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Flammability Studies for the design of Fire-Safe Bamboo Structures

Conference Paper · August 2018

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FLAMMABILITY STUDIES FOR THE DESIGN OF FIRE-SAFE BAMBOO
STRUCTURES

Angela Solarte1, Juan P. Hidalgo1 and Jose L. Torero2

ABSTRACT: In recent time, material developers have created novel construction products such as laminated bamboo
lumber, bamboo scrimber, and bamboo oriented strand boards. All of them have similar mechanical material properties
to those of engineered timber. Nonetheless, their fire behavior is still not fully understood. This paper presents the
results of a flammability analysis of laminated bamboo samples produced from the species Phyllostachys pubescens
“Moso”. Variables such as critical heat flux and mass loss rate for ignition, as well as time-to-ignition are taken into
account. Several methods used for calculation are presented and a reference to previous tests on similar bamboo species
is provided. Last, the ignition parameters of laminated bamboo are contrasted against commonly used timber products.

KEYWORDS: Engineered bamboo products, fire performance, flammability parameters, mass loss rates.

ability to grow in almost any kind of soil, which reduces

1 INTRODUCTION 123 production costs. Bamboo is capable to complete full
height within 2-4 months and can reach maturity in 3-8
1.1 BAMBOO: A NOVEL CONSTRUCTION years [5], making it a very efficiently regenerating
MATERIAL material. Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, annual
production of bamboo is almost 4.5 times greater than
Recently, new construction materials have been timber [6]. This means that it is able to sustain the
developed with the purpose of creating alternatives to increasing demand of timber-like products all over the
steel and concrete. Due to its lower cost of production world.
and its versatility, engineered bamboo products have
become a popular material for construction. In China, Table 1: Annual production of plantations [6].
due to nationwide logging bans implemented since 1998
in protected forests, bamboo has become a viable Green Dry Green Dry
substitute to timber. Since then, this product has been Annual production total total culm culm
introduced in many markets traditionally dominated by Bamboo (tons/ha) 78.3 47.4 55.7 36.0
timber [1]. Wood (tons/ha) 17.5 13.5 14.0 10.8
Ratio bamboo/wood 4.5 3.5 4.0 3.3
Although not a member of the timber family, several
researchers have reported that laminated bamboo has
mechanical properties that are comparable to engineered Bamboo is also capable to sequester large amounts of air
timber products [2-4]. Engineers and architects are pollutants per year. In their study focused on
starting to consider bamboo as a sustainable and Phyllostachys Pubescens (Moso) in Eastern India, Jyoti
competitive construction material, which provides a et al. [7] reported that the indicator of above ground
great opportunity to be used in modern multi-story carbon storage was of 61.05 tons per hectare, being able
buildings, mainly due to its low weight-to-strength ratio. to capture 40 times more CO2 per square meter per year
than pine trees [8].
An important feature that makes bamboo such an
attractive material is its fast growing rate and the 1.2 USE OF BAMBOO IN FIRE-SAFE
reduced time needed to reach maturity as well as its BUILDINGS

In performance-based design, two main factors

1 Angela Solarte, University of Queensland, Australia
a.solartecastaneda@uq.edu.au
1 Juan P. Hidalgo, University of Queensland, Australia
j.hidalgo@uq.edu.au
2 Jose L. Torero, University of Maryland, USA
jltorero@umd.edu
determine the calculation of occupants’ evacuation:
Required Safe Egress time (RSET) and Available Safe
Egress Time (ASET). The former is the time in which
occupants will evacuate to a safe area, while the latter is
the time it takes the building to reach untenable
conditions [9]. In an adequate fire strategy the ASET is
much greater than the RSET, guarantying that people
will evacuate the building in a safe manner [10].
Flammability characterization of the involved materials
is needed to determine the ASET. However, to date,
there is not available information to determine this
parameter for laminated bamboo products.
1.3 RESEARCH AIM
This work is part of an ongoing project that intends to
characterize the fire performance of laminated bamboo.
The present study assess one type of laminated bamboo
material currently used as a finishing product in
buildings for benchtops, stairs and linings.
