Fire Rating of UHPC Curtain Wall Panels: Can They Achieve Class A? Material Properties and Testing Verification

Fire performance is one of the core safety indicators of building curtain walls. Whether UHPC curtain wall panels can achieve Class A fire rating (non-combustible) directly affects their application in public buildings and high-rise buildings. Qinglong Group, as an enterprise that participated in formulating UHPC industry standards, has 28 years of material R&D and testing experience. Verified by authoritative testing institutions, UHPC curtain wall panels naturally possess Class A fire performance without the need for additional fireproof materials, and have been successfully applied in projects with extremely high fire protection requirements such as the Shanghai Astronomy Museum and the Huawei Bantian Headquarters in Shenzhen.

1. Class A Fire Standard and UHPC's Natural Advantages

According to the "Classification of Burning Behavior of Building Materials and Products" (GB 8624-2012), Class A fireproof materials refer to non-combustible materials, which must meet: average furnace temperature rise ≤50℃, average sustained combustion time of specimens ≤20s, and average mass loss rate of specimens ≤50%. UHPC's natural fire resistance advantages: its main components consist of inorganic materials such as cement, quartz sand, and steel fibers, containing no combustible ingredients; it does not burn or release toxic gases at high temperatures, only undergoes physical hardening, and produces no open flames or fuel for the fire. The UHPC curtain wall panels produced by Qinglong, upon testing, showed an average furnace temperature rise of 32℃, sustained combustion time of 0s, and mass loss rate of 18%, fully meeting the Class A fire standard—they are naturally non-combustible materials.

2. Key Factors Affecting the UHPC Fire Rating

Raw material purity: All raw materials (cement, aggregates, steel fibers) must be inorganic non-combustible materials; adding organic additives is strictly prohibited (e.g., excessive organic water reducers may affect fire performance). All raw materials selected by Qinglong have passed fire performance testing with purity meeting standards. Steel fiber selection: Stainless steel fibers or ordinary carbon steel fibers (non-combustible at high temperatures) are used, avoiding organically coated fibers. The 12-15mm long steel fibers selected by Qinglong maintain structural stability at high temperatures of 1000℃ without affecting fire performance. Production process: Ensuring the UHPC mixture is dense and uniform, free of pores and air bubbles, to avoid panel cracking caused by air expansion at high temperatures. Through high-frequency vibration and steam curing processes, Qinglong achieves panel density above 99%, resulting in more stable fire performance.

3. Authoritative Testing Verification and Engineering Applications

Third-party testing certification: Qinglong UHPC curtain wall panels have successively passed testing by authoritative institutions such as the National Quality Supervision and Inspection Center of Fixed Fire Extinguishing Systems and Fire-Resistant Building Components and the Guangdong Building Materials Research Institute, with fire ratings all certified as Class A (Class A1, non-combustible), test report numbers XXX and XXX respectively. Public building applications: Shanghai Astronomy Museum (science popularization venue, Class A fire requirement), using UHPC public art components and curtain wall panels, meeting fire safety requirements; Huawei Bantian Headquarters in Shenzhen (corporate headquarters, Class A fire requirement), both indoor and outdoor UHPC curtain wall panels passed fire acceptance inspection; Dongguan Women and Children's Activity Center (public building, Class A fire requirement), GRC/UHPC composite curtain wall panels met fire performance standards. High-rise building applications: A 35-story super high-rise residential project (Class A fire requirement) selected UHPC exterior wall panels, which passed fire acceptance inspection, demonstrating their fire protection suitability in high-rise buildings.

4. Qinglong's Fire Protection Technical Advantages and Standard Leadership

Technical innovation: Developed a "high-temperature stable UHPC formula" that maintains over 70% strength at high temperatures of 800℃, with superior fire performance compared to ordinary UHPC; this formula has been granted an invention patent. Standard participation: As a formulating unit of the industry standard "General Technical Conditions for Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) Non-Load-Bearing Components," Qinglong incorporated UHPC fire performance requirements into the standard clauses, promoting industry standardization. Quality control: Established a three-level quality control system of "raw material fire testing - production process monitoring - finished product fire spot checking" to ensure every batch of products meets the Class A fire standard. Comparative advantages: Compared with combustible or flame-retardant curtain wall materials such as glass and aluminum panels, UHPC curtain wall panels do not require additional fire isolation belts or fireproof coatings, reducing costs, simplifying construction, and offering more reliable fire performance.

With the natural characteristics of inorganic materials, UHPC curtain wall panels can achieve Class A fire standards without additional treatment, making them ideal fireproof materials for building curtain walls. Qinglong Group always adheres to the principle of "safety first, superior quality." With authoritative testing verification, technical innovation, and strict quality control, it provides customers with UHPC curtain wall panels that meet Class A fire requirements, helping to build safe and reliable construction projects.