THE FLOORING RADIANT PANEL TEST

AND PROPOSED CRITERIA

m WIN A. BE NJAMIN and C. HOWARD ADAMS
Center for Fire Research
National Bureau of Standards

Th e F100rin g Problem
"On December 18, 1969, th ere was pub lished in the
Federal Register (34 F.R. 19812 ) a notice of finding
that a Bammability standard was needed for carpets
and rugs to pro tect th e p ublic against unreasonable risk
of the occurrence of Eire lead ing to death , injury, or
significant property damage arising from th e hazards
of rapid flash burni ng or continuous slow burnin g or
smolde ring. ..." This excerp t from the April 10, 1970,
"Notice of Standar d" states the need that led to the
first US natio nal Standard for the Surface Flammability
of Carpets and Rugs, DOC FF 1- 70, the pill test, de-
signed to red uce the probability of carpet ignition. In
Janu ary 1970, and thu s before th is Standard went into
effect, a serious corrido r-type fire in a Marietta , Ohio,
nursing home pointed to the need for a realistic Barno
sp read rest that could be used by the regulatory com-
munity to upgrade the firesafety of Boor-cove rin g sys-
tem s installed in building co rridors and cxitwnys.
Deve lopmcnt Qf Flooring Tests
On e of the early Berne sprea d tests for carpe ts tha t is
still widely used is the UL Steine r Tunnel T est ( AST M
E-S4 ), the test called for in th e stan dards for the Hill-
Burton program for fed erally subsidize d hospital con-
struction. The E-S4 test was considered an interim
measure when the directi ve reg ulating the "Use of car-
peting in ( Hill- Burton fund ed ) hospitals" was issued in
Marcil 1965. For th is reason , HE W in J969 sponsored
the development at Underwriters Laboratories of a test
spec ifically directed at evalua ting Ilooring and floo r-
co vering ma terials. The UL 992 chamber was the prod-
uct of this contract with the Health Serv ices and Men tal
Heal th Administration.
Th e UL 992 chambe r test is conducted with the
speci me n mou nted on the floor, whereas in the E-84
tun nel, the specimen is on the ceiling. Th e chamber
ge nerates an index that has an as-yet und eterm ined
relevan ce to fire hazard. In the test cha mber environ-
ment, the dr aft supplying air to the flame is in the
oppo site direc tion to that observed in full-scale corridor
fires. In recen t month s, under Man Mad e F iber Pro-
du cers Associatio n/ Carpet and Hug Institute ( MMFPA
f e Rl) spo nsorship, a new chambe r has been built at
Underwriters Labo ratories, [DC, in Northbrook, ILlinois.
Thi s new chambe r is patterned after th e NBS Model
Corridor. I
During the 1966--1 974 pe riod , ano ther small-scale
test, the Floori ng Radi ant Panel, was under develop-
ment at the Research and Develo pment Laboratories of
Armstrong Cork Company. Concurre ntly in these yea rs.
full-scale corridor programs designed to ga in a better
understanding of the mechanisms contro lling the
spread of fire a long a carpeted corridor were be ing
carri ed out. The Nationa l Bureau of Standards and the
Illinois Institute of T echno logy's Research Institu te
bu ilt corridor test facilities that simulated a corridor
with a n ad joining fire so urce room. The results of these
test programs shed some impor tant light on the mech a-
nism of corri dor flame spread .
The develop ment of the Flooring Radiant Panel Test
has ben efited from the work on the NBS Model Corri -
dor and the full-scale corrido r projects . Th e test has
bee n proposed as a standard test for floor-coveri ng sys-
tems. It offers these advantages over ASTM E-84, UL
992, and the N as Model Corridor;
L It measures radia nt exposure, which has been
shown to be of great importance in full-sca le corrido r
tests;
2. Th e total flooring system is tested , as used , in the
ho rizonta l plan e;
3. Hep rodu cibility and repeatability are good ;
4. TIle apparatus is simple and compact, and the test
specimen is small;
5. Th e test pr ocedure is simple; an d
6. The test provides a con tinuous scale of Boor-cover-
' Wclls Dt:nycs and James Qu inl icre, E1:perimcn lal tlnd
A'laJlJt ictll Stlld ic& of Floor Cooo rins FlaTllnl6bility willI a Model
Corridn r, NBSIR 73-199 ( May 1973) .

