Journal of Building Engineering 9 (2017) 164–176

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Journal of Building Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jobe

Behaviour of non-loadbearing tabique wall subjected to fire – Experimental MARK

and numerical analysis
⁎
Débora M. Ferreiraa,c, , Alexandre Araújoa, Elza M.M. Fonsecab, Paulo A.G. Pilotob, Jorge Pintoc
a
Department of Applied Mechanics, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal
b
LAETA, INEGI, UMNMEE, Department of Applied Mechanics, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Portugal
c
C-MADE, School of Sciences and Technology, Department of Engineering, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Tabique construction is one of the most used traditional building techniques and it can be found almost
Tabique wall everywhere in Portugal with special incidence in the northeast region. Tabique construction elements can be
Fire resistance described as a timber structure filled on both sides with an earth-based render. Tabique elements can be found
Traditional construction in ancient buildings, from simple construction as rural dwellings to more urban sophisticated ones. This paper
Timber
presents a study of the behaviour of tabique walls, concerning its fire resistance. Therefore, an experimental
Non-loadbearing wall
analysis was performed using tabique wall panel specimens. Such wall panels were made in pine wood with an
earth-based render finishing. In order to assess the thickness effect of the earth-based render on the fire
resistance of the wall, three specimens with different render thicknesses of 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm were
tested in a fire-resistance furnace according to the ISO 834 [1] standard fire curve. Fire resistance is a measure
of the ability of a building element to resist a fire, usually the time for which the element can meet appropriate
criteria during exposure to a standard fire resistance test. By this way it is possible to increase the safety of
people and property. Two performance criteria were verified which are the integrity and the insulation. In
addition, a numerical model was also developed in order to assess the tabique wall behaviour under fire
conditions, which was validated using the obtained experimental results.

1. Introduction technique in the beginning of the 20th century. The tabique building
technique consists of using natural and non-processed building mate-
In the historic city centres of the north of Portugal, most of the rials, with simple procedures. In general, a tabique wall is composed by
existing buildings are ancient and they were built using techniques that a simple timber structure covered with an earth-based material. The
have fallen in disuse due to the natural technological progress of the timber frame elements are nailed to each other and the most common
construction sector. Several of these buildings are abandoned and show timber frame solution is formed by vertical boards linked to each other
an advanced state of degradation. Thus, it is important to perform by horizontal elements. In general, both materials are locally available
rehabilitation and conservation processes of this heritage. in abundance, can be recycled, and are consequently more sustainable
The usage of natural materials such as wood, earth and stone has [3].
evolved to industrialized solutions that result in environmental im- Tabique walls may be key structural elements because they connect
pacts. In recent decades, the sustainable construction concept has been horizontal structural elements located at different levels of a building.
developed based on the principles of recycling and maximizing They contribute for bearing capacity during the occurrence of an
resources, protecting and stimulating the creation of healthy environ- earthquake, due to energy dissipation. For instance, during the earth-
ment, leading to the reduction of the environmental impact of the quake that occurred in Lisbon in 1755, constructions built with tabique
construction sector. In order to support the different stakeholders in walls (or similar) had presented better structural behaviour under
the above referred sector, research projects and knowledge dissemina- seismic action compared than the ones built with masonry walls.
tion on sustainable development construction have been conducted [2]. Some research studies have highlighted the advanced deterioration
The tabique is one of the main Portuguese traditional building level of this type of construction and the recommended the need for
techniques based on raw materials such as earth and wood, which was retrofitting actions [4–6]. At the same time, it was also stated that there
extremely relevant until the introduction of the reinforced concrete is still a lack of publications related to tabique constructions which may

