What are the functions required for fire-resistant coatings on steel structures?

We all know about fire-retardant coatings for steel structures, but do you know about their detailed functions? This article will introduce them to us:

1. Single-component powder coating

Eco-friendly and odorless, the coating contains a special binder that eliminates the need for additional liquid adhesive as typically required in two-component coatings. It can be mixed with water in a 1:1.2-1.5 ratio to create a uniform, thick fluid for spraying or rolling.

2. Renovation-oriented

After the application of two-component coatings, leveling them can easily lead to cracking and falling off due to their brittleness and stress. This product, however, can be easily leveled after the final spray without cracking, and when coated with decorative steel structural fire-retardant latex paint, it offers decorative properties not typically found in standard fire-retardant insulation coatings.

Exceptional fire and heat insulation properties

After inspection by the National Fire Prevention Construction Material Quality Supervision and Inspection Base, the thermal conductivity is only 0.089 W/(m.k), lower than the national standard of 1.16 W/(m.k). When the coating thickness is 23mm, the fire resistance time of the steel structure exceeds 3.5 hours, compared to the national standard of only 1.7 hours. Moreover, to achieve this fire-resistant capability, conventional coatings typically require a thickness of around 30mm, which not only increases the load on the steel structure but also adds to labor and material costs.

Lower pricing

The savings in materials and labor have significantly reduced the cost of fire protection maintenance, with a reduction of 20-30% compared to the usual paint cost.

5. Good elasticity

It is well-known that steel has a high coefficient of expansion when heated, and if the coating applied has a low coefficient of expansion and poor elasticity, it will not adapt to the thermal expansion and contraction of the steel, ultimately leading to cracking and peeling of the coating. By using a new type of binder instead of traditional two-component coatings, which utilize brittle binders such as cement or water glass, the fire-resistant coating that cures to dryness exhibits improved elasticity, impact resistance, and crack resistance. Moreover, the bond strength between the coating and the steel substrate is significantly increased (>0.46MPa), exceeding the national standard of 0.04MPa.