FI RE JOURNAL -MARCH 1976 · 63

ing pe rform ance in the range of O.I to 1.0 watt s/em"
rad iant exposure.
O EVE LOP J\IE NT O F THE FLOO BING
RADI ANT PANE L TEST
History
Th e Floorin g Radian t Pan el Test had its beg innin gs
in the Resea rch a nd Devel opment Laboratories of the
Armstrong Cork Compa ny in 1966. Zabnwsky origi-
nated the design a nd did the prelimina ry test develop-
ment work. At this stage, the E-S4 co ncept of a red oa k
sta nda rd was the basis for reporting results. Oth er ap-
preach es to dat a treatm en t a nd repo rt ing we re under
study at Armstron g in 1970, c.g., I ) rat e of bu rn , a nd
2 ) d istance b urned to extinguish ment of the fla me. The
latter is relat ed to the measur e of hazard tha t is used
toda y, i.e., c ritical radiant flux.
Conceptualiza tion in ea rly [972 of C ritical Radiant
Flux ( w a tt s/c m ~ a t exnn g msh mc nt ) as the measure
of flame spread hazard is cred ited to wor k at NBS by
Dcn ycs- and Q uint ic rc. ' T hey de ter min ed in th e course
of work on a model cor ridor that the rad iant ene rgy
level incident on the floor-cove ring test specime n had
conside rab le inlhn-nce on whe the r flaming combustion
wo uld p ropag ate or terminate. In the model , the radiant
ener gy level was a functi on of the ene rgy input from a
gas d iffusion ignition b urner. Several run s at d ifferen t
ene rgy input levels wer e requ ired to es tablish a Critical
Hadinnt Flux [or a g iven spec imen - the minim um
burne r ene rgy below which flames ceased to propa gat e.
The conce pt of a gove r ning rad iant flux also reflect ed
the ene rgy a pproach to the full-scal e corr ido r test , whi ch
was reported by Fun g, Suchomel , and Oglesby? whe re
it was shown that the energy req uired 10 produ ce "flam e-
over" in the corr ido r was a func tion of the given floor
coverin g.
It was natural to a pply the D cn ycs/ Q uintter e Cri ti-
cal Rad iant F lux concept to the distance bu rned to ex-
t ingu ish ment, and to then stu dy a broad range of floor-
covering syste ms. Th is was the assign me nt given to
Ha rtzell.' then working a t N BS, in mid-1972. H is re-
port " co vering the furthe r develop men t of the Flooring
Hudia nt Panel Test d uring 1972-1973 has bee n, on the
whole, the ba sis for the curre nt develo pm en t program.
• NBS Resear ch Associate, M an Made Ftbcr Prod uce rs Asso-
d " tion.
• Francis C. " ' . Fun g, Miles R. Suchomel, and Ph ilip L.
0 .lllesby, N BS Corridor Fi re Tests; Energy and Had itltion
Models, NBS Tl-,<:hnical Note 794 [ Octobe r 1973 ).
' NBS Hesenrch Associa te, Arm strong C ork Com pany.
• L. G. Hartzell, Dece lopment of a Rad iant Pallet Test for
f"wor ing Materials, NllS IR 74-495 ( May 1974 ) .
64 • FIRE Jo u n NAL - ~ IAR C H 1976
In 1973, one of the auth ors? was assign ed the task of
finali zing the test procedure a nd preparing a draft of
the Flooring Rad iant Panel Test, w hieh would be suit-
able for usc as a sta nda rd technique for measu ring the
c rit ica l radiant flux of floor-covering sys tems. This re-
po rt co vers some of the highlights of this final phase of
the test develop ment.
The Te st Procedure
Th e Dece mbe r J975 draft of the proposed test proce-
dure is entitle d Stmullm l Metllod of T est for C rtncot
Rat/iallt Flux of Floor Cocenng Systems Using (I Ra-
diant Heat Energy Sc e rce.t The reader is referred
ther eto for test speci fics a nd apparatu s deta ils. This
test proced ure is the result of multiple comments and
