Engineering Judgments
Fire rated expansion joint Engineering Judgments are available to certify the use of EMSEAL’s fire rated expansion joints not covered by UL Listings.
Not all Engineering Judgments are created equal. Nor are all fire-rated expansion joints. Yet Engineering Judgments are widely used in the field of passive fire-protection to address conditions not covered explicitly by UL or other fire and heat resistance testing. This has critical life safety implications. At Sika Emseal we take seriously the consideration of applications requiring an Engineering Judgment. So seriously in fact, that we subject each and every unique condition to a full FEA (Finite Element Analysis) using COMSOL, Inc. Multiphysics Simulation software. The data for the models comes from decades of multiple actual full-scale UL 2079, ASTM, EN-1366-4, RWS, and other applicable tests. The FEA-validated performance in our Engineering Judgments is then reviewed by a 3rd-party, NFPA-Certified Fire Protection Specialist. This has been our practice for over a decade and seems a reasonable standard to expect of Engineering Judgments.
By way of example, the following are some of the engineered judgments secured by Sika Emseal for specific projects. Contact Sika Emseal for preparation or adaptation of a judgment for your project.
IMPORTANT:
All fire rated expansion joint engineered judgments are project specific. They are provided here for reference as to what is possible in extrapolating actual UL 2079 test data to other non-UL-tested applications. Please contact Sika Emseal if you have a condition that deviates from one of our numerous UL/ULC Listings. We will be happy to secure a project-specific engineered judgment for your project conditions if feasible.
Notwithstanding the opinion offered in an engineering judgment by the issuing engineer, it is incumbent on the design professional for the project to incorporate fire-resistive joint system details into an overall system for the application.
The acceptance of the equivalent fire-resistive joint system inferred by any Engineering Judgment is the prerogative of the Authority Having Jurisdiction.
Authorities Having Jurisdiction should be consulted in all cases as to the particular requirements covering the installation and use of products or materials and should be further consulted before and during construction to ensure that specific adjacent substrates and assemblies are detailed and constructed to meet local fire-resistance requirements. Any reuse or adaptation of any project-specific judgment for a project for which is was not compiled will be at the user’s sole risk and without liability to EMSEAL or the engineering firm that produced the original.
Floors / Decks
Design Condition
- Tunnel Joints concrete with sprayed fireproofing
- 2 hour fire rating RWS time temperature curve
- 2-inch joints
- 4-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
2-inch Expansion Joints in reinforced concrete tunnel decks and walls with sprayed fire-resistive material (SFRM) protection to meet RWS time-temperature curve.
This judgment concludes that under conditions of a 120 minutes fire exposure in accordance with the Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) time temperature curve, the proposed joint fire stop system will satisfy the specification performance requirement for the fire protection system: temperature of the concrete surface will not exceed 380°C; and, the temperature of the steel reinforcement within the concrete will not exceed 250°C.
Design Condition
- Stadium Bowl Joints Concrete to Concrete
- 1 hour fire rating
- 4-inch joints
- 3-1/2-inch depth of seal
- 100% movement
Judgment
This judgment concludes that modified SJS-FR2 with reduced depth will provide a 1-hour fire rating.
Design Condition
- Parking Deck Joints Concrete to Concrete
- 2 hour fire rating
- 2-inch joints
- 3-3/4-inch depth of seal
- 100% movement
EMSHIELD DFR2 under THERMAFLEX
Judgment
This condition, covered as “Application 1”, in the judgment, allows DFR2 that was UL-tested at 50% movement to be used in parking deck joints with 100% movement.
Design Condition
- Plaza Deck Joints Concrete to Concrete
- 3 hour fire rating
- 2-inch joints
- 6-inch depth of seal
- 100% movement
EMSHIELD DFR3 under MIGUTAN FP
Judgment
This condition, covered as “Application 2” in the judgment, allows DFR3 that was UL-tested at 50% movement to be used in parking deck joints with 100% movement.To achieve this allowance the DFR3 material, that normally has a 3 -3/4-inch depth of seal, would be manufactured with 6-inch depth of seal.
Design Condition
- Roof to Roof Joints
- 2 hour fire rating
- 8-inch joints
- 6-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
This judgment concludes that DFR2 that is UL-tested in joints up to 4-inches in width, and with 4-inches of depth, will provide 2 hours of fire-resistance in 8-inch wide joints given an additional 2-inches of depth of seal (total 6″ depth).
