Received: 11 August 2019 Revised: 22 November 2019 Accepted: 26 November 2019

DOI: 10.1002/fam.2798

SI-MATERIALS BEHAVIOUR IN FIRE

Material properties of clay and lime plaster for structural

fire design

Liblik Johanna1 | Küppers Judith2 | Just Alar1 | Maaten Birgit3 | Pajusaar Siim4

1
Civil Engineering and Architecture, Tallinn
University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia Summary
2
Institute of Building Materials, Concrete Clay and lime plaster are traditional surface finish materials used on historic timber
Construction and Fire Safety (IBMB), Division
walls and ceilings. Today, hardly any fire technical properties or design parameters
of Fire Safety, TU Braunschweig, iBMB,
Braunschweig, Germany exist that consider such plasters as fire protection materials for timber structures.
3
Energy Technology, Tallinn University of This hinders the fire assessment of existing building structures and disadvantages
Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
4
their use in modern design solutions where healthy and sustainable materials are
Geology, Tallinn University of Technology,
Tallinn, Estonia increasingly favoured. This research follows the safety philosophy of EN 1995-1-2 to
describe the fire protection ability of plasters. This paper investigates the
Correspondence
Liblik Johanna, Civil Engineering and temperature-dependent thermal properties of historic plasters by presenting series
Architecture, Tallinn University of Technology,
of material-specific tests and furnace tests carried out under standard fire exposure
Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086, Estonia.
Email: [email protected] conditions. Experimental studies are supported by numerical heat transfer simula-
tions. Results demonstrate particularities between the fire protection ability of clay
Funding information
TU Braunschweig; Estonian Research Council, and lime plaster, however, highlight the need for further investigations in terms of
Grant/Award Number: TAR 16012; European
their thermophysical performance and standardisation at the European level. Design
Regional Development Fund
parameters are presented and discussed in future perspective. This work demon-
strates a basic research to plan and design full-scale fire tests according to EN
13381-7:2019.

1 | I N T RO DU CT I O N been published. However, none of these design guidelines provide fire

design data nor material properties for plasters. This implies to consid-
Clay and lime plaster have extensively been used in historic timber erable disadvantages in the use of plaster as fire protection material;
buildings to cover the walls and ceilings. In the past, plaster was the moreover, it hinders the assessment of already existing plasters
primary protection for timber structures against fire exposure. Nowa- regarding their fire performance in historic timber buildings. Today,
days, new materials such as gypsum plasterboards provide an effec- there is insufficient data about the material properties of traditional
tive fire protection for timber, thus traditional plasters are nearly plasters at high temperatures since only limited information exists.4
neglected. In existing buildings, nevertheless, these historic surface In the last years, some of the authors have been investigating the
finish materials, especially in the case of heritage-protected structures, principle fire protection ability of historic plasters under standard fire
often confront designers and engineers. Furthermore, in today's sea- exposure conditions according to EN 1363-1.5,6 The studies are still
rch for sustainable, healthy, and resource-efficient ways of building, limited mainly because of the various types of plasters and high cost
combinations of timber and other ecological materials like clay plaster of fire tests. Therefore, this paper focuses on the numerical simulation
offer a contemporary alternative to conventional building solutions.1 tool SAFIR7 that provides a useful alternative to investigate heat
As fire safety is one of the utmost importance in buildings, the fire transfer through materials.
technical properties of a material and its performance at elevated The numerical investigations require reliable input data about the
2
temperatures are required for fire design. In Europe, EN 1995-1-2 material properties in order to obtain realistic values for effective
determines the fire design of timber structures, also an improved thermal properties. Fire tests do not provide explicit information
European technical guideline—Fire Safety in Timber Buildings3 has about the thermophysical fire behaviour of materials (eg, moisture

Fire and Materials. 2019;1–11. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fam © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1
2 JOHANNA ET AL.

