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Fire Performance of Wood

These ASTM standards involve testing the strength and durability of flame-retardant woods.

ASTM D2898-10(2017)

Standard Practice for Accelerated Weathering of Fire-Retardant-Treated Wood for Fire Testing

1.1 This practice addresses the durability of a fire-retardant treatment of wood products by exposure to accelerated cycles of wetting, drying, or ultraviolet (UV) exposure, or combination thereof, prior to evaluation by a fire response test. Four conditioning methods are described. 1.2 This practice is applicable to wood products that have been treated with fire-retardant chemicals by pressure impregnation. 1.3 The test specimens are to be in the form of, or suitable for fabrication into, test specimens, such as those described in Test Methods E84 , E108 , and E1354 and other standard test methods for evaluating the fire performance of fire-retardant-treated wood products. 1.4 The text of these methods references notes and footnotes that provide explanatory material. These notes and footnotes (excluding those in tables and figures) shall not be considered as requirements of these test methods. 1.5 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard. 1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

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ASTM D3201/D3201M-20

Standard Test Method for Hygroscopic Properties of Fire-Retardant Wood and Wood-Based Products

1.1 This test method prescribes the procedure for determining the hygroscopicity of fire retardant treated wood products by determining the moisture content of fire-retardant-treated wood and wood-based product specimens after exposure to a test condition of 92 2 % relative humidity at 81 4 F [27 2 C]. 1.2 The text of this test method references notes and footnotes which provide explanatory material. These notes and footnotes (excluding those in tables and figures) shall not be considered as requirements of this test method. 1.3 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are not necessarily exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems has the potential to result in non-conformance with the standard. 1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

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ASTM D5516-18

Standard Test Method for Evaluating the Flexural Properties of Fire-Retardant Treated Softwood Plywood Exposed to Elevated Temperatures

1.1 This test method is designed to determine the effect of exposure to high temperatures and humidities on the flexure properties of fire-retardant treated softwood plywood. In this test method, plywood is exposed to a temperature of 77 C (170 F). 1.2 The purpose of the test method is to compare the flexural properties of fire-retardant treated plywood relative to untreated plywood. The results of tests conducted in accordance with this test method provide a reference point for estimating strength temperature relationships. This test method is intended to provide an accelerated test at elevated temperatures and controlled humidities of plywood sheathing treated with the same chemical formulation(s) and processing conditions as plywood used commercially. 1.3 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to inch-pound units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard. 1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.5 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

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ASTM D5664-17

Standard Test Method for Evaluating the Effects of Fire-Retardant Treatments and Elevated Temperatures on Strength Properties of Fire-Retardant Treated Lumber

1.1 This test method covers procedures for obtaining data to assess the initial adjustments to allowable design stresses for lumber treated with candidate commercial fire-retardant (FR) formulations and further procedures for obtaining data to assess the effect of extended exposure to elevated temperature of 66 2 C (150 4 F). 1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.3 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

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ASTM D6305-21

Standard Practice for Calculating Bending Strength Design Adjustment Factors for Fire-Retardant-Treated Plywood Roof Sheathing