The primary objective of this paper is to quantify the
flammability parameters that drive the fire behaviour of
this product. By doing so, a proper characterization of
the behavior of bamboo in fire can be obtained, and the
design of fire-safe bamboo structures can be established
to predict the onset of hazard due to fire. In this research
line, parameters such as critical heat flux for ignition,
ignition temperature, thermal inertia, and burning rates
will be calculated for a specific kind of laminated
bamboo product.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
The first stage of testing consisted of bench-scale
experiments using the Cone Calorimeter [11]. This
device is a fire testing equipment that measures the
oxygen consumption and sample mass loss during the
combustion process of a material. The apparatus allows
to define parameters such as the critical heat flux for
ignition, temperature and time for ignition, thermal
inertia and burning rates, which are key to understand
the ignition behavior of solids.
Two main steps determine the flamability
characterization for this methodology. First, obtaining
igntion parameters such as the critical heat flux for
ignition (qcr”), and time and temperature for ignition (tig,
Tig) as stated by Torero [12]. Second, analyzing the
burning process of the material by determining the
critical mass loss rate at the firepoint (the beginning of
sustained flaming combustion) as detailed by Rasbash et
al. [13].
To achieve this, 53 samples of laminated bamboo
(Phyllostachys pubescens “Moso”) were tested. The
samples were 90 mm long, 90 mm wide and 40 mm
thick with 6-7 lamellae. Average density was measured
at 570 kg/m3 with a moisture content of 6.3%. The
samples were placed in a standard sample holder and
covered with aluminium foil. As it can be seen in Figure
1, a 2.5 mm thick ceramic layer was placed on the sides
while a 50 mm thick ceramic fibreboard was located at
the back as insulation. The tests were stopped after 60
minutes if no ignition was achieved.
Figure 1: Laminated bamboo samples.
Specimens were placed in a horizontal position at
ambient conditions, while being subjected to a
predetermined external heat flux from a cone-shaped
radiant electric heater [14]. Each sample was subjected
to a controlled spark located at 25 mm above the surface
of the sample until ignition was achieved. The samples
were exposed to radiant heat fluxes between 10-80
kW/m2 (typical range for a fire); the time when ignition
occurred as well as the change in mass were recorded.
When the sample was ignited, gases were collected into
the extraction hood, and then the heat release rate was
calculated with oxygen consumption calorimetry [15].
However, as this study focuses on the onset of hazard
heat release rate results will not be presented.
2.1 FLAMMABILITY PARAMETERS
The following assumptions and simplifications are used
in the study [12]:
1. The solid is considered inert until ignition,
2. The sample is a semi-infite solid,
3. Ignition will occur at the onset of pyrolysis, and
4. Pyrolisis will be accomplished when the surface
reaches the ignition temperature.
To validate if the sample behaves as a semi-infinite
solid, four tests were previously run to determine the
applicable boundary condition. Thermocouples were
placed inside the sample and the progression of the heat
wave was recorded. The duration of each test was long
enough to ensure that the characteristic delay time of the
thermal wave to reach the back were much longer than
the time required for the thermal wave to travel through
the sample.
During each experiment, detailed observations of the
response of the laminated bamboo samples were made
and the time of ignition was recorded when a sustained
flame was observed. All other sporadic flashes were
recorded as events, but not as ignition. The information
of time to ignition was plotted against each heat flux
applied. The critical heat flux for ignition, defined as the
lowest heat flux in which ignition does not take place
was obtained by extrapolationg the plot to find the
asymptotic value of the external heat flux as ignition
time tends to infinite [16].
Once the critical heat flux for ignition was obtained, it
was used to determine the temperature for ignition by
means of equation 1 [12].
" 𝛼
𝑞𝑐𝑟
𝑇𝑖𝑔 = 𝑇∞ + (1)
ℎ𝑇
where Tig is the ignition surface temperature [K], T∞ is
the ambient temperature [K], qcr” is the critical heat flux
for ignition [kW/m2],  is the surface absorptivity [-],
and hT is the total heat transfer coeficient for heat losses
[W/m2 K].
