76 mm and assembly on the specimen transport frame so that the laminate
approximately the width of the specimen, across the top of the décor layer faces the panel.
specimen to ensure good contact with the substrate. Stack the A2.5.2 Laminate with an attached cushion shall be mounted
specimens under a dead load after bonding to the fiber-cement without the addition of a separate cushion.
A2.5.2.1 In the absence of a specified cushion, use a
6
In the absence of the manufacturer’s recommendation, a multipurpose adhesive closed-cell foam pad with a thickness of 1.5 to 2.5 mm and a
typical of commercial installation shall be selected by the laboratory. density of 35 6 5 kg/m3.
(Nonmandatory Information)
X1.1 Introduction fire behavior. Critical radiant flux, the heat flux level below
X1.1.1 The development and behavior of fires in buildings which surface flame spread will not occur, was selected as the
and rooms or compartments are complex phenomena and not floor-covering system fire property of controlling importance.
well understood. As a result, efforts to achieve a basis for safety If a room fire does not impose a radiant flux that exceeds this
requirements must, for the present, be based on the selection critical level on a corridor floor-covering system, flame spread
and use of those components of the fire system that may will not occur.
become involved and be regulated. These together with expe- X1.2.2 Critical radiant flux does not provide information on
rienced engineering rationale must serve until a more valid the irradiance level to which the flooring will be exposed when
technical basis for fire engineering design has been assembled. fires occur. This will be largely influenced by other variables
X1.1.2 When fire develops in a building, experience sug- that include:
gests that the traditional floor systems have seldom served as a X1.2.2.1 Nature, quantity, and arrangement of the fire load
fire-spread medium during early stages of a fire. During several in the compartment where ignition occurs,
fires in the early 1970s, floor-covering materials in corridors X1.2.2.2 Ventilation conditions in the portion of the build-
have become involved over considerable distances. The test ing that becomes exposed to fire,
method described in this standard has been suggested as a X1.2.2.3 Geometry of the compartment and ventilation
means to control potential fire spread in floor covering systems. passages,
X1.2.2.4 Heat release rate of the fire load and the floor-
X1.1.3 Since the quantity and nature of room furnishing covering system, and
items cannot at present be controlled with regard to fire X1.2.2.5 Heat capacity of the enclosing walls, ceiling, and
involvement of the full room, it is necessary to assume that floors.
floor involvement can and will, on occasion, occur. It has
seemed appropriate to recommend application of only floor- X1.3 Experimental Studies of Relevance
covering systems meeting the higher levels of resistance to fire
X1.3.1 One important fire property of floor-covering sys-
involvement based on critical radiant flux for use in corridors.
tems has been identified that, provided effective irradiance
Building codes cover interior finish in general, and it appears
level can be predicted when fire occurs, will provide informa-
that only in corridors do requirements for floor-covering
tion on the extent of fire-spread possibility. The use of this
systems need to be more restrictive than the normal regula-
property alone, at least in some cases, is inadequate for
tions.
prediction of fire spread under severe exposure conditions. For
X1.1.4 This commentary is included to provide information instance, Fig. X1.1 shows a plot of the maximum heat flux to
on the technical relevance of the test method to the problem of the floor surface of the NIST full-scale corridor when no
fires. It is intended to provide both the technical and lay public combustible floor-covering system or other interior finish was
with a basis for interpreting the significance and limitations of present in the corridor. These data were obtained with a fire
the data resulting from use of the test. load in the adjoining room of 2.2 lb/ft2 (10.7 kg/m2) with a
measured burning rate (maximum) of 10.6 lb/min (80 g/s). The
X1.2 Nature of the Test two curves, designated by triangles, show the envelope result-
X1.2.1 Convective heat flow cannot serve as a major ing from two series of experiments (7). The data plotted on the
feedback mechanism in most cases of fires involving floor- same figure as circles represent the critical radiant flux of
covering systems because of the buoyancy of the flames and twelve floor-covering systems versus the extent of flame
hot gases. Thus these horizontal surfaces of building finishes propagation in the corridor as tested in the full-scale tests (8).
have seldom been recognized as primary hazards in the spread In all cases, the heat flux to the floor covering system at the
of flames. However, corridor fire tests conducted at NIST (3, 4) doorway between the room and corridor was higher than the
together with some building fire incidents have indicated that critical radiant flux for the material. Hence, flame spread
fire spread can occur in corridors exposed to burn-out condi- should be expected to take place into the corridor, and this was
tions in adjacent rooms. Fires were observed to propagate the observed.
full length of the corridor when little, if any, combustible other X1.3.2 It is evident that only two of the twelve floor-
than the floor-covering system was involved in the corridor covering systems stopped burning at distances corresponding
finish. Analysis of the measurements made during such tests to their critical radiant flux as shown on the flux-distance curve
has made clear the importance of radiant heat transfer from for the corridor without combustible linings. The reason for
upper corridor surfaces, flame, smoke, and gases in serving a this difference in behavior is apparently that the flux to the floor
fire support role. Thus, the sensitivity of a floor-covering surface has been sufficiently augmented by the heat release
system to radiant support of combustion can be suggested (5, from the flooring itself after rapid flame spread commenced.
