The influence of atmospheric factors on the effectiveness of fire protection for wooden facade structures

Introduction. The article discusses how artificial wood aging affects the retention of its fireproofing efficiency to evaluate the ability of a fire-bio-moisture-resistant impregnating agent to protect facing timber materials of facade systems exposed to weathering, such as varying temperature and humidity, if standardized levels of fire hazard and integrity are maintained and the impregnating agent has water-soluble phosphorus and nitrogen compounds of the nanoscale range. Research focus and methods. A specimen of pine wood was subjected to artificial aging for 120 days, which is equivalent to 15 years of outdoor operation. The method of pressurized impregnation was applied to pre-treat the specimen with the fireproofing agent. Climate testing was followed by a comparative evaluation of combustibility parameters according to a standard experimental method used to distribute combustible and hardly combustible materials between combustibility groups. Besides, before and after aging, all surfaces of fireproof wood specimens were subjected to thermo-analytical studies and visual inspection. Results and discussion. Results of combustibility group identification and principal thermal decomposition parameters of fireproof pine timber remained nearly the same before and after climate testing. Further comparative visual examination of surfaces of timber specimens identified no external changes. Conclusion. Research on the stability of fireproofing properties in pressure-impregnated timber shows that it can retain its effectiveness for up to 15 years under natural weathering conditions.