Once the material has reached the ignition surface
temperature (temperature for ignition), if the sample is
exposed to an external heat flux, then the time measured
between the exposure and ignition will be the ignition
delay time. Equation 2 shows a commonly used model to
obtain the time to ignition for themally thick materials
[12]. The thermal thickness is a parameter used to
charactarize a material when the temperature across the
material has a temperature gradient and is not constant.
2 time in which the sample ignites [13]. The critical mass
𝜋 𝑇𝑖𝑔 − 𝑇∞
𝑡𝑖𝑔 = 𝑘𝜌𝐶𝑝 (2)
4 𝑞𝑒"
From this equation tig is the ignition delay time [s], Tig is
the ignition surface temperature [K], T∞ is the ambient
temperature [k], qe” is the external heat flux for ignition
[kW/m2], k is the themal conductivity [W/m K], Cp is the
specific heat [J/kg K] and ρ is the density [kg/m3].
The time to ignition depends on the thermal inertia, i.e.
the product of the thermal conductivity (k), the density
(ρ) and the specific heat (Cp). It characterizes the ability
of a material to resist the change in its own temperature.
This parameter is calculated by obtaining the inverse of
the square root of the time to ignition (tig) as a function
of the external heat flux by a linear relationship. The
value of the slope is related to the thermal inertia.
1 2 1 1
= 𝑞𝑒" (3)
𝑡𝑖𝑔 𝜋 𝑘𝜌𝐶𝑝 𝑇𝑖𝑔 − 𝑇∞
Finally, with Equation 2 and 3 the thermal inertia is
obtained where tig is the ignition delay time [s], Tig is the
ignition surface temperature [K], T∞ is the ambient
temperature [k], qe” is the external heat flux for ignition
[kW/m2], k is the thermal conductivity [W/m K].
2.2 MASS LOSS RATES AT THE FIREPOINT
The second step to characterize ignition was through the
analysis of the rate of mass loss of the samples while
being heated. This criterion was first proposed by
Bamford et al. in 1946 [17]. Kanury stated that in the
threshold of ignition, the pyrolysis rate is expected to be
increased so much that the resulting mixture of gases
reaches concentrations above the lower flammability
limits [18].
Rasbash et al. [13] provided a more detailed approach to
this theory. They stated that the mass loss measured is
initially due to the pyrolysis process of the sample, and
the production of volatile gases. This will eventually
create a critical mass flow of fuel volatiles at the
firepoint, which combustion can produce enough heat to
sustain the generation of volatiles from the solid to
sustain the flame. According to Rasbash et al.,
determining the critical mass loss rate with pilot ignition
is a method for evaluating ignition in terms of the
products generated by material decomposition [13].
For each of the experiment performed in the Cone
Calorimeter, the mass loss was recorded in a 1-second
interval. With the use of a load cell the weight of the
sample was recorded while being exposed to a known
radiant heat flux. The mass loss rate per unit area was
obtained by differentiation of the mass over the time step
and divided by the exposed surface area of the sample.
The mass loss rate per unit area (g/m2s) calculated over
each second was graphed vs time (s). A typical mass loss
rate profile is one were the mass loss rate increases
gradually before achieving a steep increment around the
loss rate for ignition (MLRc) in the laminated bamboo
samples was obtained at the inflection point where
ignition takes place.
One of the major factors of uncertainty was due to the
imprecision of the load cell. It was observed that
recordings had major reading fluctuations in the outcome
data, and finding the critical point was quite inconsistent.
The direct results from the readings of the recorded time
to ignition were discarded because the data signal
included significant noise. Initial analyses deemed the
data unreliable.
Another factor of uncertainty found in this analysis was
that the values of the mass loss near ignition tend to be
small, especially at high heat fluxes [19], so the
calculation of these values can produce errors in the
exact definition of the ignition time. To minimize these
uncertainties, three different procedures were followed
to determine the best and most accurate way to obtain
the critical mass loss rate for ignition.
2.2.1 Limiting smooth slope intercept
For each of the plots, the smoothed trend of the data was
obtained with the use of Locally Weighted Regression
(LOESS). According to Cleveland et al., LOESS is a
procedure used for fitting a regression surface through
smoothing in order to carry out data prediction [20, 21].