1.1 This practice covers procedures for calculating adjustment factors that account for the effects of fire-retardant treatment on bending strength of plywood roof sheathing. The adjustment factors calculated in accordance with this practice are to be applied to design values for untreated plywood in order to determine design values for fire-retardant-treated plywood used as sheathing in roof systems. The methods establish the effect of treatment based upon matched bending strength testing of materials with and without treatment after exposure at elevated temperatures. Note 1: This analysis focuses on the relative performance of treated and untreated materials tested after equilibrating to ambient conditions following a controlled exposure to specified conditions of high temperature and humidity. Elevated temperature, moisture, load duration, and other factors typically accounted for in the design of untreated plywood must also be considered in the design of fire-retardant-treated plywood roof sheathing, but are outside the scope of the treatment adjustments developed under this practice. 1.2 It is assumed that the procedures will be used for fire-retardant-treated plywood installed using appropriate construction practices recommended by the fire retardant chemical manufacturers, which include avoiding exposure to precipitation, direct wetting, or regular condensation. 1.3 This practice uses thermal load profiles reflective of exposures encountered in normal service conditions in a wide variety of continental United States climates. The heat gains, solar loads, roof slopes, ventilation rates, and other parameters used in this practice were chosen to reflect common sloped roof designs. This practice is applicable to roofs of 3 in 12 or steeper slopes, to roofs designed with vent areas and vent locations conforming to national standards of practice, and to designs in which the bottom side of the sheathing is exposed to ventilation air. These conditions may not apply to significantly different designs and therefore this practice may not apply to such designs. 1.4 Information and a brief discussion supporting the provisions of this practice are in the Commentary in the appendix. A large, more detailed, separate Commentary is also available from ASTM. 2 1.5 The methodology in this practice is not meant to account for all reported instances of fire-retardant plywood undergoing premature heat degradation. 1.6 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard. 1.7 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.8 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

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ASTM D6841-21

Standard Practice for Calculating Design Value Treatment Adjustment Factors for Fire-Retardant-Treated Lumber

1.1 This practice covers procedures for calculating adjustment factors that account for the effects of fire-retardant treatment on design properties of lumber. The adjustment factors calculated in accordance with this practice are to be applied to design values for untreated lumber in order to determine design values for fire-retardant-treated lumber used at ambient temperatures [service temperatures up to 100 °F (38 °C)] and as framing in roof systems. Note 1: This analysis focuses on the relative performance of treated and untreated materials tested after equilibrating to ambient conditions following a controlled exposure to specified conditions of high temperature and humidity. Elevated temperature, moisture, load duration, and other factors typically accounted for in the design of untreated lumber must also be considered in the design of fire-retardant-treated lumber, but are outside the scope of the treatment adjustments developed under this practice. 1.2 These adjustment factors for the design properties in bending, tension parallel to grain, compression parallel to grain, horizontal shear, and modulus of elasticity are based on the results of strength tests of matched treated and untreated small clear wood specimens after conditioning at nominal room temperatures [72 °F (22 °C)] and of other similar specimens after exposure at 150 °F (66 °C). The test data are developed in accordance with Test Method D5664 . Guidelines are provided for establishing adjustment factors for the property of compression perpendicular to grain and for connection design values. 1.3 Treatment adjustment factors for roof framing applications are based on thermal load profiles for normal wood roof construction used in a variety of climates as defined by weather tapes of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE). 2 The solar loads, moisture conditions, ventilation rates, and other parameters used in the computer model were selected to represent typical sloped roof designs. The thermal loads in this practice are applicable to roof slopes of 3 in 12 or steeper, to roofs designed with vent areas and vent locations conforming to national standards of practice and to designs in which the bottom side of the roof sheathing is exposed to ventilation air. For designs that do not have one or more of these base-line features, the applicability of this practice needs to be documented by the user. 1.4 The procedures of this practice parallel those given in Practice D6305 . General references and commentary in Practice D6305 are also applicable to this practice. 1.5 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The SI units listed in parentheses are provided for information only and are not considered standard. 1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.7 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.

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ASTM E69-15

Standard Test Method for Combustible Properties of Treated Wood by the Fire-Tube Apparatus

1.1 This test method covers fire-tube test procedures for fire tests for combustible properties of wood treated to reduce flammability. This test method relates to properties of treated wood, as such, rather than to the performance of a fabrication used as an element of construction. Performance under this test method shall be as prescribed in requirements applicable to materials intended for specific uses. 1.2 This test method is a fire-test-response standard. 1.3 The SI values given in parentheses are provided for information purposes only. 1.4 This standard is used to measure and describe the response of materials, products, or assemblies to heat and flame under controlled conditions, but does not by itself incorporate all factors required for fire hazard or fire risk assessment of the materials, products, or assemblies under actual fire conditions. 1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. 1.6 Fire testing is inherently hazardous. Adequate safeguards for personnel and property shall be employed in conducting these tests.

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