evaporation and movement) as mainly the temperature measurements 2013.13 For lime-based plasters, a standard EN 998-1 exists that pro-
are recorded. Thus, this is generally considered in the derived effec- vides specification of rendering and plastering mortars.14 Both plas-
tive thermal properties along with other physical phenomena such as ters are included in EN 13914-2:2016 that specifies the design,
cracks and shrinkage.8 preparation, and application of internal plasters.15
The main temperature-dependent properties required for thermal This study is foremost limited to undercoat plasters that enable
simulations are thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and bulk to build-up thick coats of plaster. Traditional clay and lime plaster fall
density. Several researches have investigated the thermophysical in the density range of 1600 to 1800 kg/m3 as the main component is
9,10
properties of various soils, clay, and limestone. However, these coarse sand with a grain size of 0 to 4 mm. Table 1 presents the types
materials are different from the plasters used in buildings. A first study of plasters investigated in this research. Ready-mix clay and lime plas-
on heat transfer investigations of clay plasters has recently made by ter were selected according to the traditional recipe. Clay plaster com-
11
some of the authors. prises clay (approximately 6 % of the total volume of a dry plaster
The aim of this current paper is to present the fire technical per- mix), sand, and some form of fibre. Fibre helps to prevent cracking of
formance of traditional clay and lime plaster regarding their effective plaster during its curing process after the application. Lime plaster
material properties and fire protection ability for timber structures. consists of a high-grade hydraulic lime CL90 (approximately 10 % of
The approach follows the design philosophy of EN 1995-1-2, wherein the total volume) and carefully selected sands. For application, water
the main attention is paid on the contribution of plasters to the fire is added to the dry mixture of plaster and stirred until proper consis-
resistance of structures that implies load-bearing capacity (R) and sep- tent is achieved. Plastering was carried out in accordance with the
arating function (requirement on integrity E and insulation I) of a manufacturer's recommendation by a professional craftsman.
building element. When plaster is applied directly on timber, it should always be
This research introduces two recent fire tests accompanied by an addressed as a plaster system since thicker plaster coats require a
overview of previously conducted furnace tests in order to develop a mechanical support (plaster carrier) to ensure its fixation. This is evi-
comprehensive basis for numerical heat transfer investigations.6 dent in historic buildings were plasters are applied directly on logs
Material-specific tests such as transient plane heat source (TPS)/hot walls or wooden planks using various wooden strips and reed-based
disc method, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray powder dif- materials. In this study, a thin reed mat is used to provide mechanical
fraction (XRD) are used to supplement the fire tests. Considering key for plaster. A reed mat is a thin mat that comprises reed stems
these different methods, the relationship between the obtained data (less than 10 mm thick) with a distance of 10 to 20 mm and are bound
is analysed, and design parameters are proposed. This work forms a together by galvanised wires (see Figure 1A). A reed mat is fixed on
relevant basis needed in the future to plan and design full-scale tests timber using staples of 24 mm in length. In case of a thin reed mat,
according to EN 13381-7:2019.12 Furthermore, it highlights the the plaster thickness is considered as a thickness of the whole plaster
potential and need for European-level product standards for clay plas- system; hence, a plaster thickness is measured from the timber sur-
ter and its substrates to incorporate such natural building materials face (see Figure 1B).
into design codes and guidelines. This enables their wider use in prac-
tice according to various building regulations.
3 | METHODOLOGY

2 | MATERIALS Thermal material properties were determined for the selected types
of plaster (see Table 1). The plaster samples were prepared according
Types of plaster can be distinguished according to their binder, granu- to the specifics of the respective test method. XRD and TGA tests
larity, and function. Throughout the history, the composition of plas- were carried out at Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia; the
ters has varied in their components and ratios of ingredients. Today, TPS tests were conducted at the RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.
there is no product standard for clay plaster at the European level, yet New furnace tests were performed at iBMB, TU Braunschweig in
a product standard DIN 18947 has been published in Germany in Germany.

TABLE 1 Types of selected plaster

Type of Fibre Density of Product Tested Country of

Plaster No. Plaster in Plaster Plaster, kg/m3 Plaster Thickness, mm to Standard Manufacture
1 Clay plaster Hemp 1610–1800a 17, 20, and 44 DIN 18947 Estonia
2 Clay plaster Cattail ~1700 10 and 30 Not tested Estonia
3 Clay plaster Straw 1610–1800a 20 DIN 18947 Germany
4 Lime plaster - ~1700 30 EN 998-1 Estonia
a 3
Density range 1610 to 1800 kg/m refers to density class 1.8 according to DIN 18947.
JOHANNA ET AL. 3

FIGURE 1 Plaster system comprising of plaster and reed mat applied on a timber element

F I G U R E 2 Sample preparation for

transient plane heat source (TPS) tests

The XRD method enables to determine the main bulk composi- measurements was ±2 mm. The test samples were prepared and left
tion of a dry plaster mix. Measurements were made from powder for curing for about 5 weeks at ambient room conditions (23
C)
preparates. A 100 mg of sample was hand milled and wet prepared before testing. Testing was carried out in an electrical furnace
with spirit. Samples were analysed with Bruker D8 diffractometer according to EN ISO 22007-2.17 The measurement points for both
using Lynxeye detector. Scans were made through 2 θ range 5
to plaster types were limited up to a temperature range of 400
C