Figure 2 shows an example of this limiting slope
intercept approach. Once the fitted/smoothed curve was
obtained (the solid line following the dotted trend), two
straight lines were used to identify each trend (solid red
lines) and in their intersection was marked as the mass
loss rate for ignition (red dotted line). In this particular
case the MLRc obtained by this method is 2 g/m2s.
Figure 2: Limiting smooth slope intercept example to find the
critical mass loss rate (g/m2s).
2.2.2 Average smoothing data
In this procedure, the critical mass loss rate is calculated
by taking the average of the data points around the
change in slope of the “smoothing data” when the
increment of the curve starts.
2.2.3 Average noise data
The third approach consisted in calculating the average
of the data points around the changed tendency and slope
increment of the fluctuating “noise data”, taking into
consideration the unstable values.
Results from the three methods for each heat flux tested
are reported and a comparison between the values
obtained is provided.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 FLAMMABILITY PARAMETERS
Fifty-three samples where tested in the Cone
Calorimeter, 37 of which ignited and 16 did not. For heat
fluxes of 14 kW/m2 or lower, no ignition was observed.
However, ignition did occur at 15 kW/m2.
Figure 3 shows the plot of time for ignition vs external
heat flux for each test. As mentioned in section 2.1, this
plot shows an asymptotic tendency, and the red vertical
line shows a value of an external heat flux of 14 kW/m2
to a time approaching infinity. This vertical red line
represents the critical heat flux for ignition (CHFig),
where no ignition was achieved. This theoretically
means that 14 kW/m2 is the critical heat flux for ignition
as it is the lower limit of the incident heat flux necessary
to create the conditions for ignition.
Figure 3: Ignition times (tig) and external heat flux for ignition
(qe) for laminated bamboo samples. Vertical red line indicates
the critical heat flux for ignition.
With the value of the critical heat flux for ignition
known, the temperature for ignition was calculated with
Equation 1. The value used for total heat transfer was
obtained as 37 W/m2K following the regression proposed
by Hidalgo [22] based on a convective coefficient for
horizontal hot plates and an emissivity of 0.8-1.0. The
value calculated for the temperature of ignition for these
tests was 365ºC.
Figure 4: Ignition times (1/tig ½) and external heat flux for
ignition for laminated bamboo samples. Vertical red line
indicates the critical heat flux for ignition.
The plot in Figure 4 shows the inverse of the square root
of the time to ignition against the external heat flux. The
red line marks the critical heat for ignition at 14 kW/m2.
From the slope of the plot, Equation 3 was used to
calculate the thermal inertia (kρCp). A value of thermal
inertia of 1.25 (kW2s)/(m4K2) was obtained for these
samples.
Values such as the critical heat flux for ignition,
temperature for ignition and thermal inertia, are strongly
dependant in the type of experiment or the model used
[16, 23]. For this reason, comparison with existent data
has to be done carefully making sure to make reference
to data obtained by following the same procedure.
Other authors have also generated information on the
flammability parameters of laminated bamboo. Selected
values obtained from published references as depicted in
Table 2 are used for further discussion and to evaluate
the results presented herein.
Table 2: Comparison with laminated bamboo from literature. This table shows that the laminated bamboo samples
from the study presented here yielded higher values of
Reference CHFig Tig kρCp CHFig and Tig, than those reported by Ngu [23]. From the
kW ºC kW2s referenced materials, Macrocarpa has the highest values,
m2 m4K2 and closely approximates the figures of bamboo. The
rest of the timber species show CHFig values more than 3
This work (Moso) 14 365 1.25 kW/m2 lower and temperatures of ignition lower below
Mena (Guadua) [24] 14 - - that of bamboo. This means that more energy and a
Xu (Moso) [25] 6 297 - higher temperature are required to ignite a sample of
Roberts (Moso) [26] 14-15 450-485 0.32-0.37 laminated bamboo than the other samples in this table.
