RR950 - Preliminary fire testing of composite offshore pedestrian gratings
Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP) gratings can offer a number of attractive advantages over traditional steel gratings such as enhanced environmental resistance, reduced through life costs and the promise of significant mass savings. However, this preliminary study has demonstrated that the current fire certification of FRP gratings by a standardised (ASTM E119 cellulosic fire) time-temperature curve is not representative of the temperature profile of a hydrocarbon pool fire.
Experimental data suggests that FRP gratings exposed to a hydrocarbon pool fire can pass the fire integrity certification standard to L2 but be structurally impaired such that they are not fit for pedestrian use.
This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.
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