75 . Measurement results were modelled with Rietveld refinement to 500
C.
method using Topas software. Fire tests were carried out with all four types of plaster under
TGA was used to determine the mass change of plasters. The standard fire exposure conditions according to EN 1363-1. Furnace
analysis was conducted on a NETZSCH STA 449 F3 Jupiter TG-DSC tests enable to determine the fire protection ability of plaster system
analyser coupled with a NETZSCH QMS Aëolos mass spectrometer. (heat transfer through plaster) under standard temperature-time fire
Test samples were crushed in a ball mill until analytical particle size curve (ISO 834). A number of tests have previously been per-
was achieved and conditioned on a room temperature (23
C) in a formed.18,19 For this current research, two extra tests were prepared
closed container before testing. The samples were heated under a in model-scale furnace in horizontal position. The exposed surface
mixture of 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen. A constant heating rate of area was approximately 1.5 m2. The test specimens comprised a


40 C/min was applied for measurements of linear heating programme three-layer cross-laminated timber (CLT) panel with a lamella thick-
in a temperature range of 40
C to 1000
C. This heating rate was cho- ness of 40 mm (initial moisture content was measured approximately
sen to roughly follow the standard temperature-time fire curve (ISO 15%). Thermocouples (TC) of type K with copper plates were fixed on
16
834). the exposed side of timber to measure the temperature rise behind
The TPS method was used to evaluate the thermal diffusivity, the plaster system. Thereafter, a reed mat was fixed, and plaster was
thermal conductivity, and specific heat capacity. For testing, a proper applied by professional craftsman. The plaster system for both tests is
size of MICA sensor was clamped between two samples of the same presented in Figure 3A.
plaster during the preparation process to ensure sufficient connection The first test was prepared with plaster no. 3 (clay plaster with
(Figure 2). Samples were prepared in a cylinder shape with a diameter barley straw fibre). Plaster thickness was 20 mm, and a jute reinforce-
of 68 mm and depth of 25 mm (see Figure 2). Deviation in ment mesh was added in the last layer of plaster as it is commonly
4 JOHANNA ET AL.

done in practice. Test specimen was left for conditioning about and decarboxylation processes. The mass loss around 400
C is due
1 month before the fire test to ensure the equilibrium moisture con- the decomposition of calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2, the higher tempera-
tent of approximately 4% in plaster. The second test comprised a ture range around 700
C to 800
C corresponds to the thermal
30-mm thick lime plaster (plaster no. 4) applied on a reed mat. Thick decomposition of calcium carbonate.20
(10 mm) plaster layers were applied one at a time and left for curing The TPS measurement results of thermal conductivity, thermal
(enhances the carbonisation process) until the next layer was added. diffusivity, and volumetric heat capacity are presented in Table 3. An
The specimen was left for conditioning about 2.5 months before the average of five reliable measurement values per temperature step
fire test. Figure 3B illustrates the test specimen before lying it on the were considered. Some measuring problems were encountered at
top of the furnace for testing. Both specimens were insulated with higher temperatures that resulted in less measurement points. This
mineral wool on the sides to prevent airflow in the edges of the speci- was probably because of the corrosion of the sensor caused by the
men during the fire test (see Figure 3b). crystallised water evaporating from the sample. Plaster 4 (lime plaster)
demonstrated some form of cracking at around 400
C, so the
received results should be considered with caution as thermal proper-
4 | RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ties are sensitive to any cracks or other defect occurrences within
material.
4.1 | Material tests For plaster 1, the TPS measurements demonstrated roughly a
double value of thermal conductivity compared with the one declared
The XRD measurements of plasters 1, 2, and 4 are presented in by the manufacturer (0.82 W/mK at ambient temperature). The rea-
Table 2. The obtained data are presented in a weight percent of a son may be in the different test method or the use of other sensors. A
material (wt %). The amorphous matter is equivalent to the crystal MICA sensor is typically used for temperature measurements of
minerals in the total mass of dry lime plaster mix. Note that solely dry 300
C and above, hence may not demonstrate high accuracy of mea-
crushed plaster mixes were tested. The obtained values should not be surements at lower temperature ranges. However, some influence
considered explicit since they may fluctuate because of the precision
and specifics of the testing. Yet they provide a general insight into the
T A B L E 2 Test results obtained from X-ray powder diffraction
composition of plaster mixtures. (XRD) measurements
TGA results are presented in Figure 4. Both clay plasters demon-
Plaster 1 Plaster 2 Plaster 4
strate a major mass change around 700
C to 800
C that comply with
Component wt % wt % wt %
the change of clay minerals at this temperature range.7 However,
Quartz 53.9 50.1 29.2
there is a significant difference on the total mass loss between plas-
Calcite 9.2 12.9 40.0
ters 2 and 1/plaster 3. For plaster 2, the total mass loss at 900
C is
Dolomite 4.0 6.8 3.2
11.8%; for plasters 1 and 3, they are only 6.4% and 5.8%, respectively.
Plaster 2 embodies higher amount of calcite, dolomite, and clay min- Feldspars 24.2 19.2 10.6

