Arup’s expert fire team, in partnership with Arup University, has carried out the first of a series of independent, large-scale cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction experiments at professional fire test facility, CERIB, in France.
The need to construct with timber is engaging the construction industry globally. As part of Arup’s commitment to safety and sustainability, it is undertaking a series of full-scale fire experiments in a 380m combustible compartment, with input from Imperial College London, and the first experiment has now successfully taken place.
Fundamental fire safety
This expands current knowledge of the fire behavior of timber structure
This expands current knowledge of the fire behavior of timber structures, which is currently based on tests on much smaller compartment sizes of up to approx. only 100m.
The new experimental program builds on previous research and explores construction arrangements to enable the safe use of CLT in large-scale buildings, with a particular focus on the office, education, and residential sectors. This will help develop further understanding of the fundamental fire safety considerations needed to inform safe future design approaches.
Arup welcomed representatives from the Fire Prevention department of the Paris Fire Brigade as observers. Results and learnings from this experimental program will be shared over the coming weeks and months.