Design Condition
- Concrete to Concrete with Partial-Depth Metal Pour Stops
- 2 hour fire rating
- 6-inch joints
- 6-inch depth of seal
- 100% movement
Judgment
This condition, allows SJS-FR2 to be used in deck-to-deck joints where the concrete edge contains a partial depth metal pour stop angle and where EMCRETE in a blockout covers the top edge of the pourstop.
Design Condition
- Plaza Deck Joints Concrete to Concrete
- 3 hour fire rating
- 2-inch joints
- 5-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
This judgment concludes that DFR2-FP with DFR-3 will provide a 3-hour fire rating.
Design Condition
Judgment
This judgment concludes that DFR2 a 2-hour fire rating in 6-1/4″ concrete with a metal pour stop edge and treated wood blocking above the slab.
Walls
Design Condition
- Wall Joints Masonry to Stud Wall & Gypsum
- 2 hour fire rating
- 8-inch joints
- 6-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
Either side of the joint condition is independently tested with existing UL designs. However, there is not a UL listing for the WFR2 with a masonry wall on one side and stud wall on the other.
Additionally, the joint is 8-inches wide where WFR2 has been tested up to 6-inches.
This judgment concludes that 8-inch WFR2 with a modified 6-inch depth, installed in this design condition (masonry wall to stud wall) will provide a 2-hour fire-resistant joint system.
Design Condition
- Wall Joints Masonry to Stud Wall & Gypsum
- 2 hour fire rating
- 4-inch joints
- 4-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
Either side of the joint condition is independently tested with existing UL designs. However, there is not a UL listing for the WFR2 with a masonry wall on one side and stud wall on the other.This judgment concludes that the WFR2 installed in this design condition (masonry wall to stud wall) will provide a 2-hour fire-resistant joint system.
Design Condition
- Wall Joints Concrete to Concrete
- 4 hour fire rating
- 4-1/2-inch joints
- 4-inch depth of seal
- 66% movement
EMSHIELD WFR2 in both inner and outer walls
Judgment
Two WFR2 joint systems installed in series to provide a 4-hour fire-resistant joint system capable of 66% total movement.
Design Condition
- Prison Wall Joints CMU to CMU
- 2 hour fire rating
- 4-inch joints
- 4-inch depth of seal
- 66% movement
Judgment
This judgment allows SSW2 that was UL-tested at 50% movement to be used in wall joints with 66% movement.
Design Condition
- Wall Joints CMU to CMU
- 3 hour fire rating
- 8-inch joints
- 6-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
This judgment concludes that WFR3, UL-tested for joints up to 6-inches wide and with 4-inches of depth, supplied with an increased depth to 6-inches, will provide a 3-hour rating in 8-inch wide joint openings.
Design Condition
- Wall Jambs and Head Concrete to Concrete
- 4 hour rating
- 4-inch joints
- 8-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Back to Back EMSHIELD WFR2
Judgment
This judgment allows two, 2-hour rated WFR2 installations back to back to achieve a 4-hour fire rating.
Design Condition
- Wall Jambs and Head Concrete to Concrete
- 2 hour rating
- 4-inch joints
- 66% movement
Judgment
This applicaton required a pick-resistant coating. SSW2 was tested at UL to a total of 50% movement. This application required 66% total movement. This judgment allows for the additional movement while maintaining a 2-hour rating.
Floor to Wall (FW)
Design Condition
- Floor to Wall Joints Concrete to Sprayed Cementitious Fire Proofing Over Steel
- 3 hour fire rating
- 4-inch joints
- 6-inch depth of seal
- 100% movement
Judgment
This judgment allows DFR3 with 6-inch depth of seal to be used in floor joints between concrete and steel coated with sprayed-on, cementitious fireproofing and with 100% of nominal joint size movement.
Design Condition
- Floor to Wall Joints Gypsum to Concrete
- 2 hour fire rating
- 4-inch joints
- 4-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
This judgment allows DFR2 to be used in a floor to wall condition with gypsum on one side and concrete on the other.
Design Condition
- Stadium Floor to Wall Joints Concrete to Concrete
- 2 hour fire rating
- 4.5-inch joints
- 5-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
This judgment concludes that DFR2 in 4.5″ wide floor to wall gaps will provide a 2-hour fire rating.
Design Condition
- Stadium Floor to Wall Joints Concrete to Concrete
- 2 hour fire rating
- 6-inch joints
- 5-inch depth of seal
- 50% movement
Judgment
This judgment concludes that DFR2 in 6″ wide floor to wall gaps will provide a 2-hour fire rating.