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (D.M. Ferreira).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2016.11.003
Received 18 November 2015; Received in revised form 1 November 2016; Accepted 3 November 2016
Available online 03 January 2017
2352-7102/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D.M. Ferreira et al. Journal of Building Engineering 9 (2017) 164–176

be available to scientific and technical communities. naturally at a room temperature around 18 °C and air humidity of
Therefore, the main goal of this research work is to study about 75%.
experimentally and numerically the behaviour of real-scale tabique
walls subjected to fire conditions using different earth-based render 2.3. Tabique wall instrumentation
thicknesses. Thus, three wall panels with different render layer
thicknesses of 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm were tested. The overall The thermal behaviour of tabique walls exposed to the fire was
dimensions of the panels are 990×975×95 mm3. It was concluded that evaluated using several thermocouples for measuring both internal and
the earth-based render works as fire protection of the timber frame external temperatures of the wall. The entire procedure is based on
which allows the tabique wall to present adequate behaviour under fire European standard for the general requirements for fire testing [10]
conditions. The obtained results may give guidance for rehabilitation and the specific requirements for the fire testing of non-loadbearing
actions in buildings with a significant state of deterioration [7,8] and walls (testing conditions, specimen preparation, specimen fixation,
also provide new information about the behaviour of this tabique non- conditioning and instrumentation) [11]. According to these standards
loadbearing wall under fire. two performance criteria should be evaluated through all tests: the
insulation and integrity criteria.
2. Tabique panels and construction details The insulation criterion is the time, in completed minutes, for
which the test specimen continues to maintain its separating function
The timber structure of the tabique panels is formed by vertical during the test without developing temperatures on its unexposed side
boards which are connected to each other by laths placed on both sides which increase the average temperature above the initial average
[9]. It was used Pinus pinaster and taking into account that it temperature: i) by more than 140 °C, ii) or increase more than
corresponds to a current applied solution [3]. These timber elements 180 °C at any location of the unexposed side above the initial average
are nailed. This timber structure was then covered with an earth-based temperature.
render corresponding to a traditional building solution. Fig. 1 shows The integrity is the ability to prevent the fire and the smoke
some building details of typical tabique walls. transmission through the element. The integrity criterion will be
In order to evaluate the behaviour against fire, three tabique panels verified throughout the experiments by employing a cotton wool pad
were manufactured by this way in the Strength of Materials Laboratory saturated in ethyl alcohol.
at Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. As it was stated above, the main goal is to study experimentally and
numerically the behaviour of tabique walls subjected to fire conditions
2.1. Timber structure using different earth-based render thicknesses. Hence, wire type K
thermocouples have been placed at different depths in order to obtain
As it was stated above, vertical boards and laths are the main temperature records inside the render (TA) and the wood (TM). The
elements of the timber structure. Both elements are separated to each unexposed surface was also instrumented using type K thermocouples
one 35 mm. The respective cross section is 170×25 mm2 and welded on copper discs protected by plasterboard (TD) used for
30×25 mm2. These dimensions correspond to average values obtained measuring temperatures at specific panel points in order to assess
from [9]. Fig. 2 shows some stages of the manufacturing of the timber and to verify the insulation criterion. The thermocouples were placed
structure of the panels. Meanwhile, Fig. 3 schematically presents the according to Fig. 6.
geometrical detail of the timber structure.
2.4. Tabique panel coupled to the fire-resistance furnace
2.2. Earth-based render
Before coupling the panel, a 50 mm thick rock wool was nailed
The timber structure of the panels was covered with an earth-based along the perimeter of the panel in order to avoid gas or flame escaping
render applied on both sides. At a first stage, it was adopted the render between the rim and the panel, Fig. 7. The tabique panels were then
composition delivered in previous studies [4] which do not considered fixed into a support and coupled to the furnace, Fig. 8.
lime or cement necessary. However, in this case and after some
preliminary tests, it was concluded that it was convenient to include 3. Experimental tests
a 8% mass content of cement CEM II/B-L-32,5 R (white). The
application of the render was performed in two main stages. In the The experimental tabique panels were tested in the fire resistance
first stage, the empty spaces of the timber structure were filled with the furnace existing in the Strength of Materials Laboratory at Polytechnic
render (Fig. 4). In the second stage, the final coating was applied Institute of Bragança, which is able to carry out ISO 834 [1] standard
(Fig. 5). After this procedure, the panels remained in hygrometric fire tests, as defined in Fig. 9.
controlled conditions of the laboratory for 30 days and they dried At the beginning of the tests, the tabique wall panels were at the

Fig. 1. Tabique wall building details.

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Fig. 2. Some stages of the manufacturing of the timber structure of the panels.

