UL 10B: Standard for Safety - Fire Tests of Door Assemblies

Standard: UL 10B – Standard for Safety - Fire Tests of Door Assemblies

Certification Required: The requirements for UL 10B certification can be found throughout the International Building Code in Chapter 7 for various types of door and frame assemblies.

Scope: Fire endurance and hose stream test of door assemblies of various materials and types for use in wall openings to prevent the passage of fire.  

Applicable Products: Door and frame assemblies mounted in a wall, including swinging doors, sliding or rolling doors, horizontal slide-type elevator doors, access doors, chute doors, dumbwaiter doors, service-counter doors. Door and frame hardware is also applicable.

Test Procedure: The test specimen (door assembly) is mounted in a test wall assembly, which typically consists of masonry or drywall and stud construction. The entire test assembly is then mounted to a test furnace and is exposed to specified temperatures throughout a specified time period. UL 10B is considered a neutral pressure fire test, in that the neutral pressure plane within the furnace is established at the top of the test specimen. This means that any areas of the test specimen below the neutral pressure plane will be exposed to negative furnace pressure, which will result in ambient air from the unexposed side of the test assembly being drawn into the furnace between the door and frame interface and any other prep in the assembly (i.e. vision kit, etc.). Following the fire endurance portion of the test, the side of the test assembly that was exposed to fire is then exposed to the cooling and erosion effects of the hose stream for a specified time period that is dependent on the test specimen size and the fire endurance time period. Generally speaking, conditions of acceptance include but are not limited to certain flaming requirements for the test specimen on the unexposed side of the assembly, certain deflection requirements for the door assembly, and no through openings developing during the fire endurance or hose stream tests.

End Result: Successful completion of this test will result in a fire protection rating for the product based on the fire endurance duration it was tested to. Eligible fire protection ratings are based on the test standard (I.e. 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 180, or 240 minutes) and are subsequently driven by Chapter 7 of the IBC based on application.

Intertek Testing Locations: Middleton, WI; Coquitlam, BC; Elmendorf, TX; York, PA

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