I ran a fairly unscientific but interesting fire-resistance test on a
PC sample I had made. From what I see, I'm not convinced that PC can
be made totally fire resistant without a lot of additives (increasing
its cost to make). My mix included a borax/boric acid mix in a
weight ratio equal to what the forest service recommends for making
wood more fire-resistant.
What was interesting was that the material never at any time as a
fuel source produced an open flame, only smoldering. Another fact I
found interesting was that the block continued to smolder for twenty
minutes after the propane torch was removed, looking like a piece of
charcoal from the barbecue grill. I would imagine that doubling the
portland would slow the smoldering, but I had hoped the borax/boric
acid mix would extinguish the block once the torch was removed--but
no luck.
Some type of integral firestopping might makes sense when PC is used
in a wall to limit the spread of the smoldering, since ultimately the
block was consummed. To play it safe, I believe that the wall
surface should be coated with a plaster or gypsum product to prevent
the smoldering from starting. Here is a link to pictures:
http://www.domovitae.com/fcrete/pcfire.htm
food for thought - Duane.
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