Palusol Achieves Excellent Sound Attenuation Levels

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Fire protection doors constructed using Palusol SW successfully tested according to British Standard

Palusol^® SW fire resisting boards from BASF have achieved excellent sound attenuation levels inacoustic tests in accordance with the British Standard BS EN ISO 10140-2 at Chiltern International. This internationally renowned test laboratory located in High Wycombe in the UK, undertook the tests on doors that were constructed and proved to achieve 30 and 60 minutes fire performance British Standard. Sound attenuation levels of between 30 and 33 decibels were achieved. In some of the tests the Palusol SW board was only 10 millimeters thick. British Building Regulations require a minimum sound reduction index of 29 decibels for doors in rooms for residential purposes, so these results demonstrate that doors constructed using Palusol SW would easily exceed these requirements. The reasons these levels can be achieved is the unique sandwich construction of Palusol combined with high density boards.

In 2009 fire protection properties of Palusol SW panels were already successfully tested at Chiltern International Fire and certified according to British Standard 476 Part 22. However, in the modern built environment doors have to be multi-functional, so the combination of the acoustic and fire tests conducted on Palusol SW demonstrate the versatility of the material.

“This further certification gives us additional technical and commercial advantage, as many of our customers provide doors for public authorities, hotels, educational facilities, so multifunctional products are a pre-requisite”, says Kevin Hulin, Group Director of Mann McGowan. The company, based in Aldershot, southern England, has specialized in the market of passive fire protection since 1977 and supplies customers including fire door manufacturers with Palusol SW panels. Mann McGowan was BASF’s development partner for the use of Palusol SW in fire protection doors tested according to the British Standard.

About Palusol

Palusol fire protection panels have been approved for construction for more than 30 years, are classified to DIN 4102-A2 and serve for passive fire protection, for example in fire doors, fire resistant glazing, safety cabinets and firewalls. Palusol consists essentially of sodium silicate and glass fibers which are coated with epoxy resin and cured. At temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius, the panels foam under blowing pressure to form a fine-pore, pressure-resistant, noncombustible and heat-insulating foam. It fills joints and gaps and thus prevents the spread of heat, fire and smoke for a certain time. Palusol SW, a finished sandwich product composed of Palusol fire protection panels and high-density fiber board (HDF) can be integrated into fire doors. It is available in different combinations of a Palusol panel with one HDF board up to multilayer sandwich structures.

Further information can be found at www.palusol.com.

A press photo can be downloaded at www.basf.com/pressphoto-database, keyword "Plastics". The text and photo will also shortly be available from www.basf.de/plastics/pressreleases.

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