6) as a basis of ranking floor-covering systems with respect to This usually followed a period of relatively slow flame spread
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FIG. X1.1 Heat Flux to Floor with Bare Corridor versus Distance Along Corridor and Fire Propagation Distance of Various Floor Sys-
tems versus Critical Radiant Flux (NIST Corridor with Four 18-kg Cribs in Burn Room—Fuel Load 10.7 kg/m2 )
away from the doorway. It also seems likely that changes in X1.3.5 The current version of this test procedure is a result
ventilation of the compartment fire may have modified the of a recent study conducted at NIST (10). The purpose of this
location at which pyrolysis gases are burned, that is, in the work was twofold: to resolve a perceived problem with
corridor above the floor and influenced the flame height of the ignitability of and continued flame propagation across some
floor fire. These effects would greatly increase the radiant flux carpet specimens and to reduce the variability of test results
incident on the floor. To date these effects are not well obtained by different laboratories. As a result, three significant
understood, and no firm guidance can be provided on the way changes were made in the standard: 1) specimen preparation
they should be introduced to predict the overall behavior of and conditioning; 2) tighter control of the air flow through the
such a fire system. chamber during calibration and conduct of the test; and 3)
X1.3.3 Other data are available to illustrate the merit of the replacement of the propane torch pilot burner with a propane
test under less severe exposure. These result from a series of line burner. The ignitability (and flame propagation) question
experiments on crib or furniture item fires in an open door 3.4 appears to have been resolved by the use of the new line
by 2.7-m room of 2.4-m height that had been fitted with burner. The variability of test results among different labora-
floor-covering assemblies of known critical radiant flux char- tories has been shown to be markedly improved by the
acteristics. In these tests the crib or furniture and the floor aforementioned changes in the standard, at least for one carpet
covering assembly were the only combustibles in the room. fabric. Previous proficiency rounds performed by NVLAP
resulted in coefficients of variation ranging from 18 to 35 %;
X1.3.4 The results of this study have been published and the coefficient of variation obtained using the revised standard
Fig. X1.2 shows some of the data developed (9). This shows was less than 12 %. A complete discussion of the research
the extent of fire propagation from the source as a function of conducted by NIST can be found in the referenced report.
critical radiant flux. The four floor-covering systems used were
carpets that qualified as having passed the pill test. The data are
X1.4 Summary
interesting since they show that under the conditions of the
experiments the distance of fire propagation was inversely X1.4.1 It must be recognized that the critical radiant flux
related to critical radiant flux. In addition, while not demon- test method provides a useful way of rank ordering floor-
strated by this figure, the data show that the burning ceased at covering systems with regard to this important fire property.
positions on the floor-covering system somewhat below those However, this is only one of several parameters that determine
at which flux measurement during the test corresponded to the the fire behavior of floor-covering systems. Critical radiant flux
critical radiant flux of the floor-covering system being studied. indicates the threshold above which flame spread will occur. To
Thus, in this situation, which did not involve room flashover, use this property in fire safety estimates one must judge the
critical radiant flux appeared to provide a method of ranking probable heat flux exposure to the floor from the initiating fire.
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the fire spread behavior of the carpets. Such estimates must, for the present, depend on judgment or
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FIG. X1.2 Room Burn Tests—Fire Spread from Crib 6.4-kg Cribs
data from prototype experiments. Once a fire is initiated in a X1.4.2 Thus, establishment of criteria for critical radiant
corridor, other parameters such as critical flux for ignition and flux of floor-covering systems may be expected to reduce, but
rate of flame spread, as well as corridor configuration and the not eliminate, the incidents of extensive flame spread of
presence of combustibles, such as ceiling and wall linings, can floor-covering systems.
be important in determining the ultimate spread of fire.
X2.1 Fig. X2.1 is a photograph of a typical flooring radiant reference only. The appearance of the apparatus currently
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panel test apparatus, circa mid-1970s, and is shown for historic manufactured will differ from the photograph.
REFERENCES
(1) Manual on Quality Control of Materials, ASTM STP 15C, ASTM, Method to Determine the Hazard of Floor Covering Fire Spread in
1951. Building Corridors,” International Symposium Fire Safety of Com-
(2) Mandel, John, “Repeatability and Reproducibility,” Materials Re- bustible Materials, University of Edinburgh, October 1975.
search and Standards, Vol 11, No. 8, p. 8. (7) Quintiere, James, private communication.
(3) Fung, F. C. W., Suchomel, M. R., and Oglesby, P. L., “The NBS (8) Hartzel, L. G., “Development of a Radiant Panel Test for Flooring
Program on Corridor Fires,” Fire Journal, Vol 61, No. 3, 1973, pp. Materials,” National Bureau of Standards, NBSIR 74–495, May 1974.
41–8. (9) Tu, King-Mon, and Davis, Sanford, “Flame Spread of Carpet Systems
(4) Quintiere, James, and Huggett, Clayton, “An Evaluation of Flame Involved in Room Fires,” National Bureau of Standards, NBSIR
Spread Test Methods for Floor Covering Materials,” National Bureau 76-1013, June 1976.
of Standards Special Publication 411, Government Printing Office,
(10) Davis, Sanford, Lawson, J. Randall, and Parker, William J., “Exami-
Washington, DC, November 1974, pp. 59–89.
nation of the Variability of the ASTM E648 Standard with Respect to
(5) Benjamin, I., and Adams, H., “The Flooring Radiant Panel Test and
Carpets,” National Institute of Standards and Technology, NISTIR
Proposed Criteria,” Fire Journal, Vol 70, No. 2, March 1976.
(6) Quintiere, James, “The Application and Interpretation of a Test 89-4191, October 1989.
Committee E05 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue (E648-19)
that may impact the use of this standard.
Committee E05 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue (E648-17a)
that may impact the use of this standard.
(1) Footnote 5 was removed from 9.2.1. (3) A2.2 name was changed.
(2) 9.2.3 was revised. (4) A2.2.1 was revised.
Committee E05 has identified the location of selected changes to this standard since the last issue (E648-17)
that may impact the use of this standard.
(1) Standard was updated to remove outdated language and (2) No technical changes were made with the exception of
bring format into compliance with ASTM Form and Style updating some language referencing old technology to allow
Guide. for more modern systems.
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