Fig. 5. Final coating.

Fig. 3. Geometrical detail for timber structure of panels.

Fig. 6. Panels geometry and thermocouples location.

Fig. 4. Timber structure filled with earth-based render.

ambient laboratory temperature of about 21 °C and air humidity

around 65%.
During the test, the integrity of the wall was evaluated throughout
the cotton wool pads test (Fig. 10). The insulation of the panels was
also evaluated during experiments by assessing the unexposed surface
temperature according to European standard [10]. At the final stage of
the tests, a significant amount of smoke releasing from burning wood
(Fig. 11) was noticed.
In order to evaluate the fire insulation behaviour of the earth-based
render thickness effect, the three panels were covered with different
render layer thicknesses (th) equal to 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm. Fig. 7. Isolation of tabique panel.

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Fig. 8. Tabique panel coupled to the furnace.

Furnace imposed temperature ISO 834

panel th = 15 mm panel th = 10 mm
T [ºC] panel th = 5 mm
1000

800

600

Fig. 11. Smoke release.

400

200

0
0 600 1200 1800 2400 3000 3600
t [s]

Fig. 9. ISO 834 and imposed temperature curves.

Fig. 12. Tabique wall panel at the end of the test.

Fig. 13. Timber structure after the test.

that the laths burnt due to the small spaces created near the anchorage
Fig. 10. Integrity criterion proofing. points of the wall panel. The earth-based render of the fire exposed
surface of the panel was removed for a better perception of the fire
3.1. Tabique panel with th =15 mm of earth-based render effect on the laths, see Fig. 13. In general, it was noticed that the timber
did not suffer significant damage. However, a char layer was created
The first tested sample was the wall panel with th =15 mm of earth- around the laths. In terms of the performance criterion, there was no
based render. The lack of knowledge on tabique fire behaviour and the deformation of the panel regarding load-bearing capacity. On the other
smoke release from the burning timber, which could indicate the hand, the integrity criterion was also verified because there was no
ignition of the wood panel, led us to finish the test after 35 min Fig. 12 flame or ignitions of the cotton. At the same time, the insulation
shows the wall panel when the furnace door was opened. It can be criterion was as well verified taking into account that the higher value
observed that the earth-based render did not crack nor collapsed and of temperature measured in thermocouple TD3 was of 55 °C.

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Fig. 14. Flame from wood combustion. Fig. 16. Cracks in the earth-based render.

3.2. Tabique panel with th =10 mm of earth-based render

From the analysis of the results obtained in the previous test (th
=15 mm) it was decided to extend the test duration from 35 min to
60 min in this case (tabique wall panel with th =10 mm). Nevertheless,
both insulation and integrity criteria were met. The recorded tempera-
tures of the unexposed surface of the panel were always below 90 °C.
There was also no deformation of the panel. Fig. 14 shows the timber
structure burning during the test. Meanwhile, Fig. 15 shows the panel
in flame when the door of the furnace was opened.
Afterwards, the flame was extinguished and the tabique wall panel
was forced to cool using tap water. At this stage, it was possible to
observe the existence of cracks in the exposed surface of the panel. A
large vertical crack was formed at the centre of the tabique wall panel Fig. 17. Timber structure after the test.
and also some other small ones in horizontal direction (Fig. 16). The
final aspect of the timber structure can be observed in Fig. 17, which furnace door was opened and the tabique wall panel was cooled (using
shows the complete carbonization of the horizontal (laths) and the water spray), the fire exposed surface presented signs of spall. In fact,
vertical timber elements of the tabique wall panel. Based on the scale of the earth-based render layer separated rapidly from the wooden
damage caused to the tabique wall panel and the large amount of structure due to the thermal shock generated by the water particles
smoke release it was decided to shorten the duration of the third test. in contact with the hot surface. Fig. 18 shows the aspect of the tabique
wall panel at the end of the test and Fig. 19 shows the timber structure
after removing the earth-based render layer. It is possible to verify that
3.3. Tabique panel with th =5 mm of earth-based render
the timber structure remained intact. In terms of the performance
criterion, it was also verified that there was no deformation of the
The third tabique wall panel (th =5 mm) was tested during 15 min,
panel. The integrity criterion was also met because there was no flame
which was the duration found to be the one corresponding to the
or ignitions of the cotton. Finally, the insulation criterion was as well
plateau of the graphs that can be observed from Figs. 28–32. When the

Fig. 15. Tabique wall panel when the door was opened. Fig. 18. Tabique wall panel after opening the furnace door.

