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Passive Structural Fire Protection
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Interact Fire Solutions specialises in offering relevant product innovation for passive fire protection and structural fire protection to the construction industry, including iconic buildings and tall buildings.
Fire Bolt Caps—A Solution to a Sticky Problem
10-11-08
It could be argued that the problem of connections between structures is not very clear when it comes to fire protection. Does the British Standard fire test only apply to a full length of beam without any connections to columns? What happens to the connection and how is it tested? It appears that there is no specific British Standard for fire testing connections. So what is the solution? Do we treat the bolts and nuts in the same way as the rest of the steel beam or column i.e. thin film intumescent paint the connections? Is it fair to say this is the current thinking and could it be argued quite a reasonable policy? Except; we blast and prime the steel generally to SA 21/2. Do we blast and prime the nuts and bolts? The bolts may be galvanised. We degrease steel sections which have been galvanised then we acid etch and prime them. Do we degrease, acid etch and prime the galvanised bolts? I don’t know. But we should. After all, the connections, nut and bolts, are all part of the same structure.
It’s all down to adhesion, stick-ability. If a surface, about to take a primary coating, is not prepared correctly the material may not stick to it. This is no different for steel about to take intumescent paint—it relies on the primer underneath to be fully bonded with the steel, to the nuts and bolts which may be coated. Unfortunately, there is often mill oil on top of the natural or galvanised bolt/nut. It is quite clear then that the adhesion of an application of fire protection is not going to be as good or last as long as a surface that has been prepared correctly.
For those who do prepare the surfaces correctly, the cost of doing so is all too evident when the man hours on site are counted for this operation.
What’s required is a solution that does not depend on the preparation of the nut and bolt. What’s required is a simple clip-on device that has been tested to perform as required in a fire for up to 2 hours. Interact Fire Solutions’ Fire Bolt Cap has been tested and shown in some cases to out-perform the equivalent intumescent coating to the connections. The bolt cap can be put on with a simple knock on the head of the cap. For security reasons they are very difficult to remove without evidence. They take about 5 seconds each to install. They do not rely on any correct preparation to the bolt or nut. So long as the dimensions of the connection meet the British Standard for the bolts and nuts, then the Fire Bolt Cap will be fit for purpose at a cost effective and competitive price.
Interact has successfully secured the distribution rights to market and sell this very effective fire protection and in doing so has worked very closely with the manufacturer to provide a very cost effective solution.
More Information on Fire Bolt Caps
