Fire-retardant paint first to protect homes from extreme fire conditions

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:17:43 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2023/11/fire-retardant-paint-first-to-protect-homes-from-extreme-fire-co>

"A new fire-retardant paint, formulated by engineers at UNSW Sydney, has become
the first to pass a stringent Australian standard test that simulates a
bushfire attack.

The paint, which is now on sale at selected Bunnings stores, achieved the
Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) 40 standard which assesses the bushfire resistance
of buildings and construction materials.

BAL-40 indicates that a building or material has been tested and approved to
withstand higher levels of radiant heat (up to 40kW/m²) and ember attack during
a bushfire, and therefore provides increased protection against bushfires in
areas prone to extreme fire conditions.

The new paint, commercially branded as FSA FIRECOAT, was developed at UNSW in
partnership with Flame Security International. It was partially funded via a
$3m Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) grant from the Australian
government.

Professor Guan Yeoh, from UNSW’s School of Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, led the team that spent nearly five years perfecting the formula
to ensure the paint incorporates the best fire-retardant properties.

The resulting product is a type of intumescent paint which means it is designed
to expand as a result of heat exposure.

The specific chemicals in the paint also produce a thick layer of char which
offers an insulating barrier and effectively deflects the heat from the fire
away."

Via Muse.

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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