"Old" Versus "new"
Generally, one differentiates between "old" and "new" barrier systems. "Old" systems have been tested and verified by governmental authorities including DIBt, the British Standards Institute (BSI) and the National Research Council's Institute for Research in Construction . These organisations each publish in codes and standards, wall and floor assembly details that can be used with generic, standardised components, to achieve quantified fire-resistance ratings. Architects routinely refer to these details in drawings to enable contractors to build passive fire protection barriers of certain ratings. The "old" systems are sometimes added to, through testing performed in governmental laboratories such as those maintained by Canada's Institute for Research in Construction, which then publishes the results in Canada's National Building Code (NBC). Germany and the UK, by comparison, publish their "old" systems in respective standards, DIN4102 Part 4 (Germany) and BS476 (United Kingdom). "New" systems are typically based on certification listings, whereby the installed configuration must comply with the tolerances set out in the certification listing. The United Kingdom is an exception to this, whereby certification, although not testing, is optional.
Read more about this topic: Passive Fire Protection
Famous quotes containing the word old:
“I love everything that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines; and, I believe, Dorothy, you’ll own I have been pretty fond of an old wife.”
—Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774)