Under fire conditions any hot gases impinging on the cushions at a temperature above 200ºC will cause the foil to soften and lose strength. As the foil is under tension from inflation, it fails and shrinks back from the plume, venting the fire to the atmosphere.

Any fragments of Texlon® still present will be swept upwards by the plume.  This is a great feature of our product and why we incorporate it into our ETFE foil roofing design. As the quantity of material used in the roof is so small and the ETFE is self extinguishing, any drips of molten ETFE foil will not burn and are prevented from falling to the ground.

This self-venting and self extinguishing feature of Texlon® prevents the build up of high temperatures under the roof and catastrophic structural collapse of the primary structure is avoided.

An advantage of this light and flexible system is the ability to engineer very large openable systems which enables atria to operate as light-wells under fire conditions.

In situations where the plume does not reach 200ºC, we are able to fit Texlon® cushions with Vector Foiltec’s patented Texlon® SV smoke vents, which allow the products of combustion to escape the space below. The vents are operated by the building management system and fire alarm systems. This technology allows the cushions to self vent on demand. By removing part of the roof in the event of a fire, the enclosed space can be redefined as an external space, enabling large cost savings to be made by negating the need for sprinklers, mechanical smoke extract systems, fire rated facades and structures.

This fire engineered approach to ETFE foil roofing design can enable internal spaces such as atria and shopping malls to be reclassified as light wells and streets, thus facilitating large savings to be made to the base building cost.

This fire engineered approach can enable internal spaces such as atria and shopping malls to be reclassified as light wells and streets thus enabling large savings to be made to the base building cost and should be considered when looking for ETFE foil roofing design.

For further information about ETFE foil roofing design please feel free to contact us either by phone, fax or email.