New 15m2 furnace for fire resistance testing

Applus+, worldwide inspection, testing, certification and quality control company and one of the largest companies in the world in the conformity assessment industry, has increased the size of one of the furnaces in its fire resistance laboratories. This new furnace measuring 5 meters tall by 3 meters wide is the largest in Spain and provides the company with greater capacity for fire resistance testing of construction elements. 

With this improvement, Applus+ fire laboratoris take a new step in its differentiation and internationalization strategy in the testing and conformity assessment industry. Currently, the fire laboratories at Applus+ Laboratories division are European leaders in the number of fire resistance tests.

The increased use of large-sized, unique elements in architecture has also lead to a greater demand on the market for fire safety for these elements. Applus+ features five testing furnaces of different sizes to respond to this need.

The new facilities allow the company to test structural integrity, insulation, and element deformation such as of walls, elevator doors and firewalls. Through these tests, product manufacturers can perform mandatory tests enabling them to predict their behavior in a fire and the time needed for evacuating buildings and facilities.

In addition to having the most advanced facilities in Spain, Applus+ Laboratories experience and knowledge in construction and fire testing allow the company to also perform tests aimed at the development of new products.

The company used the furnace for the first time to test a double door for a service elevator, under regulation UNE-EN 81-58 for elevator doors. The doors tested, from the Spanish company Hidral, are made of steel and measure 4.2 meters high by 2.6 meters wide.

Applus+'s fire laboratories also perform reaction to fire testing (such as Euroclasses, flammability and smoke emission and spreading) and thermal testing (conductivity, energy efficiency and thermal transmittance) on products and components for a wide variety of industries such as construction, aerospace, railway, marine, automotive and electrical materials. Also, Applus+ specializes in testing fire protection products and equipment such as smoke detectors, alarms and water sprinklers, among others.