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Certifying a Fire Damper is never just a test. Depending on the damper, the existing supporting test evidence, and the installation method that was tested, multiple tests may be needed to get the classification that is required.
In this article, I will consider a damper that is being tested for the purposes of achieving a CE/UK CA mark.
Once the damper type, installation method, penetration seal, and supporting construction have been decided upon, the test(s) will be booked through a third party test laboratory that is compliant with ISO 17025, and is registered with their national accreditation service (in the UK it UKAS). You can’t assume that because a lab has a fire test furnace and is accredited to run a penetration seal test to EN1366-3, that they can run a damper test to EN1366-2. The tests are different, and EN1366-3 cannot be used with a damper to demonstrate that it meets the Fire Damper product standard.
The damper and wall will be built into a test frame as it is intended to be installed on site. Site installation must match the tested installation. For example, if the tested installation involves sealing the damper from both sides of the wall, then this is what must be done on site. Specific wall details are just as important as the damper due to the damper/wall interface performance being as critical as the damper alone.
As specified in the 2015 version of the damper test standard, the damper must be subjected to fire exposure from either direction. This would then lead to a classification that would look like ‘i↔o‘. More on damper classifications here...
If the product was intending to have a ‘S’ classification, we also have to conduct a leakage test on the smallest size damper in that range. The largest damper that is intended to be placed on the market is fire tested with the smallest also subjected to leakage only.
We would always get the test lab to run the test for 10% longer than we are intending to have it classified for. For example, a 120 minute test would be run for an additional 12 minutes, giving a total of 132 minutes. This potentially opens up the data to be used to support an EXAP assessment which could lead to additional product classifications.
Once the test(s) are complete, the next stage would to be apply an EXAP as per EN15882-2 (if needed). In order for test data to be considered for an EXAP, the test must of be conducted for 10% longer than the intended classification (see paragraph above), and the leakage must be 10% below the maximum allowable leakage. For a damper with a ES classification, the limit is 200m3/hour/m2, and therefore to meet the requirements of the EXAP, the leakage must not exceed 180m3/hour/m2. If the leakage exceeds this, but stayed below 200m3/hour/m2 ,then you can still classify the installation, but not use the data for EXAP purposes. The EXAP report is written by a suitable competent third party notified body/approval body, and not the damper manufacturer.
It is important to consider that the rules in the EXAP cover a wide range of possible deviations such as the ‘ change in gap between the damper and supporting construction’, ‘change in blade axis orientation’ and ‘change in the position of the temperature sensing element’. If the damper manufacturer does not have an EXAP report that covers some of these deviations, then the only option is to install exactly as tested. This would mean that to maintain certification, the gap between the damper and the supporting construction must be as tested, which may not be achievable due to site constraints.
The next step would be to apply to the test house that conducted the testing for a damper classification report to EN13501-3. If the damper has had tests conducted at a different test house then it could be written by either of the test house’s in agreement with the notified body/approval body. All of the relevant data is reviewed, and a classification report is then issued stating the product classification against the standard.
The classification standard still allows you to classify a damper with Fire Exposure in one direction, even the though the test standard states that you must test both ways round. We would strongly recommend that any damper classification always has fire exposure classified in both directions, as dampers do not always behave the same in both directions.
The classification report is then submitted to the notified body/approval body for inclusion into the Certificate of Constancy of Performance. Due to the continuous testing of new wall types or installation methods, we would tend to batch up classification when submitting them for inclusion into our Certificate of Constancy of Performance.
To summarise:
- A test does not allow you to CE/UKCA mark your product, it just demonstrates the performance of the product on the day. The test data could also be used as supporting evidence for some form of Engineering Solution.
- An EXAP report may be required for certain deviations such as the gap between the damper on the opening, otherwise the gap must be as tested. Check that the damper manufacturer has one in place, it could be listed separately on the DoP, or integrated into the product classifications and installation drawings as are the Swegon EXAP reports.
- The Fire Damper classification will classify a damper based on its performance of all of the relevant test data. The damper will be given the same classification in both directions, regardless of the test results. If the damper passed the test at 132 minutes in one direction, but only at 119 minutes in the other, then the damper will be award a E90 classification in both directions, as the classification time groups for a non-insulated damper are 30, 60, 90 or 120.
- The classification reports are then sent to the notified body/approval body for inclusion into the Certificate of Constancy of Performance. A classification report is never a guarantee of a Certificate of Constancy of Performance, as Factory Process Control and continuous surveillance is also required.
