Advanced fire protection coating technology for steel structures
When exposed to high temperatures such as those associated with fire, the load-bearing properties of steel can become impaired. All developed countries have building codes in place requiring some sort of fire protection for steel constructions. Painting steel elements with fire-resistant (intumescent) coatings is perhaps the most common method, but it is problematic. Consequently, structural steel has lost about 40 % market share to concrete over the last 10 years. The EU-funded STEELPROST (Demonstration of innovative fire protection coatings for steel structures) project set out to validate a solution by building on novel intumescent coating formulation and spraying and drying processes developed within a previous project. Project partners developed an integrated solution that combines a nano-enhanced intumescent coating, automatic spraying and drying techniques, and advanced engineering principles. The developed solutions are in line with European standards specifying how structural design should be conducted within the EU, and the CE Marking procedure for manufactured structural steelwork. The intumescent coating was tested in order to address current ignored fire scenarios in which such coatings are particularly effective. Work done on automatic spraying and drying enabled the STEELPROST team to efficiently coat structural elements. Each spraying and drying device is equivalent to five teams of painters working on site, thus reducing total spraying costs by over 75 %. A time and cost savings evaluation revealed that the new solution allows steel to be competitive in sectors traditionally controlled by concrete, particularly residential buildings. STEELPROST should contribute to a substantial recovery of the lost market over the past decade for structural steel with important implications for the EU economy. The project expects to recover about half the market share in the next 5-10 years. This bodes well for the future competitiveness of steel manufacturers.
Keywords
Steel, STEELPROST, fire protection coatings, intumescent coating
