Transparent coating fireproofs wood

Mass engineered timber (engineered wood products with improved structural integrity) has gained popularity due to lower costs and faster construction. If the wood is harvested from sustainably managed forests, then it also has a lower carbon footprint compared to steel or concrete buildings.

Current practices to protect the interior of wooden buildings from fires require fire-retardant panels (such as gypsum and magnesia boards) or the timber must be coated with paint-like fire-retardant coatings. In comparison, the new coating developed by NTU allows for the timber to remain exposed whilst providing a flame barrier when ‘activated’ by fire.

Developed by a team led by associate professor Aravind Dasari from the NTU School of Materials Science and Engineering, this transparent fireproof coating is 0.075mm thick. When heated, a series of complex chemical reactions occur, causing the coating to become a char that expands to over 30 times its original thickness and prevents the fire from combusting the wood underneath. The exact composition of the coating is remaining under wraps, but several methods can be used to apply the barrier, which is said to need a day to cure.