Flame-retardant design and protection for wood and wood products

Abstract

Two of the most important characteristics of wood, its combustibility and strength, have made it so that wood has served humankind both as fuel and as a building material for thousands of years. As a building material, wood is often used for structures, transportation networks, and infrastructure systems. Wood materials come in many forms, including dimensional lumber, heavy timber, and engineered wood products (e.g., plywood, orientated strand board, glulam, and cross-laminated timber). A more recent category of engineered wood products, known as mass timber, has increased the market and implementation of wood in both the building and infrastructure sectors. Mass timber products are thick, compressed layers of lumber that result in strong, structural load-bearing elements. However, as a building material, the combustibility of wood may increase fire risks, including fire development, fire propagation, and change in load bearing capacity (1). These risks are applicable to both interior building materials and materials exposed to the exterior fire hazards. Ultimately, to reduce these risks, fire protection of wood is often required by the model building codes.

Citation

Hasburgh, Laura E.; Kirker, Grant T.; Ohno, Katie, M. 2024. Flame-retardant design and protection for wood and wood products. Chapter 26. In: Morgan, A.B.; Wilkie, C.A., eds. Fire retardancy of polymeric materials, 3rd edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press: 627-647.