BS 476-22:1987 – Glazed Elements

Once you’ve booked a test, you can expect to receive a Test Date Booking Form – securing the booking date and agreeing the timeline for delivery and installation.

Closer to the time, we’ll ask you to complete a Customer Test Details Form, to confirm the exact details of the test. At this point we’ll also ask you to submit a full technical specification and CAD drawings in .dwg format.

Delivery of the doorsest will be suitably ahead of the test date. A member of our technical team will comprehensively document the materials and methods of construction of the doorset and its component parts, independently verifying it against the supplied specification.

Our in-house build team will prepare an associated wall construction within one of our furnace restraint frames, with openings for the doorsets to be installed into.

The doorset can be installed by the test sponsor or by one of our in-house installers. A member of our technical team will document the installation process, recording details and measurements as necessary.

The test takes place within or without a test construction, mechanically mounted to a restraint frame and hung on the front of a 3m high x 3m wide vertical furnace – representing a compartment wall in practice.

The test is carried out to the Standard temperature-time heating curve ISO 834, also known as the Cellulosic curve and to the pressure conditions as described in BS 476-20:1987.

Common durations for this test methodology are 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 120 minutes, 180 minutes and 240 minutes – each including a nominal overrun period (not required by the standard but included).

Where a specimen is designed with more than 50% of its surface area consisting of glazing, there is one method within BS 476-22:1987 applicable to glazed elements:

• Determination of the fire resistance of glazed elements.

The glazed elements are evaluated by the ability to contain a fire to specified criteria for collapse, freedom from holes, cracks and fissures and sustained flaming on the unexposed face in the total number of elapsed minutes.

Insulation will be evaluated in the total number of elapsed minutes.

Radiation/irradiance will be measured and reported against the total number of elapsed minutes.

• Same-day confirmation of test results by email and/or phone.
• On request, a link to the video of the test and any required intermediate reporting of test observations and data.
• A comprehensive Test Report. This is a multi-page document detailing the test results, test data and a breakdown of the assembled components including photos and drawings.
• There is no “Test Certificate” available, this is a misnomer. Testing and Certification are separate processes.
• The Test Report may be used by a third party for product assessment, there is no automatic extension of scope available within this test standard.

• The construction of the test specimen should represent the element in practice.
• Symmetry, and direction of fire exposure. Is the construction symmetrical through its thickness? If not, it may need to be tested from each direction.
• Amendments to Approved Document B (Fire Safety) will remove national classes using the BS476 series of standards as a method of demonstrating compliance, coming into force in September 2029. Contact us if you would like to discuss the effects of these amendments.