Codes Ch 10

This is the principal test used to determine the flame spread and smoke development ratings in the classification of interior finishes applied to walls, ceilings, and other structural elements, such as columns. This test is particularly appropriate for typical building materials and for thicker materials.

Steiner Tunnel Test

This test is used to rate interior finishes such as carpet, resilient flooring, and hardwood floor assemblies, as well as wall base. Originally developed to simulate the type of fire that develops in corridors and exit ways, the test measures the floor's tendency to spread the fire. The test determines the minimum energy required to sustain flame on a floor covering.

Radiant Panel Test

All carpets and certain rugs manufactured for sale in the US have been required to meet federal flammability standards. This test uses a methenamine tablet (or pill) to ignite the sample during the test. This pill replicates a small ignition source such as a slow-burning cigarette or a glowing ember from a fireplace

Pill Test

This test is generally required for vertical treatments such as curtains, draperies, window shades, large wall hangings or tapestries, and plastic films used for decorative purposes. Any vertical finish that is exposed to air on both sides is considered a vertical treatment.

Vertical Flame Test

Initially used to test textile and non-textile wall and ceiling finishes, now it also required to test the use of expanded vinyl on walls and ceilings, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) as an interior finish, and site-fabricated stretch systems when used as a wall or interior ceiling finish. The test determines how an interior finish material will add to fire growth (including heat and smoke) and if harmful combustion products like gases are created.

Room Corner Test

This test is also known as the cigarette ignition test. It is a nonflame test that uses an actual smoldering cigarette as the ignition source to see how product will smolder before either flaming or extinguishing. The test places a lit cigarette on a sample then covering it with a layer of sheeting material. This test is required by the LSC and the fire codes.

Smolder Resistance Test

This test applies to finishes and furnishing. These tests measure the amount of toxicity a material emits when it is burned. The testing covers a wide range of materials in addition to finishes and furniture. Included are wall, ceiling, and floor finishes, furniture upholstery, and mattresses and bed pads, as well as electrical wire and conduit, mechanical ductwork, thermal insulation and plumbing pipes.

Toxicity Test

There are two basic types of this type of test: fulls-scale tests and small-scale tests. A full-scale test can use an actual piece of furniture or a large mock-up of that piece of furniture, whereas a small-scale test uses smaller mock-ups that consist of multiple arts or components of a piece of furniture. The aim of the test is to eliminate the flashover that occurs in the second phase of the fire.

Upholstered Seating Test