Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

The note examines the use of different types of polymeric materials in the construction of buildings, for structural as well as non-structural purposes, and indicates increasing applications in the future in most areas. After a brief look at general fire behaviour the use of various standard fire tests is considered and the characteristics of a range of materials under a selected 'reaction to fire' headings are tabulated. The behaviour of polymeric materials under natural fire conditions has been of concern and various 'full scale' studies have been carried out which are sumrnarized at the end of the note.