🔥 Non-combustibility test of products — specimen in a tube furnace, temperature rise, mass loss and duration of sustained flaming; homogeneous products and substantial components of non-homogeneous products; PN-EN ISO 1182:2020-12

Construction PN-EN ISO 1182

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. Scope from the PKN card of PN-EN ISO 1182:2020-12, in full (our translation): "This document specifies a test method for assessing the non-combustibility, under specified conditions, of homogeneous products and of substantial components of non-homogeneous products. Information on the precision of the test method is given in Annex A" (no full stop on the card). We read the content of the method in the sample extract of ISO 1182:2020 from the cover to clause 4.6 (contact thermocouple), with the table of contents; we do not have clauses 5–9 or the annexes.

ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF ISO 1182:2020 (foreword, introduction, clauses 1–4). The standard was prepared by ISO/TC 92 "Fire safety", subcommittee SC 1 "Fire initiation and growth", together with CEN/TC 127 "Fire safety in buildings" (Vienna Agreement); the sixth edition (2020-06) replaced the fifth (ISO 1182:2010). Main changes according to the foreword: a second furnace thermocouple (clauses 4.4, 7.2.2, 7.2.4, 8.3, clause 9, Figure 2), a changed procedure for calibrating the furnace wall temperature, formulae (16) and (17) aligned with Table 3, a smaller permissible spread of specimen dimensions (clause 5) and a corrected Annex D. Introduction: the test serves to identify construction products which are not entirely inert but, exposed to a temperature of about 750 °C, release only a very limited amount of heat and flame; the standard was restricted to homogeneous products and substantial components of non-homogeneous products, because the construction of a specimen of a non-homogeneous product strongly influences the result — non-homogeneous products cannot be tested according to this standard. References (2): ISO 13943 (fire safety vocabulary), IEC 60584-1 (thermocouples) and EN 13238 (conditioning and selection of substrates in reaction to fire tests of construction products). Definitions (3): material — a single substance or a uniformly dispersed mixture (examples in the standard: metal, stone, timber, concrete, mineral wool with a uniformly dispersed binder, polymers); loose-fill material — without a defined shape; homogeneous product — consisting of one material of uniform density and composition; substantial component — a layer with a mass per unit area of at least 1.0 kg/m² or a thickness of at least 1.0 mm, non-substantial — below 1.0 kg/m² and below 1.0 mm; sustained flaming — a flame persisting on any visible part of the specimen for 5 s or longer; steady, blue, luminous zones of gas are not regarded as flame and are only noted in the observations. Apparatus (4): a furnace of a refractory tube surrounded by a heating coil in an insulated housing, with a cone-shaped air-flow stabilizer at the bottom and a draught shield at the top, on a stand, with a specimen holder and an insertion device; thermocouples for measuring the furnace and wall temperatures and a temperature sensor on the furnace axis; additional thermocouples for the surface and centre temperature of the specimen are described in Annex C (their use is optional). Furnace tube of refractory alumina material: Al2O3 over 89 %, SiO2 + Al2O3 over 98 %, Fe2O3 below 0.45 %, TiO2 below 0.25 %, Mn3O4 below 0.1 %; density (2800 ± 300) kg/m³, height (150 ± 1) mm, internal diameter (75 ± 1) mm, wall (10 ± 1) mm; insulating housing 150 mm high with a 10 mm wall. Stabilizer: length 500 mm, tapering from (75 ± 1) mm to (10 ± 0.5) mm, 1 mm steel sheet, tight and smooth joint with the furnace, upper half insulated; draught shield 50 mm high, internal diameter (75 ± 1) mm; draught screen at the stand 550 mm high, the bottom of the cone 250 mm above the base. Specimen holder of nickel-chromium wire or heat-resistant steel, with a fine mesh tray at the bottom, mass (15 ± 2) g — with ageing the holder loses mass, which must be checked regularly; suspended on a stainless steel tube with an external diameter of 6 mm; the insertion device places the geometric centre of the specimen at the geometric centre of the furnace; holder for loose-fill materials — cylindrical, of mesh, open at the top, mass at most 30 g. Thermocouples: type K or N, tolerance class 1 according to IEC 60584-1, wire 0.3 mm, external diameter 1.5 mm, insulated and ungrounded junction, sheath of stainless steel or nickel alloy; new thermocouples are artificially aged before use (e.g. an hour of furnace operation without a specimen); the two furnace thermocouples, TC1 and TC2, have their junctions (10 ± 0.5) mm from the tube wall at the height of its geometric centre, protrude (40 ± 5) mm beyond the guide, are initially calibrated at 750 °C (the correction is added to the readings) and are replaced after 200 tests. Axial sensor — a thermocouple soldered into the centre of a copper cylinder with a diameter of (10 ± 0.2) mm and a height of (15 ± 0.2) mm; contact thermocouple bent according to Figure 4.