corrections sugges ted hy the a pproxima tely 20 ind ivid-
uals who a rc c urrently op erating the test appa ratus.
Th e basic cleme nts of the test ha rdware are shown in
Figure I. The ho rizontally mounted 100 em floor-cover-
ing test speci men receives radiant energy fro m a n air-
gas fuele d rad ia nt pan el mounted above the speci me n
a nd incl ined a t an a ngle of 30°. A pilot hume r is use d
to ini tiate the test by ope n-flame ignition of the spec i-
men . T he gas panel genera tes a flux profile along the
len gth of the spec imen ranging from a maximu m of 1.1
waU s/c m ~ to 0. 1 wa tts/ em- minimum.
PRtNCIPAL
ELEMENTS fl U E OUT}
mtll U / i,
INCIDENT : o /'o JUE
RADI ANT
ENERGY _~~ D.3 ~
PROf ILE r c d 1 I I I I I _ ill:
,.
lD O gO aD 10 60 50 4D 3D 20 lD 0
Figure I . The Floori ng Hndia nt Pane l Test .
As the first ste p in ca rry ing out a test, the floor-cover -
ing syste m spec imen is mou nted in the holding fr ame.
Wi th the chambe r preh eat ed to equilibrium cond itions
by the radiant panel, the speci men is moved into t he
test position a nd the cha mber is closed . Follow ing the
• C. Howa rd Adams, NBS Research Associate, Soc iety of th e
Plas rtcs In dustr y.
, Irw in A. Benjamin and C. Ho ward Ada ms, Proposed Cri-
teria for Use of the Crit ical Radiant Fl lIx Te st Method, NBSIH
75---950 ( Dece mber 1975 ) .
two- minut e p reheat , the pilot burner ( ignition) flame
is applied. T he test continue s un til the specimen
flaming goes out ( cxun gutshmcnt ). Th e distance
burned to extinguishment is conve rted to wat ts/ems
from the calib rated flux profile gra ph, and the result is
reported as a crit ical radiant flux, watts/em". This value
is reported as the minimum flux necessary to susta in
flame prop egnuon on the flooring surface.
Iute dabcr ntory Programs
AS T .\I £-5.0,1.08 . A pilot interlaboratory pro gram
unde r the aegis of the ASTJ\, E-5.04.08 Ta sk Croup
Involved NBS and Armstrong Cork Company. Fro m
this test program and previous data develope d by Hnrt-
zell, it was dec ided to standardize on a panel tempera.
ture of 490°C. Alth ough the Armstrong test equi pment
was smaller. exposed specimen length was approxi-
mately 80 centimeters compared to the now-standard
lDO centimeters, yet the rank ing of mat erials was con-
siste nt when the critical radi ant flux levels were within
the range of both the panels. Th e floor coverings in-
elude d in this program were wool, acrylic, and nylon
carpets, plus red oak and vinyl tile.
Phase 1 XBS /Mall Made f iber Prod ucers Associa·
non ( .\I.\1FPA) . The Phase 1 NBS/J\ l \ IFPA inter-
labo rntorv program was the first major study of the
repr oducibility and repeatability of the Flooring Ra-
dia nt Panel Test. In this project, thir teen labo ratories
tested eight carpe t systems - all primarily for residen-
tial usc . The experimental results are given in Table I
and Figure 2. The proced ure used did not specify pre-
heat of the sa mple . During this program, it was con-
fi nn ed that total fluxmeters are the preferred instru-
mcn ts {or the flux profile dc rcrmt naucn. All Bux pro file
instrument ation was field calibrated by NBS to engi-
nce rmg standards.
The statistica l analysis of the data was done by Man-
cit'! at N BS ll~ in g the proposed A ST ~ I E-ll procedure
for interl aboratory cvnluatton studies. This showed the
test to be suita ble {or usc as a sta nda rd . Denning a test
result as the ave rage of three replicat e de termina tions ,

