Pilkington Pyrodur®
Clear Integrity Fire Barrier - Plus protection against radiant heat.
Pilkington Pyrodur® is an integrity rated glass that provides a barrier against flames, smoke, and hot gases. It is based on the same advanced leading technology as Pilkington Pyrostop® , and its performance is similarly founded on a resilient and tough combination of glass and a special interlayer which starts to foam on seeing temperatures around 120 °C.
This means that Pilkington Pyrodur® offers an additional benefit as a radiant heat shield, a bonus on top of basic integrity fire-resistance.
The foamed interlayer works in effect as an opaque shutter which firstly blocks out most of the radiant heat from the fire and secondly brings down the surface temperature on the non- fire side such that any re-radiated radiant heat is significantly reduced. This effect as a radiant heat shutter works particularly well during the early 15 to 20 minutes of a fire when flames can be spreading quite rapidly. A comparable benefit is not available from the majority of other integrity glasses which do not have such a foamed interlayer.
In this respect, Pilkington Pyrodur® is in line with the new CEN European product classification proposals which have now for the first time introduced radiant heat as a performance category. Pilkington Pyrodur® is also in tune with developing fire engineering risk assessment based techniques.
Undoubtedly, the possibility of radiant heat transmitted from a fire is an important practical concern in a consideration of fire spread, fire damage, and especially people safety. Only relatively low levels of heat intensity are sufficient to put people at risk and to cause ignition of the variety of plastics, natural and synthetic fibres used in modern furnishings. If a radiant heat shield is available of the type provided by Pilkington Pyrodur® then the risks are significantly reduced of persons being injured by direct exposure to radiant heat, or of having escape hindered by melted and flaming fittings from above, or of inflammable materials in proximity to the fire-resistant glazing catching fire.
In this respect, the radiant heat shield provided by Pilkington Pyrodur® during the early stages of a fire could make a significant difference. For even stronger protection over a longer period of time, including all heat transfer processes from the fire, Pilkington Pyrostop® is available as a higher performance option.
In using Pilkington Pyrodur® it is absolutely important that it is only installed as part of a tested and approved system which carries official approval. A number of such systems are now available for choice from systems suppliers who should be contacted for specific details. The responsible building authorities must also be consulted to ensure that the relevant regulations are followed concerning the areas of application for integrity rated materials.