Impact of the variability of Type X gypsum board

The National Research Council of Canada (NRCC) has completed a multi year study of the fire resistance and acoustical performance of a range of traditional and innovative wall and floor assemblies. One of the major components that influences the duration that these assemblies are able to resist the impact of fire, is the gypsum board material used to line walls and the floor assembly ceiling. Traditionally, the gypsum board material used in fire-rated assemblies, such as those studied by NRCC, has been designated as Type X gypsum board. Type X gypsum board can provide up to 90 minutes of fire resistance protection for building assemblies. The classification for this material is based on the product meeting or exceeding a fire-resisting threshold established using a standard test method such as ASTM C 36/ 36M - 031.Le Conseil national de recherches Canada (CNRC) vient de parachever une \ue9tude pluriannuelle sur la r\ue9sistance au feu et la performance acoustique de plusieurs \ue9l\ue9ments de murs et de planchers traditionnels et novateurs. La plaque de pl\ue2tre qui sert de rev\ueatement \ue0 ces \ue9l\ue9ments est l'un des \ue9l\ue9ments qui les prot\ue8gent le mieux contre le feu. Traditionnellement, la plaque de pl\ue2tre qui rev\ueat les assemblages r\ue9sistants au feu, comme ceux qu'\ue9tudie le CNRC, est dite de type X. Cette plaque de pl\ue2tre de type X offre une r\ue9sistance au feu pouvant aller jusqu'\ue0 90 minutes. La classification de ce mat\ue9riau se fonde sur le respect du degr\ue9 de r\ue9sistance au feu \ue9tabli par une m\ue9thode d'essai normalis\ue9e, comme la norme ASTM C 36/ 36M - 031.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye