New safety standards for flexible technical insulation materials; Armaflex Ultima system family meets green building requirements
With Armaflex Ultima, Armacell offers a completely new Armaflex generation. The blue elastomeric foam is the first flexible insulation material to achieve fire class BL-s1, d0. This classification confirms that the product has extremely low smoke density and therefore it makes an important contribution to the level of fire safety in buildings.
Armaflex Ultima was developed on the basis of the innovative Armaprene® technology which is patented both in the USA (US Patent No. 8,163,811) and Europe (European Patent No. 2 261 305). To ensure that the material is installed reliably, Armacell has developed adhesives especially for Armaflex Ultima. These include the Armaflex Ultima SF990 Adhesive, the first solvent-free product, for the rising demands of sustainable building.
Low smoke density is essential for people’s safety in a fire
Every year 6,000 to 10,000 people die as a result of fires in Europe. But only a few of these are killed by the flames; the majority – 95% - of fire fatalities are a consequence of smoke inhalation. In the event of a fire it is vital that those trapped find escape routes quickly – which is only possible with minimal smoke development.
The new European fire classification takes this fact into account and when assessing the fire behaviour of building products not only tests the flammability, but also the smoke density and the production of burning droplets. Legislators in many European countries have recognized that smoke poses a much higher hazard potential than the fire itself and have tightened the requirements regarding the smoke development of building products in their building regulations. For example, in the UK, legislation covering the built environment includes the Construction Products Directive (CPD, 89/106/EEC), BS EN 13501-1, BS 476, ISO 5659-2 Smoke generation and ISO 5660 Parts 1 & 2 Heat & Smoke production.
New safety standard in technical insulation
The new Armaflex Ultima is the first flexible insulation material to achieve fire class BL-s1, d0 (tubes) or B-s2, d0 (sheets) in the European fire test. Compared to a standard elastomeric product, Armaflex Ultima exhibits 10 times less smoke development. The first flexible technical insulation material with extremely low smoke density is available as a complete range: apart from standard and self-adhesive tubes and sheets, Armacell also provides an Ultima version of the tried-and-tested Armafix pipe support. The system solution for hanging refrigeration pipes is now produced with a load-bearing segment made of recycled PET.
Strong adhesives for a sustainable insulation system
The new Armaprene® synthetic rubber requires the use of adhesives which have been specially developed for this innovative material:
Ø Armaflex Ultima SF990 Adhesive: the first solvent - and emission-free adhesive - for installing elastomeric insulation materials to meet the special requirements of sustainable buildings
Ø Armaflex Ultima RS850 Adhesive: thixotropic high-performance adhesive for clean, non-drip application; only releases minimal amounts of solvents when idle
Ø Armaflex Ultima 700 Adhesive: reliable special adhesive for a wide tem-premature range
The choice of adhesive depends on the requirements of the project in question.
Armaflex Ultima is FM approved and bears the European Wheelmark, which documents the product’s conformity with the stringent standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Since its launch in 2012, Armaflex Ultima has been installed very successfully in numerous projects: in industrial plants, hospitals, schools, universities, airports, underground train stations and many other developments.
Tip: Armaflex Ultima’s superior fire behaviour is also shown very clearly in a video which can be found at www.armacell.de/ArmaflexUltima.