Mena et al. tested vertical oriented laminated bamboo
For the thermal inertia, Table 3 shows that Rimu has a
samples from the species best known as Guadua. He
higher value, and Moso samples come in second. This
used the Lateral Ignition Flame Spread test (LIFT)
shows that the Rimu samples showed a higher resistance
apparatus for his tests. Although they used a different
of the material to change and increase its temperature.
equipment and test set-up, similar theoretical
correlations were used to calculate these results. Table 2 3.2 MASS LOSS RATES AT THE FIREPOINT
shows the value obtained for the CHFig was 14 kW/m2,
same as the results obtained in this study. As explained in section 2.2, three different analysis were
Xu et al. tested Moso samples of laminated bamboo used to determine the critical mass loss rate from the
placed horizontally in the Cone Calorimeter. They used a data. Figure 5 shows the results of the three approaches
similar test set-up as the one used for this research, obtained for the critical mass loss rate, graphed against
however, used a different correlation theory for the every external heat flux. Each point represents the
analysis of the data. Values obtained for the CHFig were average of all the repetitions done for every external heat
approximately half the number obtained by the authors. flux tested. The yellow triangle marker shows the values
Their results for the temperature of ignition, T ig, were obtained for the critical mass loss rate for the “Limiting
approximately 20% lower than the results of this smooth slope intercept” approach, the blue circle, for the
research. “Average smoothing data” approach, and the green
rhombus of the “Average noise data” approach. All the
Finally, Roberts tested vertical oriented Moso samples, results are in the range from 2.00 g/m2s to 3.88 g/m2s.
also using the Cone Calorimeter. The theoretical
correlations used for his data analysis were similar to the
one used in here. As seen in Table 2, the same value was
obtained by him for the case of CHFig, The temperature
for ignition was almost 100ºC higher than the one
obtained in this paper. The difference in this value can
be due to the fact that he used a lower heat transfer
coefficient of 31 W/m2K. Roberts’s value for thermal
inertia was around one fourth of the value obtained by
the author. This difference can be due to the higher value
of temperature for ignition obtained.
To compare laminated bamboo values with timber, Table
3 presents results by Ngu [23] for some timber species
used for the fabrication of engineered timber products.
Ngu tested 20 mm and 40 mm samples in the ISO 5657
apparatus. He analysed and compared his data with Figure 5: Critical mass loss rate (g/m2s) vs external heat flux
seven different theories. Table 3 shows the results kW/m2 for each method.
derived from testing 40 mm samples and analysed with
the correlations by Mikkola and Wichman [23]. Figure 5 shows the same trend is consistent for all three
analyses. The value of 15 kW/m2, in the three cases are
Table 3: Comparison with timber species tested by [23] from close to 3 g/m2s, the highest value being 3.05 g/m2s and
the ISO 5657 tests. the lowest value 2.87 g/m2s. However, for the next heat
flux, 16 kW/m2, this value drops almost 1 g/m2s being
Material CHFig Tig kρCp the highest value 2.21 and the lowest value 2.12 g/m2s.
For the heat fluxes of 17, 18, 19, 20, 30 and 40, the trend
kW ºC kW2s increases for each heat flux to achieve the highest value
m2 m4K2 at 40 kW/m2s of 3.88 g/m2s. At 50 kW/m2, the mass loss
This work (Moso) 14.0 365 1.250 rate value starts to descend with values in a range of 3.47
Macrocarpa 13.0 362 0.387 g/m2s to 3.70 g/m2s. For 60 kW/m2, it continues to drop
Beech 10.7 327 0.585 until reaching 80 kW/m2 with the lowest value of 2.00
Radiata Pine 8.1 281 0.810 g/m2s. For this material, the critical mass loss rate was
Rimu 7.8 275 1.290 observed to reduce at high heat fluxes. However, further
testing and analysis will be performed to justify and
validate this behavior.
From all the data, the difference between the highest and
lowest value is 1.88 g/m2s giving a standard deviation of
0.62. The highest value is 3.88 g/m2s found at 40kW/m2
and the lowest value is 2.00 kW/m2 found at 80 kw/m2.
Table 4: Average values of Critical Mass Loss Rate (MLRc).
Average MLRC at the
Calculation methodology
firepoint
(refer to section 2.3)
[g/m2s]
Limiting smooth
2.85
slope intercept
Average smoothing data 3.08
Average noise data 2.75
Table 4 shows the average of the mass loss rate values
for all heat fluxes for each of the three methods. The
highest value comes from the “Average smoothing data”
approach with a value of 3.08 g/m2s. The lowest
averaged is 2.75 g/m2s for the “Average noise data”
method.
