EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 for Bridges and Roadways
Water, Fire, Traffic, Movement--One Install Does it All

EMSHIELD DFR
UL 2079 Testing and Certification:






FF-D-0075, FF-D-1086, FW-D-0052
FW-D-1073, FW-D-0078, FW-D-1090
FW-D-0053, FW-D-1075

ULC Systems

JF130, JF133, JF137, JF138

Underwriters Laboratories UL Certification
ULC Certification

Manufacture: UL certification begins with certification of the manufacturing process.  UL personnel observe the entire manufacturing process from impregnation to coating to packaging.

Installation: Next, an installation to include a join between standard lengths, using the tools, and procedures that will be used in the field is observed by UL.  Specifically, 4-inch nominal DFR2 was installed into 4-inch thick concrete slabs (4-inches of concrete are required for the concrete itself to provide 2-hours of fire resistance).  Once the epoxy-adhesive and liquid sealants used in the installation were cured, the slabs were ready for cycling.

EMSHIELD DFR was tested both with just the intumescent bellows on the bottom  side (standard offering to allow visual inspection verification of presence of fire proofing), as well as with the intumescent bellows on the bottom side coated with a silicone bellows (optional at additional charge to suit designers aesthetic preference).

Joint Cycling:  Before any fire testing can commence, the product must pass UL's cycling requirement through the extremes of the offered movement range (+25%, -25% from nominal). 

Joint movement under UL 2079 occurs at two levels.  The first, 400 cycles @ 10 cycles/minute simulates thermal and wind-sway cycling.  The second, an additional 100 cycles @ 30 cycles per minute, is more rapid and is designed to simulate seismic movement. EMSHIELD DFR passed cycling at both levels.

Fire Resistance:  Within 96 hours of the cycling tests the fire testing must occur.  The concrete slabs with installed expansion joint material are placed over the test oven. 

The joint gap is set at the maximum offered opening for the material size tested (4-inch nominal material at +25% movement claim = 5-inches).

Thermo couples are placed on the top side of the material.  (When fire-blankets are tested, because they cannot support traffic of any kind, they are tested with a plate or other joint cover across the joint gap onto which the thermo couples are set.)

For the DFR, the thermo couples were placed directly on the trafficable exposed upper surface of the material--in the middle of the product, at the substrate interface, and directly over the field-join.

The oven is ignited and the temperature rises rapidly to near 1650^oF (899^oC) in about 30 minutes. After two hours the internal temperature of the oven reaches 1850^oF (1010^oC).

The data from the thermo couples is monitored throughout the duration of the test.

To pass, no single thermo couple can read in excess of 356^oF (180^oC) at any point during the duration of the test.

After two hours, no single thermo couple on the EMSHIELD DFR2 read in excess of 248^oF (120^oC).  (The noticeable bow in the concrete slabs is evidence of the differential expansion of the heated concrete on the fire-side of the slabs.)

The successful conclusion of the test earns EMSHIELD DFR the certification by UL of this product in sizes from 4-inches and smaller at depths of 4-inches and with a movement capability of +25% and -25% (total 50%) to be fire-rated for up to 2 hours.

Underwriters Laboratories UL Certification
ULC Certification
 

Traffic Durable, Watertight, 2-Hour or 3-Hour Fire Rated Expansion Joints

EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 are watertight, fire-rated, traffic-durable primary seals for both retrofit and new structural expansion joints in horizontal-plane applications.

EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 eliminate the need for additional fire blankets, mineral wools, liquid sealants, cover plates, or other fire stopping materials.

For joints from 1 to 4-inches (25-100mm) where +25% and -25% (total 50%) of nominal material size joint movement is expected.

Note: Sizes under 1 1/2" (40mm) are manufactured with a single bellows. Larger sizes incorporate multiple bellows

EMSHIELD DFR2 (Deck, Fire-Rated 2-Hours) and EMSHIELD DFR3  (Deck, Fire-Rated 3-Hours) build on EMSEAL's track record of over 30 years of innovation in sealing structural expansion joints with impregnated foam sealants and are the first in a comprehensive line of breakthrough, multi-function, structural expansion joint materials being released by EMSEAL. Both are tested and certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to the rigors of UL 2079.

Fire-retardant-impregnated foam is factory pre-coated on the underside with an intumescent fire-proofing material. The traffic surface receives a traffic-grade silicone coating.  The resulting composite is then factory compressed to less than its nominal size for installation into structural or other openings. 

