Category: Transient Plane Source
Author(s): Dale P. Bentz, Samuel L. Manzello, Seul-Hyun Park, Tensei Mizukami
Keywords: Fire Protection, Fire Safety, Furnace, Gypsum, Gypsum wall assemblies, Linear Contraction, Mass loss, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Specific Heat, Temperature, Thermal Conductivity, Transient Plane Source, Transient plane source (TPS) method
Abstract: Gypsum board is a building material that shrinks and cracks at high temperatures, which compromises the structural integrity of buildings during fires. Researchers in this study set out to determine the behavior of gypsum board when exposed to real fire conditions. A Thermal Constants Analyzer (TPS) measured the thermal conductivity of the gypsum board samples at and above room temperature using the transient plane source (TPS) technique. Results showed that thermal conductivity decreased slightly as the temperature moved from room temperature to approximately 100 °C, and then steadily climbed as temperatures reached above 600 °C. The gypsum board used in Japan had the highest thermal conductivity, and would cause more damage in a fire than the gypsum boards used in the United States.
Reference: Fire and Materials, 34, 5 (2010) 237-250
DOI: 10.1002/fam.1017