From the results obtained in Figure 5, a polynomial
function of second order was fitted to generate a
trendline. From the analysis, it was determined that the
data obtained at 15 kW/m2 was inconsistent to the trend;
therefore, the data was fitted leaving out the results
obtained for 15 kW/m2. Figure 6 shows the results of this
equations with the fit for all three methods. The average
noise data calculation approach shows the best fit. Figure
6 shows the polynomial fit, the equation and the R2 for
each method.
Figure 6: Critical mass loss rate (g/m2s) vs external heat flux
kW/m2 for each calculation with a polynomial fit without the
data collected for 15 kW/m2.
As it can be seen the best R2 value is obtained for the
“Average noise data” method. The second best fit was
the “Average smooth data” while the Limiting slope
intercept is the least reliable on with an R2 of 0.7822.
While no reference information of bamboo’s critical
mass loss rate at the firepoint was found in literature, a
comparison with the same parameter of timber is useful
to evaluate results. Table 5 presents a summary of
selected literature sources addressing timber, which are
used for discussion purposes.
Table 5: Comparison critical mass loss rate for ignition from
literature.
MLRC at the
Material Firepoint Reference
[g/m2s]
L.Bamboo Moso 2.75 This work
Plywood > 3.4 [19]
White pine 2.2 [27]
Mahogany 1.8 [28]
Oak, Pine, etc. > 7.5 [29]
Planks of deal 2.5 [17]
Delichastsios [19] carried out experiments on plywood
to determine the critical mass flux for ignition and its
dependency on oxygen concentration variations. He
obtained a mass loss rate of 3.4 g/m2s for heat fluxes of
25 and 35 kW/m2. For a heat flux of 50 kW/m2 and
variable oxygen concentration, the values ranged from
3.5 g/m2s to more than 6 g/m2s. It can be noted that the
values obtained for the samples of laminated bamboo are
lower than the ones calculated for plywood.
Mass loss rate at the firepoint for White pine, Mahogany
and deal panels was measured by Mazhar [27], Atreya et
al. [28], and Bamford et al. [17], respectively. All these
studies reported lower results than those presented
herein. Koohyar et al. also tested a range of wood
samples including Oak and Pine, although they report
the critical mass loss for ignition in a range between 1-22
g/m2s. According to Rasbash et al., these previous works
had no systematic experimental methods, and could have
generated inconsistent results [13].
4 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
The critical heat flux for ignition for the Phyllostachys
pubescens “Moso” laminated bamboo has been found to
be 14 kW/m2. This value is in accordance with two other
reference tests carried out on this material. Timber
species, such as Radiata Pine, Beech, and Rimu, used
currently for construction ignite at lower incident heat
fluxes.
The temperature for ignition for the laminated bamboo
samples tested was found to be 365 ºC, yielding a higher
value than the reported in Table 3, for timber species
such as Macrocarpa, Beech, Radiata Pine and Rimu.
The thermal inertia value of 1.25 kW2s/m4K2, found for
this tests, is a higher value than the ones presented for
Marocarpa, Beech and Radiata Pine. This value is
comparable to the timber species in the market.
To obtain the critical mass loss rate, three methods were
developed as explained in section 2.2. A polynomic
function was determined to best fit the Critical mass loss
rate versus External heat flux plot. The best correlation
was found in the data obtained by the “Average of noise
data” calculation approach. The data obtained for
15kW/m2 was excluded from this fit.
The average value of the critical mass loss rate at the
firepoint, following the “Average noise data method”,
was 2.75 g/m2s.
The critical mass loss rate was observed to reduce at
high heat fluxes, for this material. However, further
testing and analysis will be performed to verify this
behavior.
This study is part of a current research project that
intends to characterize the fire performance of laminated
bamboo. The present work assess flammability
parameters for one type of laminated bamboo material
currently used as a finishing product in buildings.
However, further research on other laminated bamboo
products proposed for structural elements will be
reported in subsequent publications.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The first author wants to acknowledge The University of
Queensland’s Centre for Future Timber Structures for all
the support received towards this research, as well as
both my co-authors for all their help and guidance.
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