EMSHIELD WFR2 (Wall Fire-Rated 2-Hours) and EMSHIELD WFR3 (Wall Fire-Rated 3-Hours) for wall and vertical rise applications are now available. They can be combined with EMSHIELD DFR2 or DFR3 to create a completely fire-rated horizontal and vertical system.

FIRE RATING Expansion Joints in BRIDGE Design:
With notable events such as Oakland California's tanker-fire fed structural collapse of the MacArthur Maze Freeway interchange roadway spans, fire-rating of bridge structures is being increasingly considered.  Extension of fire rated design across expansion joints can be achieved with EMSEAL's breakthrough fire-rated, traffic durable, high movement and watertight joint seals.  EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 provide all of these functions in a single product installation.  Movement cycled and 2-hour or 3-hour fire tested to UL 2079, EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 are the first of their kind expansion joint systems to satisfy all performance demands in a single installation process.

EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 provide a watertight, clean handling, UV stable, non-staining, low-temperature-flexible, high-temperature-stable, watertight, traffic durable and fire-rated joint seal in a single installation process.

Uses For expansion joints in bridges, roadways and other surfaces where watertightness and/or a fire-rating and/or traffic durability are required.

Can be used alone or under any other expansion joint cover, plate or filler where depth of substrate allows.

Product Description EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 feature a traffic-grade silicone sealing surface adhered to a fire-retardant impregnated foam backing and an intumescent bellows on the bottom (fire) side.

The system is installed into epoxy adhesive field-applied to the sides of the joint face.  A field-injected silicone sealant band seals the bellows to the substrate. (Note: A sealant band of intumescent caulk from the underside is NOT REQUIRED enabling the installation to be done entirely from the top side).  Joins between each stick are executed using a field-applied silicone sealant band at the top of the join and an intumescent sealant coating over the remaining foam at the adjoining faces.

Figure 1: EMSHIELD DFR2/DFR3 in Typical Deck-To-Deck Installation

Figure 2: EMSHIELD DFR2/DFR3 in Typical Deck-To-Wall Installation

Features Watertight — EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 are installed with the tensionless traffic-grade, fuel-resistant bellows facing the traffic ensuring that watertightness is achieved. Fire-Rated — The fire-retardant-impregnated foam and intumescent bellows is installed facing the lower floor ensuring 2-hour or 3-hour fire protection in accordance with UL-2079. Non-Invasive Anchoring — There are no hard metal-to-substrate connections with EMSHIELD DFR2/DFR3. This includes embedded pins, anchors, screws, bolts or tracks, trays or rails, flanges or coverplates. The systems are locked to the joint faces by means of the 1) backpressure of the foam; 2) the epoxy adhesive, and 3) the injected sealant bands at the joint face. Versatility — The standard EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 top surface color is gray (other colors are optional). The standard underside color is "intumescent-red".  This provides a visual inspection cue to ensure the presence of the fire-proofing.  At the designer's option, an additional silicone color coating can be applied to the underside. Joint-Size Variation —Uniform bellows appearance, and the ability to handle variations in joint size through size-switching. Sound Attenuation -- Floors sealed with EMSEAL impregnated foam sealants offer exceptional acoustic dampening and feature sound transmission coefficients virtually equal to that of the solid slab.

Factory-Fabricated Terminations and Transitions— as in all EMSEAL expansion joint systems, continuity of seal through changes in plane and direction is an essential performance differentiator. EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 are manufactured in straight-run sticks which can be joined in the field to EMSEAL’s patent-pending DFR2/DFR3 "Universal-90" Transitions and Terminations. Universal-90 Upturn Termination Universal-90 Flipped-Over as Downturn Termination Universal-90 Upturn Transition Universal-90 Flipped-Over as Downturn Transition These factory-fabricated single-piece 90-degree units have a 12-inch long leg and a 6-inch vertical piece on each end of the elbow.   The Universal-90's are symmetrically coated on both sides.  This allows them to be installed as an upturn or as a downturn.  Either leg can be trimmed in the field to connect to straight run material or to another Universal-90 when going, for example, up and over a curb, into a parapet, or up and down treads and risers. Universal-90 terminations end, on the 6-inch leg, in a 45o sealed and mitered end.  This allows termination as a stand alone upturn or provides a surface against to which a wall joint system can be married.  Flipped over, the Universal-90 termination unit can be alternatively installed as downturn termination where a joint runs off the deck.  In this use, the sealed, mitered end provides a drip edge for drainage of water off the joint. In addition to guaranteeing a continuous waterproof coating, EMSEAL’s "Universal-90's" allow for much faster and secure installation by eliminating field cutting or notching and bending at angles.

