Fire Resistance of Lightweight Timber Framed Walls

Limiting the fire spread through lightweight framed construction is a well-established method of providing fire safety in building design. The design objective is for walls to provide fire resistance for a certain period to satisfy fire safety requirements. This paper describes a model for predicting the fire resistance of a non-loadbearing or loadbearing timber framed wall subjected to either a standard fire resistance test or realistic fire conditions. Prediction of the fire resistance uses finite difference techniques for heat conduction within linings and for convection and radiation on the boundaries and cavity. An algorithm for the charring of timber is included to determine a structural failure condition for the studs.