ISO 13823 SBI Single Burning Item Tester 

Product Introduce

The SBI Single Burning Item Tester (BS EN 13823:2020) is a state-of-the-art fire testing apparatus designed to evaluate the fire performance of building materials (excluding floorings) under a single burning source, simulating early-stage fire scenarios. Compliant with EN 13501-1, it measures critical parameters like heat release rate (HRR), smoke production rate (SPR), lateral flame spread (LFS), and burning droplets/particles. Suitable for a wide range of products, including wall and ceiling panels, insulation materials (e.g., EPS, XPS, mineral wool), decorative coatings, and composite boards, the SBI tester ensures precise and reliable results for fire safety classification (A2, B, C, D grades). Its advanced design and robust data acquisition system make it an essential tool for manufacturers and testing labs aiming to meet stringent EU fire safety regulations.

Standard

ISO 13823:Reaction to fire tests for building products — Building products excluding floorings exposed to the thermal attack by a single burning item

Content: An international standard developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to evaluate the combustion performance of building products (excluding floor coverings) under the action of a single burning item (SBI). The standard measures the following key parameters by simulating the early stages of a fire (such as a wastebasket fire):

Heat release rate (HRR): includes total heat release (THR) and fire growth rate index (FIGRA).

Smoke production rate (SPR): includes total smoke production (TSP) and smoke growth rate index (SMOGRA).

Lateral flame spread (LFS): whether the flame reaches the edge of the specimen.

Burning drips/particles: whether there are drips that cause secondary combustion

EN 13501-1:2018: Fire classification of construction products and building elements — Part 1: Classification using data from reaction to fire tests

Content: The European Union standard for the classification of fire performance of building products and elements defines the Euroclass system (classes A1, A2, B, C, D, E, F, with smoke production classes s1-s3 and burning dripping classes d0-d2). The SBI test of ISO 13823 (via EN 13823) is the core method for evaluating class A2, B, C, D materials in EN 13501-1.

Range of tested products

BS EN 13823 is applicable to the combustion performance test of the following building products (excluding floor covering materials):

Wall and ceiling materials:

Interior wall panels (such as gypsum boards, fiberboards, wood panels).

Decorative panels (plastic panels, metal composite panels, aluminum-plastic panels).

Sandwich panels, honeycomb panels.

Insulation materials:

Organic insulation materials: polystyrene (EPS), extruded panels (XPS), polyurethane (PUR/PIR).

Inorganic insulation materials: mineral wool, glass wool, rock wool.

Decorative and surface materials:

Coatings (including fire retardant coatings), paints.

Wallpaper, decorative film, veneer materials.

Structural components:

Fiber reinforced cement board, calcium silicon board.

Wood and its composite materials.

Others:

Pipe insulation materials.

Non-flooring parts of curtain wall systems.

Feature

1 The core parts of the whole machine are all imported components: such as oxygen analyzer, carbon dioxide, mass flow meter, etc.

2 The operation interface style and various performances are equivalent to those of the British FTT, and some performances are even better than them.

3 The maintenance is convenient and fast, and the replacement of spare parts in the later stage is at least 50%~70% lower than that of FTT, and there will be no maintenance troubles. The instrument has a long service life and low operating cost.

4 An integrated control cabinet is used.

5 Heptane is used for calibration, and the heat release (THR) value per KG is 456MJ/KG±222.8MJ/KG; after multiple measurements, the flow rate distribution factor Kt,v is very stable. The instrument has good accuracy, high precision, stability and reliability.

6 Equipped with corresponding auxiliary equipment and consumables to ensure the normal operation of the instrument.

7 Provide product printing color samples and detailed description of equipment

Main parameter

1 Instrument composition: including combustion chamber, test equipment (trolley, fixed frame, burner, gas hood, collector and duct), J-type smoke exhaust pipe, smoke collection system, comprehensive measurement system device, data collection and analysis device, gas supply control device (the overall equipment placement space is 6.0m high × 7.0m long × 6.0m wide including the control room space, and the placement space can also be reasonably planned according to the demander's site).

2 One combustion chamber:

2.1 Dimensions of the combustion chamber: length (3.0±0.2)m × width (3.0±0.2)m × height (2.4±0.1)m, the combustion chamber is built with brick walls.

2.2 There are gas hoods and smoke exhaust pipes connected to the sampling pipes on the top of the room. During the test, the heat released by the combustion of the sample and the combustion products must be discharged from the smoke exhaust pipe.