Table I. Phase I. i\ BS/lI IMFI'A/C HI mtcrfnboratory program <lata: no preh eat .

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FIRE Jo v n :>JAL - M AIl CH 1976 . 65

 l! " " , ' m" hospitals, nursing homes, hot els, office bu ildin gs, and
- - ·... - - · . - 1.1r ...... -e-r-r-
in apartment corridors. The Ph ase II p rogram was di-
vtded int o two parts. Part A was a classic I z-lcbo mtory,
l O-carp et systems int erlaboratory factorial design ex-
a,' pcriment with replication at thc three level. Th e test
dat a re pea tabihty and re produ cibility for this set of
01-

OJ
-s
~ ··-. ··
fa brics was comparable to that demonstrated in Phase I.
The dat a arc shown in Table II and Figure 2. The car-
pet syste m selection process was to have picked prod-

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;
-.
-.
.-
cs-
• .~ u u ucts that differed by uniform increments on the flux
profile scale. Th ough this objective was not fully re-
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~- alized. the d istribution of specimens did cover the range

.
0.5

0,'
-
~
-
~
. u
~

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.·
~
;;
•
in reason ab ly good orde r.

Part B of Phase II, Econom ic Im pact Studies. The

· ...
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e ;; purpose of Part B of Ph ase n was to determine the
• • =
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··. ~ ·• < ;
commercial impact on current contract carpet produ cts

0,2 ·, for a given recommended critical flux thresho ld. This is

par t of a Carpet and Rug Inst itu te economic impact
·I
.~

Cll Pl15 ri o. fill IMtlQf MU assessment study. Part B included np p roximutc ly 60