Performance Sizing EMSHIELD DFR2 Movement Capability: +25%, -25% (50% total) of nominal material size. Standard sizes from: 1/2" to 4" (12-100mm) Depth of Seal for all sizes: 4" (100mm).  Note: Thickness of concrete for 2-hour rating = 4" (100mm). Substrates must be solid, parallel and plumb. Supplied Product  Nominal Material Size Depth of Length Code ( = Joint Size at Mean T) Seal 6.56 LF (2M)  DFR2-100-100-02 1/2"  (12mm) 4" (100mm) Stick DFR2-100-100-02 5/8"  (15mm) 4" (100mm)   DFR2-100-100-02 3/4"  (20mm) 4" (100mm)   DFR2-100-100-02 1"  (25mm) 4" (100mm)   DFR2-125-100-02 1 1/4" (30mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-150-100-02 1 1/2" (40mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-175-100-02 1 3/4" (45mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-200-100-02 2" (50mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-225-100-02 2 1/4" (55mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-250-100-02 2 1/2" (60mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-275-100-02 2 3/4" (70mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-300-100-02 3" (75mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-325-100-02 3 1/4" (80mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-350-100-02 3 1/2" (90mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-375-100-02 3 3/4" (95mm) 4" (100mm) DFR2-400-100-02 4" (100mm) 4" (100mm)     EMSHIELD DFR3 Movement Capability: +25%, -25% (50% total) of nominal material size. Standard sizes from: 1/2" to 4" (12-100mm) Depth of Seal for all sizes: 4" (100mm).  Note: Thickness of concrete for 3-hour rating = 5" (125mm). Substrates must be solid, parallel and plumb. Supplied Product  Nominal Material Size Depth of Length Code ( = Joint Size at Mean T) Seal 6.56 LF (2M) DFR3-100-100-02 1/2"  (12mm) 4" (100mm) Stick DFR3-100-100-02 5/8"  (15mm) 4" (100mm)   DFR3-100-100-02 3/4"  (20mm) 4" (100mm)   DFR3-100-100-02 1"  (25mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-125-100-02 1 1/4" (30mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-150-100-02 1 1/2" (40mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-175-100-02 1 3/4" (45mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-200-100-02 2" (50mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-225-100-02 2 1/4" (55mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-250-100-02 2 1/2" (60mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-275-100-02 2 3/4" (70mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-300-100-02 3" (75mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-325-100-02 3 1/4" (80mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-350-100-02 3 1/2" (90mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-375-100-02 3 3/4" (95mm) 4" (100mm) DFR3-400-100-02 4" (100mm) 4" (100mm)

Colors Standard traffic surface color is gray (consult EMSEAL for options). Standard underside color is 'intumescent red' to facilitate visual inspection of presence of fire proofing.  Additional color coating on bottom side is available as an option--consult EMSEAL.

Testing and Standards EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 have been tested and certified under UL 2079. EMSHIELD DFR2 and DFR3 meet the requirements of ASTM E1966, ASTM E119 and ASTM E1399. UL 2079, like ASTM E1966, was developed to encompass the fire testing of ASTM E119 and the movement cycling regime of ASTM E1399.

• Tech Data (.pdf) • DFR2 ProductSummary(pdf) • DFR2/DFR3 Installation Instructions (htm) • DFR2/DFR3 Installation Instructions (pdf) • DFR2 GuideSpec(.htm) • DFR2 GuideSpec(doc) • DFR3 GuideSpec (.htm) • DFR3 GuideSpec (.doc) • DFR2 CAD (dwg, pdf & jpg) • DFR3 CAD (.dwg & .pdf) • Request DFR2 Sample • Request DFR3 Sample • DFR2 UL Certification Letter (pdf) • UL Certification Directory Listing • Universal-90's Overview (.htm) • MSDS--EMSHIELD DFR2 Foam    MSDS--EMSHIELD DFR2 Intumescent Sealant    MSDS--EMSHIELD DFR2 Silicone Sealant    MSDS--EMSHIELD DFR2 Epoxy • MSDS--DFR3 Foam    MSDS--DFR3 Intumescent Sealant    MSDS--DFR3 Silicone Sealant    MSDS--DFR3 Epoxy • FTIR/DSC Certification EMSHIELD--Wax Free