Fire Door Experimental Testing to Study the Influence of Door Gaps Around Swinging Fire Doors

Fire Protection Research Foundation report: “Fire Door Experimental Testing to Study the Influence of Door Gaps Around Swinging Fire Doors"
Authors: Lawrence Gibson, P.Eng., Scott Leduc, B.A. Sc., Mike van Geyn, A.Sc.T., QAI Laboratories
Date of issue: May 2022

Report

Fire Door Experimental Testing to Study the Influence of Door Gaps Around Swinging Fire Doors

The project goal was to determine through experimental testing the effect that door clearances might have on the performance of a fire door assembly. Single swing and double egress pair doors were evaluated, for steel and composite doors with fire protection rating up to 90 mins and wood doors rated for 20 mins. Generic full-scale fire door testing with door assemblies having sill clearance requirements set at 3/4” (19 mm) (the current maximum allowable gap in NFPA 80) and at an increased gap of 1” (25 mm) were conducted so that the effects of increased sill gaps could be evaluated.

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