Drywall thermal properties exposed to high temperatures and fire condition

Abstract

Drywall is a widespread fire barrier used in house and general building construction. Drywall partitions and ceiling membranes are possibly the most common fire resistant construction approach employed in an extensive range of building types. The utilization of drywall board as prime fire protection of light-flame wood or steel construction is ubiquitous. Drywall board based systems are among those now broadly used, as walls or ceilings and it is principally employed as lining material in light-weight construction, which is a competent and cost effective technique of providing flexible partitioning assemblies in commercial and residential buildings. The thickness of the drywall board lining and the configuration of the framing can be flexibly changed to meet specified fire performance requirements. The use of such systems is increasing every day and there demands to be more research on their properties and behaviour. This paper will presents the properties of drywall board which will includes the assemblies and standard fire tests and the thermal properties of drywall in general and includes suggested properties of drywall by different researchers. Drywall boards shrink and crack at high temperatures, and this leads to collapse of parts of the drywall boards in fire. Fall-off of gypsum in fire affects the fire resistance of the assembly considerably, and cannot be overlooked when evaluating the fire resistance of drywall assemblies. © 2013 Penerbit UTM Press. All rights reserved.