.,- - t- - , - - O
,,''--- - - .....1- _L..-, I .. "
U l _fl ~om I "un l lim
l U llS! 10. EH
Figure 2. Critical rad iant R\I.~ map, comme rcial Roofing
produ ct systems.
the rep eat ab ility ( within laboratory varia bility ) was
ab out 20 percent of the measured valuc .s and the re-
prod ucibility ( among laborat ory variabi lity} was of the
orde r of 35 percent of the measured value."
Th is pro gram po inted up a minor problem in the con-
d uct of the test. T wo laboratories had some t roubl e with
mcon st...tent ignition of speci mens. The diffi cult ies were
resolved by the usc of a propane pencil-flame torch as
the pilot b urner.
Phase II N BSI.' 1.H FPAI Carpet and Rug Institute
( e R!) . T he Phase II ;,\' BS/:\ C\,IF PA/CR I Interlabo ra-
torr program expanded on Phase I. The proced ure
used was modified to pr ovide a two-minute preheat of
the speci men prior to pilot application. The test in-
cluded only ca rpe ts that are sold to what is identifi ed
as th e contract mark et. Carpets in this category arc
used in regulat ed puhlie occupancy build ings, e.g.,
. " RCIJCOl oiJi/ity " is a quantity that will be exceeded onl>'
about 5 percent of the time by the difference, taken in absolute
value, of two randomly selec ted results obtained in the same
laho ratory Oil a J("h cn material. Reference: John " ' ande l, " Re-
p..atabilily and Hcp rodncihihty," .\1olerifJls Reseo rch fJnd StOtltf.
ards, Vol. II, No.8 {August 197 1 J, pp. 8- 16.
• " Re/lTot!u cilJifiIV" is a llu;lO tilr that will be exceeded only
uhou t 5 !>crcenl uf t he time 11)' the differ ence, taken in absolute
value . of two ~indc test resu lts made on the same materi.,l in
two (Iilferent randomly selected laboratories. Reference . sec
Foo tnote B.
carpet systems se lected to be representa tive of the
800+ carpet produ cts that comprise the contract mar-
ket. In this seg ment of the Phase 1I work, each carpet
system was tested onec in each of six labo ratories. The
labo ratory selec tio n process was d one by reference to a
rand om number table.
Figun' 3 shows the d istr ibu t ion of this group of con-
tract ca rpets as a function of C ritical Flux level and
provides some idea of the impact of various levels of
regulati on. The effect of the inclusion of a nomntegrnl
cushion pa d in the system is clearly evide nt in Figu re
4. It may he app ropriate at this point to emphasize that
the Floor ing Hndia nt Panel Test is intend ed to deal
only with co rr ido r an d exit wa y fl oor cove rings.
Other Lab orat ory Program s
In parallel with its participat ion in the int erlabo ra-
tory programs cited, the Ce nte r for Fire Research has
cond ucted coo pe rat ive projects with the Wo ol Bureau .
the Hesilicnt T ile Institute, and several man ufacturers
of floor-covering systems. The pu rpo se of this work was
10 extend \he applicability of the Flooring Radiant
Pan el Test and the knowled ge base to include all com-
mercially significant floor-covering syste ms. Th e da ta
obtained are plott ed on the critical radian t flux map
( see Figu re 2 ).
C IUTIC AL HADIANT FL UX TH RESHOLD CR ITER IA
The rationale und erl ying the selection of recom -
mended critical radiant fl ux thrcshold levels is built on
a combination of fact ors:

66 ' F IRE JO UR NAL -MAHC U 1976

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._,...
• • 11
•. n
_ ' .11

" . .., ,,,, ..1 _ 1' .. . .

• '"" 11 . - , -.. .. _ . _ I . n <......... )
•• 11 •. 11
0. 19 0. "
<•. l •
<•. l •
". l O
•• Il
•••
0."

Tab le 2. Phase 11, Part A, NBS/ MMFI' A/C m inte rlabora tory program dat a ; two-minute preheat.

Figure 3. Phase I I, Part B, NBS /~ I M FPA/ C HI interlaboratory p rogram . Distribution of contract carpel

-
products by crilica i llul ranges.
10 CARPET ALONE

CARPET WITH PAD OR INTEGRAL

• ~ FOAM BACKING

~
~
z 6
c
z

"=
z~

"=z •
2

o
<0.1 0.10·0.19 0.20' 0.29 0.30·0.39 0.40-0.49 0.50' 0.59 0.60·0.69 0.10·0.7'1 0.10'0 .89 0.90·0:99 > 1.0

CRITICAL RADIANT FLUX RANGES, w/cm f.