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Specific heat [kJ/kgK] Thermal conductivity [W/mK]

12

10

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Temperature [ºC]
Fig. 21. Thermal properties of earth-based render.

and adjusted after several numerical simulations which were validated

using the obtained experimental results. Fig. 21 presents the thermal
properties of the earth-based render considered in the numerical
analysis. The density and the emissivity of the render were considered
Fig. 19. Timber structure after the test (th =5 mm).
equal to 1290 kg/m3 and 0.85, respectively.
The following figures (Figs. 22–27) show the mesh used in the
met since the higher temperature value measured by thermocouple
numerical model with the two different materials and also the obtained
TD3 was 21 °C.
temperature patterns for each section (AA and BB, see Fig. 3) in the last
time step for tabique wall panels with th =15 mm (Figs. 22 and 23), th
4. Numerical analysis =10 mm (Figs. 24 and 25), and th =5 mm (Figs. 26 and 27),
respectively.
A finite element analysis was performed using the Ansys software. A The grey colour is related to the burned timber, according to the
nonlinear thermal and transient analysis was conducted using plane criterion of char layer formation applied by the isothermal of 300 °C,
elements with 8 nodes (Plane 77). Two different cross-sections of the defined by Eurocode 5 [13].
tabique wall, AA and BB as shown in Fig. 3, were modelled in
numerical simulation. Particular attention was given to the non- 5. Experimental and numerical results
linearity due to the thermal properties dependence of wood and
earth-based render material used in tabique walls [12]. The following graphs (from Figs. 28–33) show the experimental
The wood thermal properties have a nonlinear behaviour that time-temperature evolution of the fire exposed surface (T_e) and the
depends on the evolution temperature as defined in annex B of corresponding numerical results (T_n) of the tabique wall panels with
Eurocode 5 [13]. The thermal properties to be considered are the 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm render thickness, respectively, and related to
thermal conductivity, the specific heat and the density, as shown in the thermocouples located on the wooden structure (TM) and on the
Fig. 20. It was considered a density and an emissivity of the wood equal earth-based render (TA).
to 450 kg/m3 and 0.8, respectively.
The render properties were determined according to several docu- 5.1. Tabique panel with th =15 mm of earth-based render
ments that characterize the thermal behaviour of the soil as it is stated
in the Eurocode 6 [14] and in Nguyen [15]. The considered thermal For the tabique panel with th =15 mm, the test was performed over
properties of the soil used in the tabique wall panels were established a period of time of 35 min corresponding to a maximum real
temperature in the furnace of 863 °C.
Specific heat [kJ/kgK] Density ratio From Fig. 28, it can be seen that thermocouples TM1 and TM4
(which are placed in the wood at 67.5 mm depth from the unexposed
Thermal conductivity [W/mK] fire surface) recorded the highest temperatures of approximately
14 100 °C. Concerning the thermocouples located near the unexposed
surface (17.5 mm deep), the temperature remained almost unchanged
12
(ambient temperature). The covering layer isolated the heat coming
10 from the furnace for a period of 140 s approximately until it reached
the laths existing in the fire exposed face. At that moment, the
8
6
4
2
AA
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 62.5°C 834.7°C
Temperature [ºC]
Fig. 22. Temperature results in section AA – tabique wall panel with th =15 mm,
Fig. 20. Thermal properties of wood. t=35 min.

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Thermocouples located in the earth-based render (TA)

T [ºC] TA1_e TA2_e TA3_e TA4_e
TA1_n TA2_n TA3_n TA4_n
200
TA4
TA3
BB TA2

150
28.2°C 834.7°C
TA1
Fig. 23. Temperature results in section BB – tabique wall panel with th =15 mm,
t=35 min. 100

50

AA
0
74.85°C 926.39ºC 0 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 2100
t [s]
Fig. 24. Temperature results in section AA – tabique wall panel with th =10 mm,
t=60 min. Fig. 29. Time-temperature evolution of the earth-based render of the tabique wall panel
with th =15 mm.

