When designing buildings, it’s critical to understand the new Australian Standard AS5113 including pathways to compliance, and why it is an important development for the Australian building design and construction industry.
Kingspan, the world’s largest manufacturer of insulated panels, supports the introduction of large-scale façade testing for AS5113 to create a safer built environment. Only large-scale fire testing accurately demonstrates how a material will react in a real life fire situation, and the extent to which it may contribute to the spread of a fire.
This is because the fire performance of a façade system depends on the interaction of all the components (including fixings, fasteners and sealants) within that system in response to a fire. Other design and construction factors such as the position of fire barriers, the size of ventilation gaps and so on will also directly affect the fire performance of a façade system.
That’s why Kingspan conducts independent, large-scale testing of the entire panel including the metal skin, fixings, sealants and core, having long advocated for the introduction of large-scale fire testing for external high-rise cladding materials.
New pathways to compliance
Standards Australia and the Australian Building Codes Board implemented AS5113 based on large-scale facades fire testing to provide a more accurate indication of the fire combustibility of wall claddings and wall assemblies.
Until the recent development of AS5113 and its inclusion in the National Construction Code (NCC), there have not been prescribed facade test standards in existence in Australia.
The CV3 verification method for meeting fire safety performance requirements for fire spread provides more flexible opportunities for building designers to meet multiple performance requirements, and better suits the needs of the building usage - more cost effectively.
That means AS5113 compliance is achieved by formulating a Performance Solution that either complies directly with performance requirements or, is at least equivalent to the deemed to satisfy provisions, using one or more assessment methods from the NCC.
Learn more about the routes to AS5113 Compliance.
Not all insulated panels are the same – how to choose AS5113 compliant materials
Kingspan’s goal is to help building industry professionals make informed choices about materials, particularly insulated panels, as part of its commitment to delivering a safer built environment.
AS5113 compliance is now possible with a single-component Wall Panel System
Kingspan Insulated Panels has undertaken independent large-scale facade fire performance testing of its insulated wall panels, and has achieved AS5113 compliance.
The single-component Wall Panel System has been tested to AS5113 / BS8414. This makes it suitable for external walls on Type A and B buildings under the CV3 verification method CV3, which references AS5113, and assuming all other criteria for CV3 are met.
More information
Kingspan offers Building Fire Safety Compliance, Fire Testing and Real Fire Case Studies CPDs, Webinars and Workshops. Learn more about the new CV3 Verification Method and AS5113 standard, including pathways to compliance, with Kingspan’s fire safety education (worth 1 Formal CPD point).
Learn more about CPD or contact us on [email protected].