FIR E jQURNAL - MA RCH 1976 - 67
 eRf, w/ em 2
,J
0.9
0.8
0.1
0.8 -
0.1
0.4
0.2
0.1
Figure 4. Effect of cushion pad on critical radiant flux of con tract ca rpe t products.
L The past reco rd of fires involving Boor coverings,
2. Measurements of corrido r radian t heat flux and
othe r observations from full-scale bum tests,
3. Judgment decisions to reflect occupa ncy character-
istics and occupant levels, and
4. C ritical flux thresho ld levels for commercially used
Iloor-covcnng systems that arc gene rall y conceded to be
of low hazard .
Tho Rccord of Past Fires
In 1973, Robertson reported on a study of fire inci-
dents in which carpets were reported to have been sig-
nifi can tly involved in the spread of flame along a corri-
dor. From 11 total of 142 reports of carpe t-rela ted fire
accide nts, he concluded that there were seven instances
in which the floor-covering material seemed likely to
pass the pill test and yet appeared to have been a factor
in the spread of fire. Sampl es of carpets from thr ee of
these fire cases were obtained from the Flammable
f abrics Accident Case and T esting System ( F FACTS)
file repository and run in the Flooring Rad iant Panel
Tester. Although only enough material was ava ilable to
run one spec imen, exper ience showed that the results
are as shown in Figu re 2. In each instan ce, the data
show that critical radiant flux was very low. Therefore,
from these data we concluded that a floor-covering sys-
rem with a critical radi ant flux of less than 0.1
watts/em>, as determined in the Floori ng Radiant Panel
68 · F I RE JOURNAL- M A HC H 1976
rs:s:s."SI
_
CARPET ONLY
CARPET AND CUSHION PAD
Test, could present a flame spread hazard in a corrido r
or cxitwny. It is of interest to note that floors and
stairs of wood construction arc involved in the initial
spread of fires as frequ ent ly as floor coverings such as
ca rpet and tttle.tv
Full-Scale C or ridor Expe rim en ts
T he full-scale corrido r experi ments are of value for
the ir contribution to a bett er understand ing of the me-
chanisms at work during a fire in this type of space . Th is
resea rch also p rovides some de finition of the environ-
ment that fl oor-covering systems may be exposed to in
a real fi rC' incident. Thus, the N BS and IIT RI rnvesnga-
ttons'? shed light on radian t flux levels incident on the
fl oor-covering system, tempera ture distrib utions in the
corridor, and air velocities. However, the results for
corridor flame spread in the two test programs d iffered
in the occurrence of flashover. The reasons for this lack
of agree ment arc not completely understood, but it is
surmised that in addi tion to corridor configuration , air-
flow patterns, and fuel d iflcronces, certa in key variables
may have been uncont rolled, e.g., moistu re, air tem-
perature, carpet installation techniq ue, ai r velocit y, ce
,. J. Quin ticre and C. Huggett, "An Evaluation of Flame
Spread Test Methods for Floor Covering Material s," NBS Spe-
cial Publication 4 11 - Fire Safcty Research, M. J. Butler and
J. .... . Slater, Ells. ( Nov. 1974 ), pp . 59---IOtI.
af. In a spec ial series of tests, subseq ue nt to the earlier
NBS work already d iscussed , Qu intiere studied the ef-
fect of burn room fire loadings on the corri dor env iron-
ment. The results are presented in Figure 5. 11 This
sho ws incident radiant flux on the corridor floor as a
fun ction of distance from the bum room door. Data for
four levels of fuel loading arc present ed. Th ese data
are speci fic for the co rridor and burn room involved ,
and were obt ain ed in tests with the corridor free of
orga nic comb ustibles, i.c., no carpet , no wall or ce iling
covering, and no furnishin gs. The data in Figure 5 arc
for a given ventilation and geometry and for the case of
no fuel in the corridor. The effect of combustibles in
the corrid or is to raise the total inciden t flux on the
floor. Th us these data have been used as a rough ap -
proximation of the actual conditions, and our choices of
criteria have been tempered accord ingly.
Figure 5 gives an ap proximation of the total heat
flux on the corrido r floor, at various d istances down the
corrido r. for a given fuel load in the fire room, as-
suming noncombustib le 800r, wall, and ceiling lining s.
Assuming a fuel load of 2 psf (9.8 Kg/m" ) in the fire
room an d no contribution from the corridor floor, wall,
or ceiling lining . the criti cal radiant fluxes of 0.25 and
0.50 watts/em> on the floor would be exceeded for d is-
tances down the corrido r of approximately 25 feet
( 7.5 m ) and 10 fect ( 3.0 Ill ), respectivel y.
DISTA NCE FROM DOORlFeet]
1.15
0 a 6 9 12 15 18 21 24

