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Horizontal Furnace

Horizontal Fire Resistance Test Furnace

Structural fire testing of horizontal and loadbearing construction elements with project-specific mechanical loading arrangements.

Structural Fire Testing

Horizontal Testing Under Load

  • Floors and roofs
  • Ceilings
  • Beams
  • Columns
  • Loadbearing walls
  • Ducts and dampers
  • Façade / spandrel systems
  • Penetration seals
  • Applied structural fire protection

Typical Configuration

  • Horizontal test areas from 4 × 2 m up to 4 × 8 m supplied; standard sizes 3 × 3 m and 4 × 3 m; custom dimensions per laboratory scope
  • Movable walls to reconfigure the exposed opening (4 × 5 / 4 × 4 / 4 × 3 m delivered)
  • Project-specific multi-chamber concept
  • Hydraulic loading systems, reaction frames and load measurement
  • Integrated data acquisition

STARKOS engineers project-specific dimensions according to laboratory requirements.

Mechanical Loading

Hydraulic frames for wall, floor, column and beam load application, supplied and commissioned with the furnace.

Floors & Beams

Multiple hydraulic cylinders can be positioned to achieve the required load distribution during fire exposure.

Walls & Columns

Hydraulic loading with measurement and regulation; controlled loading arrangement according to specimen and project configuration.

Performance

  • Furnace pressure control ±2 Pa at 20 Pa range, stabilized within 10 minutes
  • Curve library: ISO 834, slow heating, HC, HCM, RABT, RWS and custom curves up to 1,350 °C
  • Burner power option up to 12 MW for HCM and RWS curves
  • Fully automatic control with manual override
  • Gas-fired or light-fuel-oil-fired

Maximum temperature, burner power and curve set are specified per project; 1,350 °C is the capability ceiling of the range, not the rating of every furnace.

Refractory and Steel

  • Pre-cast, pre-cured refractory concrete blocks: long service life, rapid repair without full relining
  • Side walls in JM 23 / JM 28 insulating brick, backed by Ca-Si plates; roof and floor in low-thermal-mass, high-temperature concrete
  • Fabrication to EN ISO 3834-2; all structural welds 100 % NDT tested; sandblasted and primer-coated
  • Engineered thermal expansion margins prevent deformation during heating
  • Minimized heat loss, so energy consumption per test and NOx emissions are lower

Referenced Standards

  • EN 1363-1 / -2
  • EN 1364-2 / -3
  • EN 1365-1 / -2 / -3 / -4
  • EN 1366-1 / -2 / -3 / -4 / -5 / -8 / -9 / -10
  • EN 13381-4
  • CEN/TS 13381-1
  • BS 476 Part 20 / 22
  • ASTM E119
  • ASTM E814
  • UL 1479
  • UL 2079

Final compliance capability depends on the delivered configuration, instrumentation, commissioning and the exact applicable edition of each standard.

Horizontal (Floor) Furnace References

  • Country
    United Arab Emirates
    Laboratory
    Fire testing consultancy, Dubai
    Scope
    Complete laboratoryComplete laboratory: concept, design, commissioning and technician training
    Equipment
    Horizontal furnace 4 × 5 / 4 × 4 / 4 × 3 m with movable walls
  • Country
    Slovenia
    Laboratory
    National building institute, Ljubljana
    Scope
    Complete laboratoryComplete laboratory: concept, design, commissioning and technician training
    Equipment
    Horizontal configurations 4 × 4, 4 × 8, 4 × 6 and 4 × 2 m of one light-fuel-oil-fired multi-configuration furnace to EN 1363-1
  • Country
    Denmark
    Laboratory
    Fire and security technology institute, Hvidovre
    Scope
    Design & commissioningConcept, design, commissioning and technician training
    Equipment
    Horizontal/vertical furnace 5.5 × 3.1 × 4.2 m, EN 1363-1, max. 1,300 °C, 9,288,000 kcal/h
All references

Other Configurations

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Discuss Your Project

Contact STARKOS to define your test programme, standards, specimen dimensions, instrumentation and laboratory requirements.

Request Informationinfo@starkos.co