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Comiskey, D and Wilson, K (2020) A Performance Barrier? Cavity Barrier Installation in Wall Envelope Makeups. In: Scott, L and Neilson, C J (Eds.), Proceedings 36th Annual ARCOM Conference, 7-8 September 2020, UK, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 205-214.
- Type: Conference Proceedings
- Keywords: Building defects, cavity barrier, design management, facade fire, high-rise building
- ISBN/ISSN: 978-0-9955463-3-2
- URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/ba21b76de63f5c93ce7dcfa71209124e.pdf
- Abstract:
The area of passive fire protection in ventilated rainscreen wall envelope makeups post Grenfell has understandably focused on materials deemed acceptable for use depending on overall building height. Cladding and insulation products have received most attention in the aftermath of the amendments made to Regulation 7 of the Building Regulations (HMSO, 2018) and Approved Document B (HM Government, 2019). Whilst acknowledging the importance of such amendments, this paper is suggesting that the area of substandard on-site workmanship related to detail assembly, more specifically cavity barrier installation in ventilated rainscreen wall envelope makeups, can equally pose significant life safety concerns and requires greater scrutiny in terms of on-site inspection. This paper investigates potential defects related to cavity barrier installation in ventilated rainscreen envelope makeups by employing a mixed method research approach. Qualitative analysis in the form of a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) was undertaken with industry professionals to evaluate the probability of a range of possible defects occurring during installation and the severity of negative influence of each if they did occur. The qualitative data was supplemented by a quantitative analysis in the form of a Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation undertaken using Fire Dynamics Simulator software to predict the likely effect of an occurrence. The results from this study highlight the importance of workmanship in the construction of wall envelope makeups to achieve the requisite standard of passive fire protection. The paper concludes by discussing the importance of building inspection processes in identifying substandard installations along with technologies which can potentially assist in this regard.