07-05-2020, 10:15 AM
11
Re: Another tower block fire!!
Originally Posted by Donkeyman
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It was not mentioned in that particular article Todgy!But if you look at the description of aluminium composite cladding
you then come up with its constituents
And your statement that flammable material should NOT be used
as cladding for habitable dwellings is completely at odds with
the rest of your argument??
I rest my case!!
Donkeyman! 😇😇
Technically if the material is used within design limitations and specs in line with the state of the art prevailing at the time then that's acceptable HOWEVER if the SOA moves on then consideration should be given to retrofitting a material that complies with the new requirements.
When we come to aluminium composite that's a whole fresh kettle of fish because aluminium composite can take many forms only some forms being compound material in which a flammable material is part.
For example some ally composite incorporate no plastic components but for building panels be they decorative, insulating, or construction include gypsum as a compressed powder or board, rockwool, all sorts of things are not just fire resistant but fireproof up to the point where the aluminium actually burns!
Interesting subject though. I still get twitchy when sitting in a modern aircraft knowing what it's made of and wishing it wasn't mostly plastic - even the wings. My brain tells me it's just as good as Duralumin but inside I just don't believe it!
07-05-2020, 10:39 AM
12
Re: Another tower block fire!!
More info:https://www.thenational.ae/uae/gover...rate-1.1015709
"Since the building is somewhat old, it was installed with the cladding before it was banned."
Brig Ahmed Al Serkal, head of the forensic laboratory at Sharjah Police, said government officials were meeting to look at how widely the cladding was used and if it could be removed from towers built pre-2017.
"Cladding helps to spread fire from one floor to the other very fast," he said.
He said the cause was being investigated.
The material is a form of aluminium composite panel cladding and was widely used during the UAE's construction boom.
It was a factor in several fires including The Torch and Zen Tower in Dubai Marina, the Address Downtown and the Adriatic building on the Palm Jumeirah. In all four buildings it was replaced during extension renovation.
The cladding, which gives buildings a sleek modern look and was cheap and easy to install, was also used on London's Grenfell Tower, in which 72 people died when a fire gutted the building in June 2017.
Grenfell was built in the early 1970s but fitted with cladding during a renovation in 2015-16 to improve energy efficiency and give it a fresher look.
Aluminium composite panel cladding was prohibited in UAE when the country's Fire and Life Safety Code of Practice was updated in 2016. It was made public in January 2017.
Builders must now use more expensive non-combustible cladding that better halts the spread of flames, but the authorities have not ordered that older buildings be retrofitted.
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