Effects of cladding materials on the fire resistance of external light gauge steel framed walls exposed to internal fire

This paper presents finite element heat transfer modelling of external light gauge steel framed (LSF) walls with autoclaved aerated concrete and brick veneer cladding exposed to fire from the inside. There has been research on the fire resistance of internal LSF walls (gypsum plasterboard layers on both sides of the cold-formed steel (CFS) studs) [1,2] and fire resistance of external LSF walls (gypsum plasterboard on the internal side and any cladding on the external side) exposed to fire from the external side [3–5]. But no research is available on the fire resistance of external LSF walls exposed to fire from the internal side and whether the cladding has any influence on the fire resistance of these LSF walls. Finite element heat transfer models were first validated against the fire test results presented in Refs. [3,5]. They were then used to evaluate the fire resistance of these LSF walls exposed to fire from the internal side. Two configurations with and without cavity insulation, when exposed to fire from the internal side, were investigated. When compared to internal LSF walls, while minor differences were noticed in the case of cavity insulated walls, a significant difference was observed when there was no cavity insulation in the wall.