2.3 An opening is set on one side of the combustion chamber to facilitate the movement of the trolley from the adjacent laboratory into the combustion chamber. The size of the opening (frame) is: width 1470mmX height 2450mm. There is space for natural air in and out under the trolley; observation windows are set on the two walls facing the long wing and short wing of the vertical sample plate.

2.4 A closable door is set on one side of the combustion chamber to facilitate the cleaning of the test residue in the room after the test.

2.5 After the trolley is in place in the combustion chamber, the distance between the long wing test surface in contact with the U-shaped slot and the quality inspection of the combustion chamber wall is (2.1±0.1)m, which is the vertical distance between the long wing and the wall facing it. The opening area of ​​the combustion chamber (excluding the air inlet at the bottom of the trolley and the exhaust opening of the gas hood) is 0.05m2, as shown in Figure 4.

3 Fuel: commercial propane gas, purity ≧95%.

4 Test equipment:

4.1 Sample trolley: Two mutually perpendicular sample specimens (long wing is 1.5M wing, short wing is 1.0M sample) are installed on it. There is a sand box burner at the bottom of the vertical angle. The trolley is placed so that the back of the trolley just closes the opening on the combustion chamber wall. In order to make the airflow evenly distributed along the floor of the combustion chamber, a porous plate is installed at the air inlet under the bottom plate of the trolley (its opening area accounts for 40% to 60% of the total area, and the hole diameter is 8mm to 12mm). As shown in Figure 5

Figure 5-1 Physical Image

Figure 5-2 3D image

4.2 Fixed frame: Made of square steel, bar steel and asbestos board, the trolley is pushed into it for testing and supports the gas hood, and the auxiliary burner is fixed on the frame. See Figure 6

Figure 6-1 Framework and Auxiliary Burner

Figure 6-2 3D Engineering Drawing

4.3 Gas hood: Located at the top of the frame, it is a cone-shaped structure with a bottom length and width of 1479 mm. The inner material is USU304 stainless steel and the outer material is galvanized sheet. It is used to collect the gas produced by combustion; see Figure 7

Figure 7-1 Smoke hood (viewed from above during combustion)

Figure 7-1 3D exterior engineering drawing of smoke hood

4.4 Collector: Located at the top of the hood, with a damper plate and a horizontal outlet connected to the exhaust pipe. The outer size is 580mmx580mm square, the inner material is USU304 stainless steel, the outer material is made of galvanized sheet, and the middle is made of heat insulation cotton.

4.5 J-type exhaust pipe: double-layer insulation round pipe with an inner diameter of 315mm±5mm, with 50mm thick high-temperature resistant mineral wool in the middle for insulation, the inner material is USU304 stainless steel, and the outer material is made of galvanized sheet. The following components are provided along the airflow direction:

① The joint connected to the collector is connected by a flange;

② A 500mm long pipe with 3 built-in thermocouples (temperature measurement thermocouples), and the thermocouple installation position is at least 400mm away from the collector;

③ A 1000mm long pipe;

④ Two 90° elbows (the curvature radius of the shaft is 400mm);

⑤ A 1625mm long pipe with a blade guide and a throttling orifice plate. The guide is 50mm away from the end of the elbow and is 630mm long. Immediately after the guide is a throttling orifice plate with a thickness of (2.0±0.5)mm. The inner opening diameter of the throttling orifice plate is 265mm and the outer opening diameter is 314mm;

⑥ The pipe with a length of 2155mm is equipped with a pressure probe, a micro-pressure measuring device (2 units), four thermocouples, a gas sampling probe (2 units) and a white light extinction system. This part is called the "comprehensive measurement area"; see Figure 8

⑦ The pipe with a length of 500mm;

⑧ The joint connected to the smoke exhaust system. See Figure 7

Figure 8-1 Measurement section

Figure 8-2 3D engineering drawing of smoke exhaust duct
Installation positions for thermocouples, pressure probes, gas sampling, and smoke density

4.6 Two identical sandbox burners, one of which is located on the bottom plate of the trolley (main burner) and the other is fixed on the frame column (auxiliary burner). Propane gas passes through the sandbox burner and generates a heat output of 30.7±2.0kW. The specifications are as follows:

① Shape of sandbox burner: an isosceles right triangle with a waist length of 250mm (looking down), a height of 80mm, and a pipe sleeve plug hole with a diameter of 12.5mm at the center of gravity. The top is open and the rest is all closed. A right-angled triangular perforated plate should be installed at a height of 10mm from the bottom of the burner. A metal wire screen with a maximum mesh size of no more than 2mm should be installed at a height of 12mm and 60mm from the bottom. All dimensional deviations should not exceed ±2mm.

② Material: The box body is made of 1.5mm thick stainless steel, and is continuously distributed from bottom to top: a gap layer with a height of 10mm; a pebble layer with a size of (4-8)mm and a filling height of 60mm; a gravel layer with a size of (2-4)mm and a filling height of 80mm. The pebble layer and the gravel layer are stabilized with a wire mesh to prevent the pebbles from entering the gas pipeline. The pebbles and gravel used are round and free of crushed stones.

③ Position of the main burner: The main burner is installed on the bottom plate of the trolley and is close to the U-shaped groove at the bottom of the specimen. The top edge of the main burner is horizontally consistent with the top edge of the U-shaped groove, with a difference of no more than ±2mm.

④ Position of the auxiliary burner: The auxiliary burner is fixed on the frame column opposite to the angle of the specimen, and the top of the burner is (1450±5)mm above the floor of the combustion chamber (the vertical distance from the gas hood is 1000mm), and its bevel is parallel to the bevel of the main burner and is closest to the bevel.

⑤ The main burner is close to the U-shaped slot in both the long wing and short wing orientations of the specimen. In the U-shaped slot in both directions, there is a baffle, the top surface of which is at the same height as the top surface of the U-shaped slot and is 0.3m away from the edge line of the angle between the two wings of the installed specimen (at the boundary of the burner area).

⑥ If the test of the same product in the past was terminated early due to material dripping onto the sand bed, the main burner should be protected by an oblique triangle grille, and the opening area of ​​the grille should account for at least 90% of the total area. One side of the grille is placed on the hypotenuse of the main burner. The angle between the oblique triangle grille and the horizontal plane is (45±5)°, which can be measured by drawing a horizontal straight line from the midpoint of the hypotenuse of the main burner to the angle of the specimen.

4.7 Rectangular shielding plate: width (370±5) mm, height (550±5) mm, made of calcium silicate board (its specifications are the same as those of the back plate), used to protect the sample from the radiation heat of the auxiliary burner flame. The rectangular shielding plate should be fixed on the bottom bevel of the auxiliary burner, the center of its bottom edge is located at the center of the bottom bevel of the burner and covers the entire length of the bevel, and extends (8±3) mm at both ends of the bevel, and its top edge is (470±5) mm higher than the top of the auxiliary burner.

4.8 ​​Mass flow controller: Range: 0~2.5g/s, including (0.6~2.5)g/s in the range; accuracy 1%; digital display, with 4~20mA output, can be directly controlled by computer through acquisition card, fast response speed and high control accuracy.

4.9 Gas supply switch: When the main and auxiliary burners are switched, the auxiliary burner is ignited at 120±5S and the flow rate of the propane burner is adjusted to (647±10) mg/s. At 300±5S, the propane gas is switched from the auxiliary burner to the main burner; it is used to supply propane gas to one of the burners. The switch prevents propane gas from being supplied to both burners at the same time, except for the time period of burner switching (at the moment of switching, the gas output of the auxiliary burner is decreasing while the output of the main burner is increasing). The burner switching response time does not exceed 12s, and the switch and the above-mentioned main valves can be operated outside the combustion chamber.

4.10 Back plate: used to support the two wings of the specimen in the trolley. The material of the backboard is calcium silicate board, with a density of (800±150)kg/m3, a thickness of (12±3)mm, and dimensions:

① Short wing backboard: (＞570+specimen thickness)mm×(1500×5)mm;

② Long wing backboard: (1000+gap width±5)mm×(1500±5)mm.

③ The short wing backboard is wider than the specimen, and the excess width can only extend from one side. For specimens with gaps, the width of the long wing backboard is increased, and the increased width is equal to the size of the gap.

4.11 Movable panels: To allow for increased air flow behind the two wings of the specimen, they should be replaced with panels of half their size to cover the upper half of the gap.

4.12 Ignition source: 31KW propane right-angle sandbox burner (side length 250MM height 80MM) placed in the vertical corner of the trolley.

4.13 The adjustable clamp is used, which makes it very convenient to load and unload samples.

5 Smoke sampling system:

5.1 Smoke sampling system: It consists of sampling tube, ash filter, cold trap, drying column, pump and waste liquid regulator, which can ensure the effective collection of smoke samples and absorb exhaust gas.

