11/11/2016

In the oil & gas industry, a long tradition exists with regard to fire protection of structures. Steel structures are protected with proven systems that are evaluated according to fit for purpose test methods. Concrete load bearing structures are often designed to carry processing equipment or provide the foundation for other structures such as structural steel. In any case the load bearing capacity of these concrete structures shall be maintained in order to avoid further escalation of the fire event, avoid damage to the facility and minimize subsequent downtime of the facility.

However, for concrete elements the fire resistance is often deemed to satisfy, without further assessment. Developments in concrete design and knowledge about the behaviour of concrete in the last two decades show that, especially in an industry like oil & gas where reliability of the installations is the most important objective, concrete merits a more thorough evaluation of its fire resistance. The result of such an analysis can be that fire protection of the concrete structure is recommended in order to avoid damage during fire.

In order to provide a method for the evaluation of the fire protection of concrete, Efectis Nederland has produced the EFTP (Efectis Fire Test Procedure)  test procedure taking into account the experience and knowledge obtained through research and fire tests on concrete structures since the 1980’s.

The purpose of this document is to provide a test procedure which reflects the current state of the art and which is suitable for a practical range of construction types and fire protection systems.

Click here for the Efectis Fire Test Procedure no. EFTP-002:2016