erals that is probably the reason of a greater mass change (Figure 4). Portlandite - - 4.0

The results from TGA may fluctuate as the test sample consistency Amorphous matter - - 13.0
could vary in some extent, yet double testing confirmed the presented Muscovite 1.6 2.7 -
values. Plaster 4 presents a total mass loss of 25.8%. Two levels of Clay minerals 7.0 8.40 -
weight drop are recognised that correspond to the dehydroxylation

F I G U R E 3 Preparation of a test
specimen for furnace tests
JOHANNA ET AL. 5

may also be attributed to the differences in moisture content of plas- Fire tests enabled to determine the protection effect of a plaster
ter, specifics of specimens' preparation, and conditioning of the test system while recording the temperature rise behind plaster system
samples. throughout testing. Figure 5B illustrates the temperature measure-
ments received from the inserted TCs behind the 30-mm lime plaster
system (Figure 5A). Lower temperature rise indicates better fire
4.2 | Fire tests protection effect since the start time of charring of timber (tch) is
postponed. However, there is a significant spread of temperature
Herein, main attention is paid on the specific temperature measure- measurements among all measurements points; TC positioned in the
ments received in conducted fire tests. According to the separating centre of the specimen (TCs 4, 5, and 6) are agreed to be the most
function,3 the protection of a material is defined when the average reliable ones (less influence from the sides of the specimen). The devi-
temperature over the unexposed surface of the protection material ation in temperature values may be influenced by the peculiarities of
exceeds 250
C or until a maximum temperature rise at any point the heat exposure in the furnace itself, uneven carbonisation depths
exceeds 270
C. The temperature value of 270
C is agreed to be taken and moisture movement in lime plaster, various positioning of the
as the basic protection time (tprot,0,i) of each material. The start time of reeds in reed mat, slight difference in the density of plaster, variation


charring of timber (tch) is agreed to be taken at 300 C according to EN in timber properties regarding knots, or small cracks, etc.
1995-1-2. Accordingly, the following test results are focused on these A similar test was performed with plaster 3 that comprised of a
temperature values to determine the fire performance of plasters. reed mat and 20-mm clay plaster. Figure 6A illustrates the perfor-
mance of plaster during the fire test. Temperature measurements are
presented in Figure 6B. There is less scatter in temperature measure-
ments compared with the ones recorded in the lime plaster's fire test
(see Figure 6B). This could be indicating that clay plaster embodies
higher structural integrity at elevated temperatures partly because of
the characteristics of clay minerals that start to fuse after 800
C,
resulting in a mechanically stronger material; similarities may be drawn
to ceramics. The moisture content, evaporation, and transport within
plaster and timber may also significantly influence the recorded mea-
surements. This should be further analysed in future studies.
The temperature points of interest (270
C and 300
C) were
pinpointed from the recorded results. In order to increase the reli-
ability of test results, only TCs readings that positioned in the cen-
tre of the test specimen were taken into account (an average value
was calculated from these TCs). Table 4 presents main material's
design parameters tprot,0,i and tch obtained from the fire test record-
ings illustrated in Figures 5B and 6B. Additionally, fire test results
with a similar set-up are presented, which have been carried out by
FIGURE 4 Test results of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) some of the authors in previous studies.6,18,19 All available results

F I G U R E 5 Fire test plan and results

for plaster 4 (lime plaster = 30 mm)
6 JOHANNA ET AL.

are presented in a joint table format to provide an overall basis for

Heat Capacity
numerical simulations.

