Fire Protection Systems for Concrete Elements

The water-based HENSOMASTIK® B 3000 (ablation product) and HENSOTHERM® 820 KS (intumescent) fire protection coating systems can compensate for insufficient concrete cover after renovation work has been carried out. These products have particularly robust characteristics and are also suitable for use on reinforced concrete structural elements in areas with a high emission loading, such as in underground and multi-storey car parks, to give but one example.
They help to improve the fire resistance when there is insufficient concrete cover. With structural elements made of reinforced concrete, for example hollow concrete ceilings, reinforced concrete beams and supports, reinforced concrete ribbed slab ceilings and reinforced concrete flat slab ceilings, then depending on the structural element in question and the quantity applied, fire-resistance times of up to 240 minutes are achieved; the application imposes hardly any structural loading, is space saving and requires no maintenance.

Major amendments and increased requirements in the German M-GarStVO 2020

In the previous version of the Model Ordinance on the Construction and Operation of Garages and Parking Structures (M-GarStVO) from May 2008, § 6 only required that the structural framework (columns and beams) in open medium-sized and large garages be made of non-combustible materials. This meant that the structural framework could be constructed, for example, from unprotected steel members without any specified fire resistance duration.

In the new version of the M-GarStVO dated 4 September 2020, this regulation in § 7 para. 2 has been removed. As a result, the structural framework in open medium-sized and large garages must now, depending on the building height, be designed to be at least fire-retardant (R 30) or even fire-resistant (R 90). This change reflects the fact that modern vehicles – due to the trend towards SUVs and generally larger cars, as well as the increased use of plastics in order to reduce weight and energy consumption – present a significantly higher fire load (see WD-8-002-22-pdf-data.pdf).

The exemptions previously allowed in para. 2 (2) for open medium-sized and large garages have been removed because of the three-times higher fire load of current vehicle generations. The minimum opening areas in open garages have not provided the expected heat-dissipation effect in the event of fire. This means that the fire-retardant requirement now also applies to open medium-sized and large garages (see synopsis of M-GarStVO at http://www.is-argebau.de).

With the fire protection system HENSOMASTIK® B 3000 (ablative system) for concrete members, or HENSOTHERM® 820 KS (intumescent system), the heat transfer during fire can be delayed to achieve the newly required fire resistance class – without major impacts on structure, aesthetics or clearance height.

In this context, HENSOTHERM® steel fire protection systems may also be used. They have been successfully tested according to the European standard (EN) for the fire protection of open and closed steel profiles in fire resistance classes R 15 to R 180, and are approved by the German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt). For Further information see Steel – Rudolf Hensel GmbH.

An overview of our HENSOTHERM® and HENSOMASTIK® fire protection systems approved according to DIN and EN for the construction of penetration seals for single and combined service penetrations with a general type approval (aBG) in Germany and Europe can be found here: Penetration Seals – Rudolf Hensel GmbH.