| Title |
Fire-Spread Risk Analysis of Existing Buildings With EPS Sandwich-Panel Exterior Walls |
| Authors |
강경신(Kang, Kyeong-Sin) ; 이재승(Lee, Jae-Sung) ; 채승언(Chae, Seung-Un) ; 유지선(You, Ji-Sun) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2026.42.10.405 |
| Keywords |
Logistics Warehouse; EPS Sandwich Panel; Combustible Insulation; Fire Spread; Fire Risk |
| Abstract |
Many existing factory and warehouse buildings clad with combustible expanded polystyrene (EPS) sandwich panels were built before fire
safety regulations were strengthened. Because these regulations are not retroactive, such buildings remain a significant fire safety blind spot.
This study evaluates the fire-spread risk of existing EPS sandwich-panel exterior-wall buildings through an analysis of panel-use statistics, fire
statistics, domestic and international fire cases, and a full-scale fire test. A combustible EPS sandwich-panel specimen designated F-EPS with
a thickness of 100 mm was tested using the KS F 8414 fa?ade fire test, with internal core temperatures measured at four heights ranging
from 1,250 to 5,000 mm above the opening to determine the vertical fire-spread rate. The statistical and case analyses showed that EPS has
been the most widely used core material and that combustible organic insulation is the primary factor driving rapid fire spread and severe
damage, as demonstrated by major industrial fires in Korea and abroad, including the 2013 Jilin plant fire that claimed 121 lives. During the
full-scale test, flames entered the panel core through deformed steel-facing joints, causing rapid vertical fire spread within the core at an
average rate of 26.7 mm/s. The fire traveled from 1,250 to 5,000 mm in approximately 2 min 22 s and exceeded the KS F 8414
performance criterion after about 6 min 48 s, equivalent to a fire burning through a 10 m wall in approximately 6 min 14 s. These findings
quantitatively demonstrate the high fire risk of existing buildings clad with combustible EPS sandwich panels and indicate that regulations
focused only on new construction are insufficient to ensure the safety of the existing building stock. |