Could You Pass UL 2079?
SJS-FR2 is the latest expansion joint from EMSEAL to pass the rigorous UL 2079 standard.
SJS-FR2 — 2-hour Fire Rating Built-In to Seismic Joint System from Sika Emseal
Try this: from a deep, knees-bent squat, stand up to your full height and squat back down again, slowly, taking 6 seconds to complete the cycle. Do that 400 times. Now squat down and stand up 100 more times every 2 seconds.
Take a day to recover, and then (don’t try this) lie on your back over an 1850°F (1010°C) fire for two hours.
If your belly-button doesn’t reach more than 356°F (180°C) AND your head, toes and belly-button averaged together don’t exceed 248°F (120°C) then you’ve passed. Oh, and you can’t crumble and fall completely into the fire either.
This is roughly what a product subject to the rigors of the UL2079 test for fire-rated deck and floor expansion joints endures. Now voluntarily allow someone to show up in your house unannounced at least once a year, but as often as s/he feels like, to make sure you are always dressed exactly as you were during the exercises and that you have remained in the same physical condition you were in when you passed the test.
UL 2079 certifications may seem like an almost everyday occurrence for Sika Emseal over the years. Passing each test is, however, far from routine.
Our latest achievement came on September 17th, 2010–a built in, 2-hour fire rating for a 100% movement, trafficable, watertight, seismic deck joint is a major accomplishment.
SJS-FR2 was cycled from a mean-temperature joint size of 10-inches up to 15-inches and down to 5-inches according to the protocol previously described. It then endured and passed the burn test.
This makes SJS-FR2 the first trafficable seismic expansion joint with a built-in, 2-hour fire rating that is additionally watertight and installs entirely from the deck surface.
Installation from above means no utility lifts or overhead holding labor.
It also means that continuity of fire-protection and complete fire compartmentalization is markedly more achievable than with traditional fire-blanket type barriers.
Structural elements like columns and cantilevered slide-bearing haunches, as well as under-slab obstructions from HVAC, plumbing and electrical items that interrupt the path of fire-blankets installed or that hang below the deck or floor slab, do not interfere with SJS-FR.
When specifying a product with life-safety implications, UL Certification should be seriously considered. Many fire-protection products are tested without UL Certification.
This means that they may have passed, at one-time, the UL standard usually at a non-UL certified lab. This is considerably less expensive that having the test done at UL and also eliminates the ongoing cost of maintaining certification. It also means that there is no ongoing, third-party, objective inspection to provide you the assurance that product being shipped today is being manufactured to the same standards that applied when the test material was manufactured or assembled. These manufacturers cannot use the UL symbol.
The UL symbol carries the validation of the product and the manufacturer and assures continuity of compliance and quality assurance. And, it’s easy to find out if a manufacturer holds UL certifications. Just type the company name into this form at UL’s website.
EMSEAL’s ongoing “Innovate, Don’t Imitate” R&D program is committed to breaking paradigms in the structural expansion joint field. Fire rated expansion joints perform many tasks in today’s structures and UL 2079 is a serious standard. The Emshield product line is the result of this commitment to finding ways to keep expansion joint and sealant technologies in step with evolving building science.