A fire test instrument is required for use with composites and non-homogeneous products, as well as for specimens with discontinuities and surface irregularities, which is small enough not to require a complete full-scale product. The intermediate scale calorimeter, ASTM E1623 (ICAL) addresses that need. It is a gas-fired radiant panel (consisting of a series of small panels) which exposes, vertically, a 1 x 1 m sample, up to 150 mm thick, to a heat flux of up to 50 kWm(-2). Two wire igniters are located near the top and bottom of the radiant panel. The entire specimen holder assembly is on wheels, so it can be brought closer or further away from the radiant panel. The radiant panel and specimen holder are mounted on a load cell, under a hood, so that all major fire properties can be assessed, including heat, smoke and combustion product release, mass loss, ignitability and flame spread. The ICAL has the following six major applications: (a) source of engineering data for performance-based codes; (b) basis for a classification system for degrees of combustibility; (c) screening tool for full-scale room-corner tests; (d) tool for limited fire reconstructions, where it allows for studies of flame spread, and also heat and smoke release; (e) alternative means of assessing ignitability of exterior claddings, instead of the presently-used test with very limited usefulness; (f) as a screening tool for fire resistance tests (theoretically), because it allows estimation of fundamental fire properties such as the thermal inertia (kpc, where k is the thermal conductivity (kW (m(-1)K(-1))), rho is the density (kgm(-3)), and cis the thermal conductivity, (kJkg(-1)K(-1))). Recently, a precision interlaboratory round robin was conducted with three laboratories and six specimens (together with one added specimen each for two laboratories). Data analysis shows that the repeatability and reproducibility of the method is typical of modern fire tests. Moreover, it is suitable beyond the limited initial application to wood products. In fact, ICAL is a useful test method for research and development, with good potential as a regulatory tool. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.