Thermocouples located in the wooden structure (TM)

TM1_e TM2_e TM3_e TM4_e TM5_e
T [ºC]
TM1_n TM2_n TM3_n TM4_n TM5_n
300
BB
250
39.13°C 930.35°C
Fig. 25. Temperature results in section BB – tabique wall panel with th =10 mm, 200 TM5
TM4
t=60 min.
150
TM3
TM2
TM1
100

50
AA
30.93°C 711.81°C 0
0 600 1200 1800 2400 3000 3600
Fig. 26. Temperature results in section AA – tabique wall panel with th =5 mm, t [s]
t=15 min.
Fig. 30. Time-temperature evolution of the wooden structure of the tabique wall panel
with th =10 mm.

Thermocouples located in the earth-based render (TA)

TA1_e TA2_e TA3_e TA4_e
T [ºC]
BB TA1_n TA2_n TA3_n TA4_n
400
TA4
17.42°C 712.44°C 350
TA3
TA2

Fig. 27. Temperature results in section BB – tabique wall panel with th =5 mm,
300
t=15 min.
TA1
250
Thermocouples located in the wooden structure (TM)
200
T [ºC] TM1_e TM2_e TM3_e TM4_e TM5_e
TM1_n TM2_n TM3_n TM4_n TM5_n 150
200

100

150 50

TM5
TM4
0
0 600 1200 1800 2400 3000 3600
100 t [s]
TM3
TM2
TM1 Fig. 31. Time-temperature evolution of the earth-based render of the tabique wall panel
with th =10 mm.
50

temperatures recorded by thermocouples TM1 and TM4 rose linearly

until 97 °C. At that temperature, the thermocouples inserted in the
0
0 300 600 900 1200 1500 1800 2100 vertical boards (TM2) and in the laths of the unexposed side (TM3 and
t [s] TM5) began to register an increase of temperature. The plateau
occurred at the temperature of 97 °C is due to water evaporation. In
Fig. 28. Time-temperature evolution of the wooden structure of the tabique wall panel
with th =15 mm.
this process, both materials accumulate energy in an endothermic

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Thermocouples located in the wooden structure (TM)

T [ºC] TM1_e TM2_e TM3_e TM4_e TM5_e
TM1_n TM2_n TM3_n TM4_n TM5_n
100

75
TM5
TM4

50
TM3
TM2
TM1

25

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
t [s]

Fig. 32. Time-temperature evolution of the wooden structure of the tabique wall panel
with th =5 mm.

Thermocouples located in the earth-based render (TA)

T [ºC] TA1_e TA2_e TA3_e TA4_e
TA1_n TA2_n TA3_n TA4_n
125
TA4
TA3
TA2
100

TA1
75

50

25

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
t [s]

Fig. 33. Time-temperature evolution of the earth-based render of the tabique wall panel
with th =5 mm.

