Abstract

To ensure safety in public buildings, effective methods for suppressing the spread of fire
are required. This study examines the feasibility of using a curtain with a down-flowing water film
to achieve this requirement. Three types of curtain are considered, namely a commercial fireproof
curtain, a simple towel curtain and vertical blinds. For all curtains, small-scale fire resistance tests
are performed at a temperature of 900 C. In the tests, the fire resistance of the commercial curtain
is investigated both with and without a down-flowing water film. By contrast, for the towel and
vertical blinds, the tests are performed only with a water film since otherwise, the towel and
vertical blinds would immediately combust.
The results show that for the fireproof curtain without a water film, the temperature on the
unexposed surface reaches 693 C in less than 30 minutes. However, when the water film is applied,
the temperature on the unexposed surface remains below 60 C for more than 60 minutes. In other
words, the curtain satisfies the CNS 14815 standard. Significantly, the same result is obtained
when using the simple towel curtain. Thus, the use of a simple towel curtain with a down-flowing
water film provides is an inexpensive and convenient alternative to more expensive fireproof
curtains. For the vertical blinds, the experiment was unsuccessful due the heat of the furnace
making the strip become wrinkled, and thus degrading the uniformity of the water film.