A few extra coats of 'paint' could be all that the steel in a building needs to prevent itself from buckling and failing in a fire. Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Singapore's industrial developer JTC have developed an affordable 3-in-1 coating that offers enhanced fire and corrosion protection. Existing steel structures in buildings are usually coated with a fire-retardant layer to shield the bare metal from damage by fire and meet the fire protection standard of two hours -- aimed at giving occupants enough time to evacuate the building. Today's conventional intumescent coatings are thick, more expensive and laborious to apply. In contrast, this made-in-Singapore coating can be applied to bare steel without the need for sandblasting to prepare the surface, reducing coating time by half, and will protect the material against fire for two hours without falling off. Named FiroShield, the new coating is cheaper and less laborious to apply, and can function aesthetically like normal paint. FiroShield has also been tested on other construction materials, such as reinforced concrete and laminated timber, and has the same excellent performance.
Source: Science Daily