Occup ancies
N

~
~
E
0
1.50
-, ~

fun LO AD , 1001l. lIS.lfT! (11/ _ tJ

~
1.25
Two types of occupancies have been of prime con- ~
. U ta l
cern in consideration of th is typ e of fire ha zard.
c
"'c -
0 1.00
• . 1.1 1H I
.. ,.1 (10.11
0

1. Institl/tional - Hospitals, nursing ho mes, and

~
~
'Y U 113.JI
0
oth er healt h care faci lities where the pati ents are gen- ~

c 0.15
erally non amb ulatory or only partially ambulatory. ~
~
~

~
c~
2. Residential and Comme rcial Hotels, motels, of-
»- ~
0.50
~
fices, and apartmen ts whose occupants art: gene rally c
~
0
amb ulatory. ~
0.25

As ind icated previously, tests performed on the Aoor

coverings known to have contribu ted to buildi ng fires
sho w critical irrndtnnce levels of less than 0.1 watts/ems.
Th is fire hazard level is thus assumed to be too low for
accep table fl ooring usc in corridors and exitways of
resident ial and com merci al occupancies. Field expert-
ence with wood and resilient tile flooring suggests that
such floors are seldom, if ever, major contributors to fire
spread in corridors. 111e critica l rad iant flux of oak floor-
ing has been determ ined as about 0.35 watts/ em>. Th us
the selection of 0.25 wa tts /cm ~ for residential and com-
mercial occupancies seems suffic iently seve re to red uce
substantially the number of Incide nts in which Boor
coverings serve as a prominen t cause of fire spread .
Because of the spec ial problems wit h nonambulatory
pati ents, a higher level of performance seems desirab le
for institutiona l occupancies. A level of 0.5 watts/ em" is
suggested for such ap plicati ons.
" J. Qutn ttere, A CJllJraclcriUl/ion ancl A nalysis of N BS Co r-
ruler fire EXIIC riments in Order to Eva/uate til e Bellavlor anti
Pcriormanc c of Floor Covering M ateria ls, NBSIR 75-69\ (J une
1975 ).
0 2 3 4
• 5 6 7
DISTAN CE FROM DOOR IMetersl
Figure 5. Maximum total incide nt heat flux 10 cemdce floor ( as-
su ming no C:lrpeting and nonco mbustible surfaces in co rrido r).
Application of critical irrndinnce level cri teria of 0.25
and 0.50 watts/cm ~ should significantly red uce th e con-
tributi on of floor-covering materials to fire spread in
corrido rs during developing fires in rooms. They should
not be regarded as insuring agai nst spread when 800r
coverings arc exposed to therm al radiation levels of
high er intens ity.
The above values are sugge sted for usc in corridors
onl y, and not for rooms or compartme nts. For this dis-
cussion, a co rridor is taken to be an enclosed publi e
space linking a room or compartment to an exit. The
values arc suggested for buildings that do not have
automatic extinguishment systems in the corridor.
\ vhcre such systems are present, we suggest tha t the
above criteria arc not necessary .