5.2 A comprehensive sampling area is set in the smoke exhaust duct for placing sensors and sampling tubes.

5.3 Smoke exhaust flow range: 0.50 cubic meters/S ~ 0.65 cubic meters/S (when the standard temperature is 298K) The speed of continuous smoke exhaust is 0.50 cubic meters/S ~ 0.65 cubic meters/S (when the standard temperature is 298K); the computer is used to control the fan through frequency conversion and automatically adjust the wind speed;

5.4 The smoke exhaust duct is equipped with two side pipes (circular pipes with an inner diameter of 45mm), which are horizontally and vertically perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the smoke exhaust duct and the height position of its axis is equal to the height of the longitudinal axis of the smoke exhaust duct.

5.5 Measurement of ambient temperature in the test room: K-type armored thermocouple with a diameter of 1mm, temperature measurement accuracy of 0.5℃, ambient pressure test: ±200Pa.

5.6 Diaphragm pump: flow rate is 60L/min, vacuum degree: 700㎜Hg, pressure: 2.5 bar.

5.7 Smoke filter: the filter head is composed of solid PTFE, and the internal filter material is 0.5um PTFE.

5.8 CO2 filter: CO2 filter material is attached, the filter head is composed of solid PTFE, and it is highly corrosion-resistant.

5.9 Moisture filter: The filter head is composed of solid PTFE, and the bottom liquid can be discharged through a peristaltic pump.

5.10 Cold trap: It is a compressor condenser with a cooling capacity of 320KJh, a dew point stability of 0.1 degrees, a dew point static change of 0.1K, and a protection level of IP20.

5.11 Rotor flowmeter: The range is 0-5Lmin.

6 Comprehensive measurement device:

6.1 Comprehensive measurement area temperature measurement: Three thermocouples are used, all of which are armored insulated K-type thermocouples with a diameter of 0.5mm and meet the requirements of GB/T16839.1. The contacts should be located on an arc with a radius of (87±5)mm from the axis, and the angle is 120°

6.2 Smoke exhaust duct differential pressure transmitter: A high-precision differential pressure transmitter is used to measure the pipeline differential pressure. It is a high-precision bidirectional probe with a range of (0~100)Pa and an accuracy of ±1Pa. The pressure sensor has a maximum output response time of 1s for 90%;

6.3 Gas sampling probe, connected to the gas regulating device and the O2 and CO2 imported gas analyzers.

① Oxygen (O2) analyzer: German (Siemens) SIEMENS, paramagnetic type.

1) Measuring range: (0-25)%

2) Signal output: 4-20mA;

3) Resolution 100×10-6

4) Relative humidity: <90% (no condensation);

5) Linearity deviation: <±0.1% O2;

6) Zero drift: ≤0.5%/month;

7) Range drift: ≤0.5%/month

8) Internal signal processing time is less than 1S;

9) Response time: T90<3.5 seconds

10) Repeatability: <±0.02% O2;

11) Local display: LCD display (with backlight)

12) Analog output: 4~20mA 750Ω

13) Ambient temperature: 5℃~＋45℃; Power supply: 220VAC±10%, 50~60Hz.

14) The noise drift of the analyzer within 30 minutes does not exceed 0.01%; the resolution of the data acquisition output is better than 0.01%6;

② Carbon dioxide (CO2) analyzer: Origin: AGM Sensors non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensor module in Germany:

1) Measurement principle: non-dispersive infrared NDIR, dual wavelength, single beam;

2) Measurement range: 0-10%;

3) Response time: ≤6s;

4) Accuracy: full scale ±2% FS

5) Stability: full scale ±2% FS (more than 12 months)

6) Repeatability: ±0.2% (at zero), 1% (at sample gas)

7) Minimum detection value: <full scale 1% FS

8) Linear error: <full scale 2% FS

9) Status/fault control: dual-color LED display

10) Status/fault output: +5V HCMOS on 34-Pin connector

11) Analog output: 4~20mA 750Ω

12) Ambient temperature: 5℃～＋45℃

13) Power supply: 220VAC±10%, 50～60Hz 5000W

14) The noise drift of the analyzer within 30min shall not exceed 100 ×10-6

6.4 Light attenuation system: It is an incandescent light type, installed on the side pipe of the exhaust pipe with a flexible joint, and includes the following devices:

① Light source: It is an incandescent lamp and used at a color temperature of (2900±100)K. The power supply is a stable direct current, and the current fluctuation

range is within ±0.5% (including temperature, short-term and long-term stability).

② Lens system: used to focus light into a parallel beam with a diameter of at least 20mm. The light-emitting hole of the phototube should be located at the focus of

the lens in front of it, and its diameter (d) should be determined according to the focal length (f) of the lens so that d/f is less than 0.04.