Volumetric

MJ/m3K
According to all performed fire tests, the plaster thickness is the

1.432
1.777
1.881
1.981
2.181
2.085
2.218
most significant parameter determining its protection effect in terms of a
temperature rise (see Figure 7A). Figure 7B illustrates the relationship
between the plaster thickness and time to reach a respective design
Diffusivity
Thermal
parameter tprot,0,i and tch. There is only a slight difference in time to reach
mm2/s
0.662
0.499
0.456
0.413
0.357
0.320
0.280
the temperature values of 270
C and 300
C. Therefore, the proposal
was made that further concentration is paid only on the basic protection
time (tprot,0,i), which would also mark the start time of charring (tch) that is
Conductivity

being slightly underestimated yet on the safe side. For reference, a previ-
Thermal

W/mK

ously developed design equation by Liblik and Just6 is presented.

0.947
0.887
0.858
0.818
0.766
0.661
0.618
Temperature

5 | NU MERI CAL I NVES TIG A TIO N S

Plaster 4

101
141
212
263
315
423

Presented test results were taken as the basis for numerical simula-
21


C

tions. The finite element-based computer programme SAFIR v2014a1

Heat Capacity

was used to perform basic one-dimensional thermal analysis (qua-

Volumetric

dratic elements and mesh size of 1 × 1 mm). The simulation software

MJ/m3K

solves the Fourier equation, and the heat is distributed through the
0.667
0.828
0.844
0.939
1.013
1.171
3.035

structure by conduction since most construction elements are made

of solid materials. The purpose of the numerical analysis was to deter-
Diffusivity

mine the effective material properties that agree with the fire test
Thermal

mm2/s
1.399
1.065
1.039
0.932
0.888
0.773
0.186

results regarding the temperature measurements. This follows the

general statements given in EN 1995-1-2, describing that the effec-
tive values should be calibrated on the basis of tests; thus, the
Conductivity

obtained values are characteristic values rather than physically mea-

Thermal

sured ones taking into account the effect of shrinkage, cracks, etc.
W/mK
0.934
0.881
0.877
0.875
0.898
0.905
0.564

The numerical analysis were performed with a test model of 6-cm

thick timber sample protected by plaster. Note that no reed mat
(as part of the plaster system) was simulated in this case. The input
Temperature
Transient plane heat source (TPS) results for plasters 1, 2, and 4

parameters corresponded to the ones given in the European hand-

Plaster 2

book3: the convective heat transfer coefficient was chosen as 25 and

108
201
297
396
494
21
90
C

4 W/mK for exposed and unexposed side of the material sample,

respectively. The surface emissivity was set to 0.8. Thermal properties

Heat Capacity

for timber were taken from EN 1995-1-2. Fire exposure was set to
Volumetric

MJ/m3K

ISO 834 as followed in furnace tests.

1.449
1.750
1.663
1.834
1.943
1.909
-

5.1 | Lime plaster

Diffusivity
Thermal

mm2/s
1.103
0.771
0.790
0.647
0.568
0.515

First, heat transfer simulations were performed using properties

-

obtained from the TPS method (Table 3). The density of lime plaster
was taken 1840 kg/m3 as declared by the manufacturer. As the ther-
Conductivity

mal properties were determined up to 423
C, the properties at higher

Thermal

W/mK

temperatures were taken constant until 1200
C in the calculations

1.598
1.327
1.312
1.184
1.103
0.983

(see Table 5). Figure 8 illustrates the comparison of temperature mea-

-

surements received in fire test and calculations. The TPS_sim (dotted

Temperature

line) presents the calculation results using properties obtained from

TABLE 3

Plaster 1

TPS tests (Table 2), which demonstrate significantly slower tempera-

113
201
296
394

ture rise compared with the results obtained in furnace. Hence, some
21
89
C

-

fitting of the properties (obtained from TPS tests) was carried out.
JOHANNA ET AL. 7

F I G U R E 6 Fire test of clay

plaster system on a timber
element (plaster 3, clay
plaster = 20 mm)

TABLE 4 Fire tests with plaster systems

Plaster Time to Reach Time to reach

Plaster No. Plaster Fibre Content Thickness, mm Test No; Reference 270
C tprot,0,i, min 300
C tch, min
1 Clay plaster Hemp 17 Tests 1 and 218 12.4 13.9
18
1 Clay plaster Hemp 20 Test 5 18.0 19.8
1 Clay plaster Hemp 44 Test 718 43.7 47.4
19
2 Clay plaster Cattail 10 Test 1 8.1 8.8
2 Clay plaster Cattail 30 Test 219 32.7 34.6
18
3 Clay plaster Straw 20A Test 5 15.8 17.3
3 Clay plaster Straw 20B This paper 13.8 15.3
4 Lime plaster - 30 This paper 19.7 22.6

