Neukirchen-Vluyn: The new International Center Fire Protection from TROX is the most modern fire test laboratory in Europe. Fundamental analysis and material testing will be carried out that pave the way for wholly new developments in fire protection technology.

Research for improved safety

The heart of the new International Center Fire Protection is a furnace measuring 4 x 5 x 5 metres.It is big enough to test even the largest tunnel dampers that are used for extracting smoke from underground transport systems.

In Europe's most modern fire protection laboratory TROX conducts fire testing primarily for fire protection classification of building products for ventilation and air conditioning systems in accordance with national and international standards.

Scientific experiments can also be conducted outside the requirements of the standards to investigate specific fire protection problems. Furthermore the technical equipment in the Fire Protection Center is suitable for expert testing and reporting.

More space for knowledge transfer

The ICB includes a seminar room for 60 people. It is used for certified training courses and workshops for employees, customers and partners of TROX. The Rhineland-Westphalian University of Applied Sciences (RWTH) in Aachen also offers seminars on the premises of the new Center.

The ICB in numbers

Total building floor area: 612 m²

Buidling dimensions: 14.3 m x 42.8 m

Building height: 11.62 m

Capacity: 7,112 m³

Fire test laboratory area: 400 m²

Total floor area of technical, exhibition and seminar rooms: 820 m²

Flue: height 16 m, diameter 1.60 m

Use - flexible options

The fire test furnace consists of four solid boundaries as well as a removable wall and ceiling section for fitting the samples. This construction of the combination furnace allows flexible test options: fire tests of building products in walls, ceilings and false ceilings as well as ventilation ducting installed through the furnace.

The state-of-the-art control allows fully automatic operation. Four monitors in the control room show the control of the furnace for test procedures and the results of the fire testing, such as pressure curves, time-temperature curves, sample temperatures and real time camera images.

The combination furnace for wall and ceiling tests in numbers

•        Exterior dimensions: W = 4m, L = 5m, H = 5m

•        Combustion chamber dimensions: W = 3m, L = 4m, H = 4m

•        Installed output of the 20 gas-operated burners: approx. 9 megawatts

•        Max. temperature: 1,200 °C

•        Inspection parts: 8

•        Temperature sensors in the furnace: 28

•        Measuring points: 128

•        Video cameras: 2 video cameras record the complete test procedure simultaneously
          to the measured test data

 

The heart of the new International Center Fire Protection is a furnace measuring 4 x 5 x 5 metres.