process. When the water evaporation ended, the temperatures mea-

sured by thermocouples TM1 and TM4 increased again, following the
same evolution that in the first stage of the test. At the end of the test Fig. 34. Time-temperature evolution measured by TD thermocouples placed in the
(2100 s), temperatures of 29 °C and 132 °C were registered in thermo- unexposed surface, for: a) th =15 mm; b) th =10 mm; c) th =5 mm.
couples TM3 and TM4, respectively.
Although the maximum recorded temperature in the furnace was of 5.2. Tabique panel with th =10 mm of earth-based render
863 °C, it must be noticed that the corresponding temperature
recorded near the exposed surface was of 132 °C, which represent a For the tabique panel with th =10 mm, the test was performed over
temperature reduction of 85%. a period of 60 min corresponding to a maximum temperature in the
Temperature measurements were recorded through earth-based furnace of 947 °C.
render thickness. Higher temperature was recorded in thermocouples From Fig. 30 it can be seen that the measurements of the
located near the fire exposed surface, as it was expected. thermocouples TM1 and TM4 which were placed in the wood (at
Regarding the results obtained for the earth-based render (Fig. 29), 67.5 mm depth from the unexposed fire surface), indicate that the
the thermocouples placed near the fire exposed side (TA1 and TA2) temperature started to rise at t=200 s until the wood moisture
started to record an increasing temperature after approximately 300 s evaporation plateau was reached. This plateau was longer than the
until attain the moisture loss plateau, at 600 s. The duration of this occurred in the previous test due to the fact that the render of the
plateau was about 670 s while the temperature increased from 90 °C to exposed fire surface was rebuilt and it had less drying time in the
100 °C, followed by a temperature increasing until the end of the test. laboratory. After the moisture loss plateau the temperature curves
The thermocouples inserted near to the unexposed surface (TA3 and followed a similar trend until the end of the test. The thermocouples
TA4) behaved similarly, measuring an initial temperature rise until the TM1 and TM4 recorded the highest temperatures of 240 °C approxi-
moisture loss plateau, recording lower temperatures compared to TA1 mately.
and TA2, due to the render layers. The highest recorded temperature For t= 2100 s the same temperature of 100 °C approximately was
was about 180 °C which was measured near the fire exposed side. In recorded in both tabique wall panels with 15 mm and 10 mm of render
contrast, the lowest temperature (about 80 °C) was registered in thickness. Regarding the measurements of the thermocouples located
17.5 mm depth in the render. near the unexposed surface, 17.5 mm deep, the temperature remained

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Tabique panel with th = 15 mm Tabique panel with th = 10 mm Tabique panel with th = 5 mm

Fig. 35. Final results of material damages: numerical and experimental modelling.

(t = 10 min) (t = 20 min)

(t = 30 min) (t = 35 min)
Fig. 36. Infrared thermography of the tabique wall panel with th =15 mm.

practically unchanged until t= 1200 s, increasing to around 100 °C at afterwards and the amount of water of the render was superior to that
the end of test. existing in the panel with th =15 mm.
Although the maximum recorded temperature in the furnace was of
947 °C, it must be noticed that the corresponding temperature 5.3. Tabique panel with th =5 mm of earth-based render
recorded near the exposed surface was of 240 °C, which represent a
temperature reduction of 75%. For the tabique panel with th =5 mm the test was performed over a
Regarding the earth-based render (Fig. 31), the higher measured period of 15 min corresponding to a maximum temperature in the
temperature of about 380 °C was recorded near to the fire exposed side furnace of 737 °C.
for t= 3600 s. For t= 2100 s, it was measured the temperature of 180 °C It can be seen in Fig. 32 that the thermocouples TM1 and TM4
approximately which corresponds to a similar testing scenario as occurred recorded the highest temperatures of 100 °C approximately. At the end of
in the panel with 15 mm render thickness. The lowest temperature (about the test, the moisture loss plateau was not complete. Regarding the
100 °C) was recorded at a 17.5 mm depth in the render. thermocouples located near the unexposed surface, 17.5 mm deep, the
Comparing Figs. 29 and 31 it is noticed that there is a plateau temperature remained practically unchanged during the entire test dura-
around the temperature of 100 °C. This is due to the moisture content tion.
of each panel. This phenomenon would be more expected in the panel Although the maximum recorded temperature in the furnace was of
which had the higher render layer thickness. This fact did not happen 737 °C, it must be noticed that the corresponding temperature
because the panel with th =10 mm broke when it was placed in the test recorded near the exposed surface was of 100 °C, which represent a
frame and it was required to rebuild it. The test was performed 24 h temperature reduction of 85%.

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(t = 10 min) (t = 20 min)

(t = 30 min) (t = 40 min)

(t = 50 min) (t = 60 min)
Fig. 37. Infrared thermography of the tabique wall panel with th =10 mm.

