What is flame retardant plywood? It is important to understand these inspection standards

When people think of flame-retardant plywood, their first thought is its exceptional flame-retardant properties. In the event of a fire, this board effectively suppresses the spread of flames, buying valuable time for evacuation and fire rescue efforts, significantly reducing fire damage. This remarkable property has made flame-retardant plywood highly valuable in a variety of applications, including construction and furniture, and has gained increasing consumer favor. Today, let's take a deeper look at flame-retardant plywood and its properties.

Flame-retardant plywood is ordinary plywood or decorative veneer-faced plywood that has undergone special flame retardant treatment to achieve a flame-retardant rating. Before introducing flame-retardant plywood, let's first understand the national standard GB/T 18101-2024, "Flame-retardant Plywood," which classifies building materials and products according to their combustion performance, smoke production characteristics, and smoke toxicity.

PART • 01

Combustion performance

In simple terms:

Class A: Non-combustible materials (products): do not burn, no open flame.

B1: Flame-retardant materials (products): have good flame retardancy. They are difficult to catch fire, spread slowly, and stop burning after the fire source is removed.

Class B2: Combustible materials (products): They will immediately catch fire and burn when exposed to open flames or high temperatures, and can easily cause the fire to spread.

Class B3: Flammable materials (products): extremely easy to burn, with great fire risk.

PART • 02

Smoke production characteristics

(Based on the smoke generation rate index of building materials or products in the single combustion test and the total smoke generation at 600 seconds)

In simple terms:

S1 level: indicates that the smoke generation rate is low and the total smoke generation is relatively low.

S2 level: Indicates that both the smoke generation rate and the total smoke generation are at a medium level.

S3 level: indicates that both the smoke generation rate and the total smoke generation are high.

In a fire, while the high temperature of the flames directly threatens people's lives, it should not be overlooked that the smoke produced is often one of the main causes of casualties. Therefore, the smoke production performance of fire-resistant plywood is crucial when evaluating its safety performance.

PART • 03

smoke toxicity

In simple terms:

T0 level: Indicates that the toxicity of the smoke generated by the material when it burns is relatively low, which may be because the smoke concentration is within the safe range or the content of toxic components is low.

T1 level: indicates that the toxicity of the smoke produced by the material when it burns is at a medium level. The smoke may contain a certain amount of toxic components, but it has not yet reached a highly dangerous level.

T2 level: indicates that the smoke generated by the material when burning is highly toxic and may contain a large amount of toxic components, posing a serious threat to human health.

Traditional wood materials and products are generally considered combustible, but for board materials, achieving B1 combustion performance is considered exceptional. During the production process, flame-retardant plywood is produced by carefully selecting high-quality wood veneers and combining them with a flame-retardant impregnation and glue layer treatment process to ensure that the flame retardant fully penetrates the wood's pores, thereby modifying its combustion characteristics. After rigorous testing by national testing centers, flame-retardant plywood has achieved the standard of B1 flame-retardant materials, with smoke production reaching S1 and smoke toxicity reaching T1, demonstrating outstanding performance.

In addition to its exceptional flame retardancy, flame-retardant plywood also boasts other excellent physical properties, including excellent bonding strength and a moisture absorption rate approximately 10% lower than other flame-retardant plywood on the market. Flame-retardant plywood is a comprehensive, high-quality product that meets high standards and rigorous requirements. Choosing flame-retardant plywood is a good choice.