Reader Response on Cladding Draft 3

In the article “Use of Cladding in Buildings Here Have Grown in Recent Times”, Mokhtar (2017) reported the increasing use of cladding in Singapore and its benefits and risks. He defines cladding as a layer of panels added to the exterior facade of buildings to cut energy use, improve building appearance and provide shade. However, he points out that the use of cladding came under the intense scrutiny after the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, where the fire had spread upwards rapidly due to the ventilation gaps between the cladding and the building’s wall, drawing oxygenated air from the bottom of the facade and fueling the fire. Mokhtar iterates that the use of cladding in Singapore is regulated, where the cladding material must not allow fire to spread along its surface when ignited.

While it is undeniable that the use of cladding has many advantages, it is crucial to review the materials used in its design, where the material property, combustibility, is critical in improving fire safety of buildings.

Firstly, combustibility of the material must be the primary consideration when selecting materials for use in claddings. The Singapore Civil Defence Force has specified in the Singapore Fire Code that “if such cladding is situated less than 1 m from any point on the relevant boundary, it shall have surface complying with the requirements for Class '0'”. Class ‘0’ is a requirement where “the material of which the wall or ceiling is constructed shall be non-combustible throughout”. In contrast, the UK authorities left the responsibility of fire safety in buildings to their respective owners (Morby, 2017). As a result, some companies chose to use cheaper but more combustible materials as cladding. This is unacceptable as little consideration is given to fire safety.

Secondly, to expound further on the material property, attention is given to combustible materials. In the case of the Grenfell Tower incident, the cladding material used was mostly polyethylene (PE), a plastic material with a low melting point between 120°C and 180°C. It would easily fail when a blaze occurs. This is certainly not the best materials to use, considering the combustibility of PE. In another incident as reported by Channel NewsAsia on 4th May 2017, a building at 30 Toh Guan Road had used the same PE material in its cladding, which caught fire and propagated fire spread upwards along the cladding (Channel NewsAsia, 2017). Although PE is cost-efficient and lightweight, it counteracts fire control measures, thus making it an unsuitable material to increase fire safety.

On the other hand, fire-retardant (FR) materials are widely available. One example is the fire-retardant aluminium composite material, or FR-ACM. It consists of aluminium, PE and aluminium tri-hydroxide­, a mineral filler that is incombustible. This incombustible mineral filler changes the properties of the cladding material entirely, giving the cladding FR properties. Only this type of aluminium-PE cladding with incombustible mineral filler has passed the Building Regulations tests in the UK (Morby, 2017). According to the video “Comparing the Flammability of Different Cladding” (Sturmer, 2017), the PE cladding within aluminium plates caught fire within 5 seconds of exposure to a blow torch flame. However, the FR cladding, made of ACM and FR material, did not sustain a fire even at 20 seconds, thus emphasizing the need for cladding materials to have FR materials incorporated in them.

Since the Singapore Fire Code has specified that cladding materials are required to have class ‘0’ standard, this ought to be emphasized globally that the materials used in cladding need to be incombustible. Cost-efficiency is important. However, fire safety must not be compromised. The material used must contain FR materials that would increase the fire safety of buildings, be it in Singapore or other countries. Therefore, in a bid to increase fire safety of buildings, strong emphasis on material property, specifically combustibility, is needed when choosing the type of material to be used in claddings.

References


Bergin. (2017, June 24). Arconic knowingly supplied flammable panels for use in tower – emails. Reuters. Retrieved from https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-fire-arconic/arconic-knowingly-supplied-flammable-panels-for-use-in-tower-emails-idUKKBN19F05C

 Booth. (2017, July 6). Grenfell Tower: fire-proof cladding specified by architects used only on ground floor. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/06/grenfell-fire-proof-cladding-specified-by-architects-only-used-on-ground-floor

 Davies, Connolly, Sample. (2017, June 16). Cladding for Grenfell Tower was cheaper, more flammable option. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/16/manufacturer-of-cladding-on-grenfell-tower-identified-as-omnis-exteriors

 Loh, C.J. (2017, August 24). 36 buildings may have combustible cladding that doesn't meet safety standards; police investigating. Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/36-buildings-may-have-combustible-cladding-that-doesn-t-meet-9153588

Mitsubishi Plastics. (2008). Material safety data sheet - ALPOLIC®/fr, Aluminum Composite Material with fire-retardant core filled with non-combustible mineral. Retrieved, September 25, 2017, from http://www.alpolic.com/alpolic-intl/downloads/msds_alpolicfr.pdf

Mokhtar. (2017, June 17). Use of cladding in buildings here have grown in recent times: Experts. Today Online. Retrieved from: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/use-cladding-buildings-here-have-grown-recent-times-experts

Morby. (2017, August 13). First ACM cladding passes fire tests. Construction Enquirer. Retrieved from http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/08/13/first-acm-cladding-passes-fire-tests/

Schreck, Gambrell. (2016, January 19). How a common building material turned a Dubai hotel fire into an inferno. The Associated Press. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/01/19/how-a-common-building-material-turned-a-dubai-hotel-fire-into-an-inferno.html

Singapore Civil Defence Force. (2015). Singapore Fire Safety Engineering Guidelines 2015. Retrieved, September 25, 2017, from https://www.scdf.gov.sg/sites/www.scdf.gov.sg/files/Singapore%20Fire%20Safety%20Engineering%20Guidelines%202015_1.pdf

Singapore Civil Defence Force. (2015). Singapore Fire Safety Engineering Guidelines 2015. Retrieved, September 25, 2017, from https://www.scdf.gov.sg/sites/www.scdf.gov.sg/files/Singapore%20Fire%20Safety%20Engineering%20Guidelines%202015_1.pdf

Sturmer. (2017, July 28). Comparing the flammability of different cladding. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-28/comparing-the-flammability-of-cladding/8752786

Walker. (2017, July 28). Building regulations to be reviewed after safety tests following Grenfell. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/28/government-announces-independent-review-building-regulations-grenfell-tower-fire

Woman suffers burns after fire breaks out at warehouse opposite IMM. (2017). Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved, September 25, 2017, from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/woman-suffers-burns-after-fire-breaks-out-at-warehouse-opposite-8816664

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Edited on:
1 Nov 2017, 11.00am
1 Nov 2017, 12.24pm
3 Nov 2017, 5.27pm
18 Nov 2017, 1.59am
23 Nov 2017, 11.52pm

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