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Epoxy Intumescent—A Brief History
Epoxy intumescent for harsh environments
Epoxy intumescents were originally developed to withstand the rigours of some of the harshest environments in the world—North Sea oil rigs. Experiencing temperatures as low as -50ºC whilst constantly being buffeted by highly saline and abrasive sea water, the fire protection had to be exceptionally tough even before it started work. In considering the nature of the material processed on oil rigs, the BS476 fire curve shown below distinguishes between the extremely rapid heating jet and explosive hydrocarbon fire and the less intense cellulosic types of fire.
To protect against the forces manifested in a hydrocarbon fire found on oil rigs,the epoxy intumescent had to incorporate a structural mesh and subsurface tie wire. This system has been in use and almost exclusive to the offshore industry for the last twenty years—it is the cost of these reinforcements which has prohibited its move into the domestic and commercial onshore market.
Calmer Climates
Recent research has shown that epoxy intumescent without the reinforcing mesh and tie wire will still protect structural steel against the less intense cellulosic fires found away from hydrocarbon rich environments.
Interact Fire Solutions have capitalised on this breakthrough, developing our revolutionary system which has halved the cost of manufacture and greatly reduced the cost and time of installation.
We have also explored the versatility of the material, investing in product and process development to hugely reduce the cost of our materials to the installers. Simultaneously, we have value engineered the product to facilitate installation, further reducing costs and improving quality assurance.