Herein, a previous research study on limestone by Shen et al21 pro- 5.2 | Clay plaster
vided some useful insight into the material properties since there
was some agreement between the thermal properties presented in Figure 9 illustrates the comparison between the furnace test results
the mentioned study and TPS results obtained from this current (plaster thickness 17and 44 mm; plaster 1) and the thermal simula-
work. On the basis of the comparison of data, (fitting) effective tions on the basis of TPS results (Table 3). Simulations with TPS values
thermal properties, particularly for the thermal conductivity and as input data show weak agreement with the temperature measure-
specific heat, were developed (Table 5), which provided good ments recorded in fire tests. The temperature rise is significantly
agreement with the furnace test result (Fit_sim), see Figure 8. faster, which may be attributed to the lower values of specific heat
Herein, the influence of a reed mat and moisture content/move- capacity obtained from TPS tests. The differences in moisture content
ment is considered in the derived effective thermal properties. Yet and its movement can vary in scale, which is related to the prepara-
further studies should follow on material-specific investigations tion, conditioning of test specimens, and selection of heating regimes
about the physical behaviour of various types of lime-based plaster in various tests. Furthermore, there is no reed mat taken into account
as the moisture transport, shrinkage of plaster, and peculiarities in while performing the numerical simulations. The reeds are hollow and
cracking or in detachment of plaster layers may indicate significant embody air that in turn may slow down the temperature rise behind
differences in its thermal properties. the plaster system in furnace tests compared with the plaster speci-
In view of the temperature values of 270
C as tprot,0,i and 300
C men tested exclusively using the TPS method. Moreover, the plaster
as tch, the proposed effective thermal properties provide good agree- coat demonstrates some form of cracking that may contribute to the
ment with furnace test results and position on the safe side. In the different rate of heat transfer through plaster. Additionally, the mois-
furnace test, the average basic protection time (tprot,0,i) was recorded ture content of timber should also be further studied when higher
21.7 min, whereas according to the thermal simulations, on the basis accuracy of material properties is required.
of effective thermal properties (Table 5), tprot,0,i is 19.8 min. The Table 6 presents the effective thermal properties for clay plaster
values for the start time of charring (tch) are 23.8 and 21.9 min, (plaster 1). These values have been developed in a previous research
respectively. by Küppers et al11 using a methodology created by Mäger et al.22 TC
8 JOHANNA ET AL.

FIGURE 7 Fire test results for clay plaster systems

readings obtained from the fire test (plaster 1, thickness = 20 mm) TABLE 5 Effective thermal properties of lime plaster (plaster
were taken as the reference for calibration. A MATLAB code was no. 4)
used that works through the initially set thermal properties (eg, raw Temperature Thermal Conductivity Specific Heat Density
data obtained from TPS results11) and changes the values by a

C W/mK J/kgK kg/m3
defined percentage until an acceptable correspondence with experi-
21 2.0 585.71 1840
mental results is reached. According to this methodology, thermal
101 1.5 614.29 1840
conductivity and specific heat have been calibrated. Density values
141 1.0 635.71 1840
are generally acquired from separate tests. In this investigation, the
density of clay plaster was set constant since no significant changes 212 0.8180 671.43 1840

in terms of its mass occurred nor did the numerical simulations pro- 263 0.7656 685.71 1840

vide any substantial difference of test results with density difference 315 0.6609 700.00 1840
of 10%. 423 0.6183 714.29 1840
The presented effective thermal properties apply to the whole 600 0.6183 905.34 1840
plaster system that comprise of a plaster and a reed mat. In the case 800 0.6183 905.34 1365
of a thicker plaster coat (44 mm), there is a weaker agreement 1200 0.6183 905.34 1365
between the temperature measurements received in furnace
(Test_44_P1) and calculations (44_Fit_sim), especially in lower temper-
ature range up to 250
C. This may be attributed to the greater tem- same material category of undercoat clay plasters demonstrated simi-
perature gradient and more complex movement of moisture within lar fire protection ability. Further, material-specific investigations
the plaster coat. Thicker plaster coats should further be studied with would be beneficial.
respect to this matter. Overall, the comparison of temperature mea- In general, Figure 9 illustrates that there is a great difference in