STATUS (as of 08.10.2026). The PKN card of PN-EN ISO 1182:2020-12 (English version) has no withdrawal label: title "Reaction to fire tests for products -- Non-combustibility test" (our translation), publication 07-12-2020, 44 pages, price group S, Construction and Building Structures Sector, KT 180 Fire Safety of Buildings, "Introduces: EN ISO 1182:2020 [IDT], ISO 1182:2020 [IDT]", "Replaces: PN-EN ISO 1182:2010 - Polish version, PN-EN ISO 1182:2010 - English version", ICS 13.220.50. The last Polish version, PN-EN ISO 1182:2010 (publication 14-01-2013, 37 pages, it introduced EN ISO 1182:2010 and ISO 1182:2010 and replaced PN-EN ISO 1182:2004), has the label "Withdrawn and replaced by PN-EN ISO 1182:2020-12 - English version" and the withdrawal date 07-12-2020. PKN search, term "ISO 1182" (08.10.2026): 11 items, five with the number 1182 — only the English version of the 2020 edition is current; withdrawn: PN-EN ISO 1182:2010 (Polish and English version), PN-EN ISO 1182:2004 (Polish) and PN-EN ISO 1182:2002 (English). evs.ee catalogue: ISO 1182:2020 in force since 04.06.2020, in the history ISO 1182:2010 (since 29.04.2010).

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database and current PCA documents, read on 08.10.2026). As a test method the standard appears in 10 entries at 9 laboratories, the same in the database copy and in the current PCA documents (issues from 16.07.2025 to 13.07.2026); none of these entries is suspended (the suspensions of parts of the scope of AB 054 do not cover it). Notation: "PN-EN ISO 1182" without a year — 8 entries (AB 008, AB 011 two, AB 023, AB 054, AB 304, AB 1280, AB 1501); "PN-EN ISO 1182:2020-12" alongside "EN ISO 1182:2020" — AB 1777; at AB 014 in one cell "PN-EN ISO 1182:2010" and "PN EN ISO 1182:2020" together with the International Code for Application of Fire Test Procedures (resolution MSC.307(88), part 1). At AB 304 and AB 1501 part 1 of the IMO FTP Code stands alongside the standard. The mark "N" (a method used in activities relevant to notification under Regulation (EU) No 305/2011) is borne by the entries of eight laboratories; without it are AB 304 and one of the two entries of AB 011 (masonry units). Separately, in the part of the scopes listing the essential characteristics of construction products against technical specifications, "EN ISO 1182" stands at the characteristic "Reaction to fire" at eight of these laboratories (all except AB 304); in the database copy, together with such entries, there are 14 records. The "Laboratories" tab (term "PN-EN ISO 1182") shows 9 laboratories and 10 entries of the method; the term does not pick up standards with other numbers. It is the same set of nine laboratories as for ISO 1716 (heat of combustion) — a separate entry of this database.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (PCA documents). Quantities: temperature rise, (relative) mass loss and duration of burning or sustained flaming — at most laboratories all three; AB 1280 lists the temperature rise of the furnace and of the interior of the specimen. Subject: construction products — bituminous shingles, bituminous corrugated sheets, fibre-cement products (AB 008); masonry units and thermal insulation products (AB 011); insulating materials in shipbuilding and land construction (AB 014); construction, structural and finishing products (AB 023); construction products — among others insulating and flooring materials, adhesives, renders, mortars and compounds (AB 054); materials in land and marine construction (AB 304); construction products (AB 1280); insulating, structural, furnishing and decorative construction materials and products (AB 1501); construction materials and products (AB 1777).

