EUROCLASS : New generation of Fire Tests , in the framework of the Construction Product Regulaiton 

Euroclass: New Reaction to Fire Tests dedicated to building materials

The CE marking is the new European standard for building products
The CE marking is in the convergence of regulations and national technical standards. It is the guarantee, now mandatory, that your products meet the construction requirements of one or more European directives. The CE marking is going to open the market access of all the EU member countries.

However, it is important to note that each EU member keeps its autonomy to set acceptation criteria for the standards at the national scale.

Each product has to respect a conformity acceptation level. There are 6 levels defined in the decrees which condition the task repartition between the manufacturer and the notified body: from the material declaration to the production control.

Reaction to fire of building systems : What are the changes linked to the new European regulation?

The publication at the 9 march 2011 Official Journal of the new European regulation of the building products (RPC) will cause, from July 2013, concrete modifications in the building material requirements.

Indeed, the RPC transposes the European Technical Approval (ETA) and the European Technical Evaluation (ETE).

Moreover, the European regulation of the building products imposes the manufacturer to realize a performance declaration which will allow the CE marking if there is an existing harmonized standard in which one the material can be classified or if the product meet the requirements of an ETE asked by the manufacturer.

With the idea of always increasing the quality of our service and to be more and more complete in what we offer, the CREPIM team will accompany you in the identification and the realization of the tests which will open the market to you.

 Reaction to fire classification - EN 13 501-1  - EUROCLASS -

The Euroclass system aim is to assess a material contribution to a fire with 5 reaction to fire tests. The concerned building products are, for instance, wall and floor coverings, paints, varnishes, isolation products, etc.

The M classification (the French fire test) will consequently be replaced by the Euroclass classification from A1, A2, B to F (for the floor covering, the notation is from A1FL, A2FL, BFL to FFL, and for the thermal isolation product with a linear behavior, the notation is from A1L to FL) for all the products under a harmonized standard or an ETE. Furthermore, the smoke production, (s1, s2, s3) and the production of burning droplets will now be a part of the final classification.

The Euroclass fire tests simulate three levels of thermic solicitation: a localized little flame attack (E to B classification), solicitation by a burning item (D to A2 classification) and a fire completely developed in a room (A2 and A1 classifications).

CREPIM can from now, assess your products with this new standard, accompany you in the understanding of the key parameters and in the material selection.