surements up to 300 C show a strong agreement for thinner plaster obtained materials' thermal properties obtained from TPS and furnace
coats. A moderate fit (44_Fit_sim) applies to the thicker coat that is tests. It is partly influenced by the reed mat used in furnace tests,
noticeable in temperature range of 270
C to 300
C. moisture content, and movement in plaster and timber as well as the
Additionally, the temperature measurements for 20-mm thick clay temperature limitations occurred in TPS tests. Yet another factor
plaster (plaster 3) are presented (Test_20_P3; the fire test described in could be the structural integrity of plaster since cracking may signifi-
this paper). Despite the different plaster mix, the same effective ther- cantly influence the heat transfer through material. Therefore, further
mal properties (Table 6) were used to demonstrate the comparison work is needed to investigate such nuances in detail in order to pro-
between the furnace test and simulation results. A sufficient agree- vide properties that are material-specific realistic values. In real appli-
ment is met, yet the temperature measurements fall slightly to the cations, the fall-off time of plaster from timber surfaces is important
nonconservative side. Nevertheless, it may be concluded that despite parameter; however, this is not the topic of this current paper and
the difference in the origin of clay plasters (Estonia and Germany), the should be investigated in further studies.
JOHANNA ET AL. 9

TABLE 6 Effective thermal properties for clay plaster

Temperature Thermal Conductivity Specific Heat Density

C W/mK J/kgK kg/m3
20 2.36 361.43 1680
50 2.2 535.29 1680
90 1.32 664.57 1680
130 1.11 889.52 1680
150 0.5 1034.39 1680
200 0.66 1059.57 1680
250 0.53 1214.62 1680
300 0.6 1589.42 1680
400 0.55 1630.05 1680
450 0.61 1495.15 1680
500 0.88 1811.93 1680
550 1.25 1015.09 1680
F I G U R E 8 Comparison of temperature measurements between
600 0.77 2012.09 1680
the data obtained in furnace test and numerical simulations—lime
plaster = 30 mm (plaster no. 4) 900 0.77 2012.09 1680
1200 0.77 2012.09 1680

The material-specific basic protection time (tprot,0,i) is taken equivalent

to 270
C, and it has been given to numerous protection materials.3
Herein, this design parameter is developed for clay and lime plaster
systems explained in this paper.
The procedure of developing basic protection times (tprot,0,i)
follows the introductions given in a recent research paper by
Mäger et al24 that presents the implementation guidelines for new
materials into the existing component additive method (used for
calculating the separating function). Accordingly, the thermal simu-
lations are run with a material configuration that comprises a plas-
ter and a 19-mm thick wood fibreboard (density of 500 kg/m3),
which temperature-dependent material properties are presented in
Table 7. The thermal properties of wood fibreboard are slightly dif-
ferent from wood because of charring. The simulation time is mea-
F I G U R E 9 Numerical simulations and comparison with fire test sured until 270
C is reached behind plaster on the board. In the
data—clay plaster (plasters 1–3) following, simulation results are presented for clay plaster (thick-
ness range of 17–44 mm) and for 30-mm thick lime plaster.
Figure 10 presents the simulation results marked with crosses and
a trend line for clay plaster. The basic protection time (tprot,0,i) demon-
6 | D E SIG N P A RAM ET E RS strates a strong agreement to the experimental test results. Detailed
data are given in Table 8. For reference, a previously developed design
The charring of timber is the dominating factor influencing the equation by Liblik and Just is presented that shows slightly conserva-
mechanical resistance of timber structures in fire. Therefore, the start tive approach compared with the derived design equation for basic pro-
time of charring of timber (tch) is one of the paramount parameters in tection time (Simulation_basic protection time).16 This is explained by
the fire design. Furthermore, the classification of fire protection mate- extended investigations presented in this paper regarding the determi-
rials is stated in EN 13501-2, wherein the protection time of a mate- nation of effective thermal properties and new furnace tests. Also, note
rial is the time until the temperature rise behind the considered layer the slight difference in time to reach 270
C or 300
C. The presentation
is 250 K on average or 270 K at any point.23 At ambient conditions of the following equation follows the same principle used for other
around 20
C, the temperature criterion is 270
C, which could also be building material given in the current EN 1995-1-2.
considered as a conservative start time of charring (tch). This criterion On the basis of the analysis, the following design equation for
may also indicate the thermal degradation or fall-off time of material. clay plaster may be taken as
10 JOHANNA ET AL.

tprot,0,i = 1:1hp − 5:9 ð1Þ The basic protection time (tprot,0,i) is given in minutes.3 The equa-
tion is limited to traditional clay plaster within a density range 1610 to
where hp is the thickness of plaster in millimetre. 1800 kg/m3. Further, clay plaster should meet the requirements
stated in product standard DIN 18947 to guarantee its mechanical
strength and quality.
TABLE 7 Effective thermal properties of wood fibreboard8 For lime plaster, the equation can be presented after verifica-
Temperature Thermal Conductivity Specific Heat Density ρ tion of furnace tests with different plaster thicknesses. However,