WHERE A SEEMINGLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. First — non-homogeneous product: the standard tests only homogeneous products and substantial components of non-homogeneous products; according to the introduction a whole non-homogeneous product cannot be tested by it, because the construction of the specimen strongly influences the result. Second — flame: sustained flaming is a flame lasting at least 5 s; steady blue luminous zones of gas are not flame and go only into the observations. Third — thermocouples: the 2020 edition introduced the second furnace thermocouple and changed the calibration of the wall temperature; thermocouples are replaced after 200 tests, and new ones must be aged — a result from an improperly prepared measuring chain looks the same as a correct one. Fourth — the specimen holder loses mass with ageing, and its mass is to be (15 ± 2) g. Fifth — the edition: most laboratories write the number without a year; AB 014 cites the 2010 and 2020 editions together, and a Polish version existed only for the withdrawn editions. Sixth — test versus classification: the standard describes a test method; the criteria by which a product is assigned to a reaction to fire class are not in the extract read and we do not give them here.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We do not have clauses 5–9 or the annexes: the dimensions and preparation of the specimens, their number, conditioning, the test environment, the setting up and stabilization of the furnace (including the operating temperature of the furnace and the stability criteria), the calibration of the wall and furnace temperature, the test procedure and observations, the formulae for mass loss and temperature rise, the content of the report, the precision and example furnace designs.

Method principle

A specimen of a homogeneous product or of a substantial component of a non-homogeneous product is inserted into a vertical tube furnace of a refractory alumina tube, heated by an electric coil, so that its geometric centre is at the geometric centre of the furnace; the furnace temperature is measured by two thermocouples near the wall, and additional thermocouples may measure the surface and centre temperature of the specimen. The result describes the mass loss, sustained flaming (at least 5 s) and the temperature rise (ISO 1182:2020, clauses 1–4 and table of contents). According to the introduction the test identifies products which at a temperature of about 750 °C release very little heat and flame.

Applications

• Construction products in reaction to fire tests — non-combustibility; in the current accreditation scopes 9 laboratories, at eight in notified activities (mark "N")
• Insulating materials, masonry units, renders, mortars, adhesives and fibre-cement products — homogeneous products and substantial components of non-homogeneous products
• Materials in shipbuilding — together with the International Code for Application of Fire Test Procedures, part 1 (AB 014, AB 304, AB 1501)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-EN ISO 1182:2020-12 (wersja angielska; wprowadza EN ISO 1182:2020 [IDT] i ISO 1182:2020 [IDT])

Title (PL)

Badania reakcji na ogień wyrobów — Badanie niepalności

Title (EN)

Reaction to fire tests for products — Non-combustibility test

Step-by-step procedure

1. Qualifying the product

   Establish whether the product is homogeneous; in a non-homogeneous product test only the substantial components (at least 1.0 kg/m² or 1.0 mm) — a whole non-homogeneous product is not tested by this standard (introduction, 3.4–3.7).

2. Preparing the apparatus

   Check the mass of the specimen holder ((15 ± 2) g), the position of the furnace thermocouples ((10 ± 0.5) mm from the wall, (40 ± 5) mm beyond the guide) and their condition (replacement after 200 tests, new ones aged) (4.3–4.4).

3. Specimens, conditioning, stabilization and calibration

   Clauses 5–7.3, which we do not have — WE DO NOT GIVE the dimensions of the specimens, the conditioning, the furnace stabilization conditions and the calibration.

4. Test

   Insert the specimen so that its centre is at the geometric centre of the furnace, and observe the flame — sustained flaming is a flame lasting at least 5 s (3.8, 4.3.2); WE DO NOT GIVE the procedure of clause 7.4.

5. Results

   Mass loss, flaming and temperature rise according to clause 8 — WE DO NOT GIVE the formulae.

6. Report

   State the edition of the standard; WE DO NOT GIVE the content of the report from clause 9.

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Work at a furnace heated to a temperature of the order of 750 °C (introduction, calibration of thermocouples at 750 °C) — protection against burns, in accordance with the instructions for the test rig
• TECHNICAL NOTE: only homogeneous products and substantial components of non-homogeneous products; sustained flaming means at least 5 s; the 2020 edition changed the arrangement of the furnace thermocouples and the calibration; a Polish version existed only for the withdrawn editions

Frequently asked questions