③ Imported optical measuring element: measuring range is 400-750nm visible light range, transmittance accuracy is 0.01%, optical density range is 0-4, smoke

density accuracy is ±1%, V (λ) matching error: f1≤4 linearity>99.8%, instability<0.1%.

④ The 90% response time of the light attenuation system does not exceed 3s. Air is introduced into the side tube to keep the optical device clean enough to meet 

the requirements of light attenuation drift. Compressed air can be used to replace the self-priming system. The specific parameters are as follows:

1) Light source: incandescent lamp

2) Nominal power: 100W

3) Nominal voltage: 12V

4) Accuracy: ±0.01V

5) Nominal luminous flux: 2000~3000Lm

6) Nominal color temperature: 2800K~3000K, meeting the requirements of GB/T17651.1 5.2.

7) Receiver: Silicon photocell, amplified by board, input to computer through I/O board, spectral response matches the photometer of CIE.

8) Installation: Installed at one end of a 150mm long tube, with a dustproof window at the other end, the inner wall of the tube is glossy black and anti-reflective.

9) Transmittance 0% means no light passes through, transmittance 100% means light passes through completely without obstruction.

10) Measurable transmittance range (0~100)%;

Figure 9: Optical Measurement System

7 Other general devices:

7.1 Thermocouple: A K-type thermocouple with a diameter of (2±1) mm that complies with the requirements of GB/T16839.1, used to measure the ambient temperature of the air entering the combustion chamber. The thermocouple should be placed on the outer wall of the combustion chamber, with a distance of no more than 0.20m from the trolley opening and a height of no more than 0.20m from the floor.

7.2 Data acquisition system: computer control, RS-232 communication interface, data acquisition system can collect and record test data such as oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, flue temperature, ambient temperature and humidity, smoke density, 600s total heat release rate THR600s, combustion growth rate index FIGRA, mass loss rate, etc., which can be saved. The data acquisition accuracy is as follows:

1) Device for measuring ambient pressure: accuracy is ±200Pa (2mbar)

2) O2 and CO2, accuracy is 100×10-6 (0.01%),

3) Device for measuring indoor air relative humidity: 20%~80%, accuracy ±5%

4) Temperature measurement: 0-400℃; accuracy ±0.5℃.

5) Time recording system accuracy: 0.1S.

6) Test time: 1~99m/s can be set.

7) The gas diversion regulator adjusts the propane flow rate through the mass flow rate controller, and should be able to automatically control the gas supply of the

burner. The gas mass flow rate is (647mg/s±10) and 2000 mg/s. The gas control system can ensure that the gas supply speed change of the ignition flame during the test should not exceed 5mg/s to ensure the output heat of 30.7±2kW.

8) The accuracy of other parameters: 0.1% of the full-scale output value. The acquisition system should automatically record and store once every 3s, including the following parameters: ① time, ② mass flow rate of propane gas passing through the burner, ③ pressure difference of the two-way probe, ④ relative optical density, ⑤ O2 concentration, ⑥ CO2 concentration, ⑦ ambient temperature at the air inlet at the bottom of the trolley, ⑧ three-point temperature of the comprehensive measurement area, flue temperature environment and humidity; use Taiwan Advantech data acquisition board.

8 Computer control system:

8.1 The equipment adopts computer control and manual dual control mode, and adopts instrument equipment special development software LabeView and data 

acquisition control card; during the control test, the test data curve can be viewed in real time, and functions such as automatic data acquisition and processing, data storage and output of measurement results and fault alarm can be realized. When the computer is abnormal, it can be switched to manual operation to ensure the safety of the test.

8.2 It includes calibration of each sensor and system calibration.

8.3 The test records (3 seconds/time) are stored by number and can be queried at any time; the test report printing effect can be viewed in real time, and it can be completed by clicking the start, calculation and save buttons, which is easy to use. The following relevant values ​​are stored: time (s), mass flow rate of propane gas passing through the burner (mg/s), pressure difference of the two-way probe (Pa), relative optical density, O2 concentration (V oxygen/V air)%, CO2 concentration (V carbon dioxide/V air)%, ambient temperature at the air inlet at the bottom of the trolley (K), and three-point temperature values ​​in the comprehensive measurement area (K).

8.4 At the same time, the data retrieval function is added, which can load previous experimental data for recalculation and report generation.

8.5 It can determine whether the test process ends early. Even if the test is interrupted, it can be continued at any time.

8.6 The equipment uses sensors, analyzers, and ranges and accuracy that meet the test requirements, with reliable quality assurance and self-calibration function.

Accessories List