C W/mK kJ/kgK ρ/ρ20 an analogue simulation was run for the 30-mm thick lime plaster. In
20 0.12 1.79 1.00 the fire test, 270
C was reached after 19.7 min, whereas according
100 0.30 1.79 1.00 to simulation results with a 19-mm thick wood fibreboard, the time
110 0.23 30.80 0.97 was 19.0 min. Further tests should be carried out with different
120 0.15 1.79 0.94 thicknesses and types of lime plasters to develop a design
200 0.18 1.79 0.94 equation.
275 0.14 6.17 0.58 The application and curing process of the whole plaster sys-
350 0.09 0.69 0.23 tem are crucial factors influencing the final performance of plas-
500 0.23 0.69 0.21 ter; thus, the design and plastering must be carried out in
800 0.74 0.69 0.17 accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations and follow
1200 4.20 0.69 0.11 EN 13914-2:2016.
Currently, no product standard or European-level guidance of
application exists for reed-based materials. Therefore, these plaster
substrates such as reed mats should be carefully used according to
the manufacturer's technical recommendations. In case of the fire
resistance of a plaster system, the fixation of reed mat becomes of
utmost importance as it influences the fall-off of plaster from timber.6
This aspect is out of the scope of the current paper content yet needs
further investigation as reed mats are used extensively in historic
buildings and used in renovation works. It must be mentioned that
apart from reed-based plaster carriers, EN 13914-2: 2016 includes
metal meshes (Table 2 in the respective standard) that could be used
as an alternative solution for reed mat if the applicability to European-
level standard is needed.
In view of the future development of design equations and guid-
ance for practical use, plasters and their support systems of interest
should have product standard at European level. Otherwise, they
foresee significant disadvantages in the construction market. The
presented fire technical data provide relevant basis to plan the full-
F I G U R E 1 0 Results of design parameters obtained from fire tests scale fire testing according to EN 13381-7:2019, wherein the fall-off
and numerical simulations time of plaster can be determined.

TABLE 8 Comparison of design values between fire tests, simulations, and proposed design equation
Fire Test Results Simulation Results
Proposed
Average Basic Average Start Basic Protection Start Time
Design Equation
Protection Time Time of Charring Time of Charring
Plaster Thickness
tprot,0,i tch tprot,0,i tch tprot,0,i
Plaster No. Plaster mm min min min min min
1 Clay plaster 17 12.4 13.9 13.3 14.8 12.8
1 Clay plaster 20 18.0 19.8 15.8 17.4 16.1
1 Clay plaster 44 43.7 47.4 42.9 47.4 42.5
2 Clay plaster 10 8.1 8.8 na na 5.1
2 Clay plaster 30 32.7 34.6 na na 27.1
3 Clay Plaster 20A 15.8 17.3 15.8 17.4 16.1
3 Clay plaster 20B 13.8 15.3 15.8 17.4 16.1
4 Lime plaster 30 19.7 22.6 19.8 22.0 na
JOHANNA ET AL. 11

7 | C O N CL U S I O N 7. Franssen JM. User's manual for SAFIR 2013b2. A computer program for
analysis of structures subjected to fire. Belgium: University of Liegé;
2012.
This study provides useful knowledge about the fire protection ability of
8. Schleifer V. Zum Verhalten von Raumabschliessenden Mehrschichtigen
traditional clay and lime plasters in combination with timber structures in Holzbauteilen im Brandfall. Switzerland: PhD thesis of ETH Zürich;
new and old buildings. The effective thermal properties for selected lime 2009.
and clay plasters were derived, yet the plasters require further investiga- 9. Sun Q, Zhang W, Zhang Y, Yang L. Variations of strength, resistivity
and thermal parameters of clay after high temperature treatment.
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equation for clay plaster as a fire protection material for timber is pro- University Magdeburg.http://www.ltv.ovgu.de/ltv_media/Downloads/
posed for the current revision of EN 1995-1-2.This paper presents great Lehre/Vorlesungen/Process+Engineering+of+Metals+and+Ceramics/
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For historic structures, this study enhances the assessment of the tions on heat transfer through claddings of bio based building
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other types of plasters (eg gypsum plaster) and their support systems
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on timber surfaces. This paper reports main fire design properties for ber members. CEN.
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In future perspective, the scope of this study may extend to vari-
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