InterDam Conducts Door Safety Test

The result, according to InterDam, was an unqualified success. “We have now confirmed that our standard G21 Fire Door can withstand a 0.56 bar blast followed by an A60 rated fire, while remaining structurally sound,” said Berend Groeneveld, InterDam Managing Director. 

The company has performed similar testing on walls at its customers’ request, but this is the first time a company has proactively subjected doors to this type of testing, with a Lloyds Register Surveyor on hand to certify that the tests were performed on a single sample. “A blast event is quite often followed by a fire,” Groeneveld said. “But this blast can compromise the door’s ability to protect against this fire. And we were amazed to discover that there are no formal regulations in place for the certification of doors under these conditions.”

The blast test was conducted at the TNO blast testing facilities in Rijswijk, the Netherlands. “Post-blast, the door was intact and fully operational,” said Paul Goudswaard, InterDam R&D Director. “It didn’t detach or crack, and there was no damage to the hinges, vision panel, latches or door handle. It remained a Category One explosion-resistant door. During the subsequent fire test, we exposed the door to temperatures up to almost 1,000º Celsius for over an hour, and it met or exceeded all safety parameters.”

The final test results can now be used to calibrate our Final Element Models (FEMs) to approve alternative parameters for higher and lower blasts and project-specific door dimensions.

InterDam said it now leads the market in this type of testing, and the hope is that it will be a game-changer in terms of awareness and regulatory activities. “We want to introduce this type of testing and quality as an industry best practice with the hope that it will lead to new regulatory norms,” Groeneveld said. “Our ultimate goal, as always, is to keep staff and equipment safe in hazardous environments.”