Fl RE JO URNAL - MARCH 1976 • 69

Perf ormance of Availab le Commercial Floor Cove rings
Using the above crite ria, an evalua tion was mad e of
the critical radi ant Bux performance of Boor-covering
mat er ials in the commercial marketplace, Da ta on prod -
ucts selected by C RI are presented in Figu res 2, 3, and
4. Of particular importan ce ar c the data in Figure 3,
Th e ca rpe ts represent a total of 64 systems selec ted for
this grou p of tests and arc representati ve of the 800+
ca rpe ts currently id entified w ith the contract market -
the institutio nal market.
Abou t 80 per cent of the carpe ts tested a nd two -thir ds
of the exist ing contract market produ ction volu me meet
the 0.25 watts/ em" crite rion. Wo od floorin g a nd all
shee t a nd tile flooring syste ms tested meet the criterion.
At the sugges ted health ca re facility crite rion of 0.5
watts/ em-s, the cho ice of pro du cts is limited to about
the up per 50 percent of the current contract carpet
marke t, including some carpe ts w ith integral foam
backing. Also, vin yl asbes tos tile and most resilien t
viny l flooring mat eri als meet the cr ite rion.
CU RREN T LIF E SAFETY CODE REQ UIR EM ENT S
Redu ced to its basics, the q uestion of the firesafety
of floor cove rings involves:
L Th e case of ignition and fire sprea d in a "f irst-to-
ignite" situa tion, i.e ., under localized incident radia nt
ene rgy flux, and
2. TIle degree to which the floor-cove ring system
prese nts a fire propagation link in a corrido r and/or
exl twny given a fire in an ad joining room.
Th e test method descr ibed in the Standard for tile
Suria ce Flam mab ilit y of Carpet s and Rllgs, DO C FF
1-70 ( the pil l test ) is belie ved to be an appropriate and
valid measure of ignition ease and flame spread hazard
under localized incide nt radiant ene rgy conditions.
Floor coverin gs that pass the pill tes t would be ex-
pected to provide adeq ua te "first-to-ignite" protect ion
in all occupa ncies.
Th e F looring Badi ant Pa nel Test is des igned to deal
with the fire propagation pote ntial of floor-cove ring
systems in corridors and exitways befo re the corr idor
is ot herwi se involved in the fire. The test exposure
spans the range of mod erat ely hig h flux levels from a
10 • FIRE JOURNAL - MAUCH 1976
room fire source, a nd therefore imposes a relatively high
radi ant -e ne rgy load on the sample , together with a
flamin g igniti on input.
The crite ria proposed for institutional occupa ncies
und er Occ upa ncies in this article would also address
the prob lem that has OC'e1l posed by the inte rpreta t ion
of Section 10-1 352 of the 1973 Life Safety Code. Th e
Code mandates the use of the E--84 tun nel test, a nd
sta tes tha t "floor finish mat eri als sha ll be C lass A or
B througho ut all hospi tals, nursing homes and rest-
dcn tial / custod tnl ca re faci lities." We beli eve that an
eq ui valen t level of safety for such occupancies as that
stipu la ted in Sect ion 10-1352 call be achieved by:
I. Limiting the cr itical rad iant flux, as measured
by the C rit ical Rad iant Fl ux Met hod of Test, in the
corrido rs and exitweys, a nd
2. Ha ving all ca rpet ing in the rooms and compart-
ment s meet the requirements of DOC FF 1-70.
This proposed change in requirem ents reflect s a change
in test eva lua tion technology and a ree valu ati on of the
haz a rd of carpeting .
SUMMAlt Y
This discussion cove rs the ba ckg round a nd history
of the F looring Radia nt Panel Test Me thod: from hazard
analysis, to full-scale test , to qualitati ve models, to the
developm ent of the test in its final form . For flooring in
corrido rs and exitways, an a vera ge acceptance criterion
of 0.25 w/cm2 for residential a nd comme rcial cccu-
pancics and an average acceptan ce criterion of 0.5
w/crn" critica l radia nt fl ux for instit utio nal occupa ncies
a re suggeste d. These values ar e derived from experi-
ence w ith floor cove rings above and below these valu es
a nd a nalysis of measur ed flux values in the corr idor
expe rime nts. Th ese avera ge values a re sub ject to test-
ing variance and sho uld not be used without a ra tional
sa mpling plan for testin g. t:...
Th c tcst developmen t aspect of the program has bee n, in
effect, a joint effort with the Boor-covertng system indus try. TIle
Iahora tories of the Mall " l ade Fiber Producer's Association and
the Car pet and Rug Institute membe rs have installed testers and
rl.1 rticipa Ced in the inte rlaboratory pro,l!;rnmS discussed. Th eir
peopl e have contrib uted milch timc and eITort to technical and
procedural issues. \Vithout thi s impo rtant help and motiva tion,
the prog ram cou ld not have met its target da tes.