Münster (Germany), 25 September 2012 - With ArmaFlex Protect Armacell now offers a highly flexible fire protection system for almost all types of building service pipes. When ArmaFlex Protect is used, even multilayer composite pipes running through lightweight walls achieve a fire resistance of 120 minutes without any additional measures. At the same time, the product ensures effective thermal insulation and reliable condensation and noise control. ArmaFlex Protect is just as easy to install as all the ArmaFlex products. The annular gap in wall and ceiling penetrations can be sealed quickly, neatly and reliably with the ArmaProtect 1000 firestop filler. The ArmaProtect 1000 non-combustible compound with a melting point of > 1000 °C completes the system perfectly in applications where ArmaFlex Protect is used, but it can also be applied directly onto pipes or even electricity cables in wall and ceiling penetrations.
Poor planning and execution of preventive fire protection compromises safety in buildings and can cost lives in the event of a fire. There is a particular risk if the fire can spread along the building services: pipes connect various fire compart-ments in a building. If they are not sealed effectively, they represent a consider-able source of danger in a fire, because flames or smoke can spread via the pipes to other parts of the building.
With ArmaFlex Protect it is possible to create fire penetration seals for heating, plumbing and refrigeration pipes made of non-combustible and combustible materials in solid walls or ceilings and even in lightweight walls. Not only penetrations for steel, stainless steel, cast iron or copper pipes, but also for plastic and multilayer composite pipes can be sealed with the fire protection barrier without the need for any additional measures. In a fire, the fire protection barrier foams up and achieves a fire resistance of 120 minutes. It is not necessary to take impractical minimum clearances into account either at the planning stage or when installing the product. The highly flexible tube is simply slit and glued, and then ArmaFlex Tape is used to cover the seam.
ArmaFlex Protect has both a national and a European approval: the SP SITAC Certificate SC0063-11 and the European Technical Approval ETA-11/0454 can be downloaded from the Internet or requested from Armacell employee Rolf Ridell.
Fire protection in buildings has never been so easy
For closing the annular gap Armacell provides ArmaProtect 1000 firestop filler, a ready-to-use material which can be applied straight from the container. The com-pound has clear advantages over traditional solutions: mortar or casting com-pounds require time-consuming preparation and follow-up work. Moreover, these materials can only be used on pipes which have already been insulated. Fire protection putty and foam do not provide adequate thermal and acoustic insula-tion either. Apart from this, the application range of these products is often limited. In comparison to traditional product solutions, the ArmaProtect 1000 firestop filler is unbeatable in its ease of use: even in difficult spots the compound can be ap-plied quickly and easily using fingers or a spatula. Formwork is not usually needed and the self-hardening filler can later be sanded, drilled or cut without any problems. ArmaProtect 1000 can also be used directly on metal or plastic pipes and electricity cables.
Because it is composed of hollow microspheres in combination with innovative inorganic binding agents, ArmaProtect 1000 also ensures effective acoustic insulation. As the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (Stuttgart, Germany) confirms, this firestop filler greatly reduces the transmission of structure-borne noise. The product complies with European standard EN 998-2 and bears the CE marking.