Concerning the earth-based render (Fig. 33), the higher measured According to EN 1363-1 [10], the insulation criterion was verified.
temperature of about 80 °C were recorded near to the fire exposed side.
Meanwhile, the lowest temperature (about 50 °C) was registered at 5.5. Global damage comparison
17.5 mm depth.
In terms of the numerical simulation, the time-temperature evolution of A comparison between numerical and experimental fire damage
both earth-based render and timber is in accordance with the experimental
modelling is done in Fig. 35 and for the last stage of the test.
results. The material moisture release phenomenon estimated by the It can be seen in Fig. 35 that the numerical simulation predicted
thermocouples TM1 and TM4 was simulated numerically with accuracy.
that approximately half of the laths existing in the surface subjected to
The discrepancies between experimental and numerical results may be due fire action burned for tabique wall panel with th =15 mm. This fire
to different causes such as the natural tabique wall panel performance, the scenario was confirmed experimentally proving that there is a good
existence of some internal cracking that may affect the measurements, the agreement between the numerical modelling and the experimental test
possible thermocouples displacement, the material heterogeneity, among regarding the final result.
other. In general, a good correlation between the numerical and the For the tabique wall panel with th =10 mm, the numerical prediction
experimental results was obtained, mainly at the final stage of the corresponded to the damage that actually occurred in the structure. As it
experiments. can be seen in Fig. 35, the laths were completely burned. The vertical
boards were slight affected because they showed a reduced rate of
5.4. Thermocouples applied in the unexposed surface carbonization. There was also a good relation between numerical and
experimental simulations despite some small differences.
Fig. 34 shows the temperatures recorded by the thermocouples Regarding the tabique wall panel with th =5 mm, the numerical
applied in the unexposed surface of the tabique wall panels. simulation shows that approximate 1/3 of the thickness of laths
From Fig. 34 it is noticed that the temperatures of the unexposed suffered burning. In fact, a partial carbonization of laths occurred
surface remained practically unchanged at around 21 °C until t=900 s. experimentally. The numerical model captured quite accurately again

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(t = 5 min) (t = 10 min)

(t = 12 min) (t = 15 min)
Fig. 38. Infrared thermography of the tabique wall panel with th =5 mm.

15 mm thick render layer 10 mm thick render layer 5 mm thick render layer

Fig. 39. Infrared thermograph diagrams of tabique wall panels (t=900 s).

the experimental behaviour. The minimum temperature recorded throughout the test is 22.6 °C.
The average temperature at the end of the test was 52 °C. According to
6. Infrared (IR) thermography IR thermography, the temperature of the outer face of the panel began
to increase at 20 min approximately, and ranged to a maximum of
In the following figures we can see the infrared (IR) thermography 85 °C. In this panel, the highest experimental temperature of 55 °C was
diagrams at different testing stages. The IR thermography is very recorded by the TD3 thermocouple (refer to Fig. 34).
helpful in this study because it allows us verifying the effect of isolating
the timber with an earth-based render and also the non-uniform 6.2. Tabique panel with th =10 mm of earth-based render
thermal behaviour across the wall, for instance. The results of the IR
thermography complement the above ones because the surface tem- Fig. 37 shows the evolution of the temperature of the outer face of
peratures of the entire unexposed surface of the panel can be assessed. the tabique wall panel with a 10 mm thick earth-based render.
In contrast, thermocouples measure temperatures locally. This field In this case, the minimum temperature recorded throughout the
measurement is of great importance to define the position of thermo- test is 58 °C. The average temperature at the end of the test was 76 °C,
couples used to find maximum temperature events in future tests. as shown in Fig. 37. According to the IR thermography, the increasing
of temperature was noticed after 10 min and ranged to a maximum of
6.1. Tabique panel with th =15 mm of earth-based render 90 °C. For current test, the highest experimental temperature of 70 °C
was recorded by the TD5 thermocouple (refer to Fig. 34). In this case
Fig. 36 shows the temperature evolution for the tabique panel with there is a sharp increase of the temperature because the panel has a
15 mm of earth-based render thickness. lower render thickness.

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D.M. Ferreira et al. Journal of Building Engineering 9 (2017) 164–176

6.4. Comparison between tabique panels with different earth-based

render thicknesses

Fig. 39 presents the IR thermography diagrams obtained at t=900 s

for each tested panel. Fig. 40 shows the time-temperature evolution of
the unexposed surface.
From Figs. 36–39 the wood insulation effect is noticed as well as
the insulation effect of the different earth-based render thicknesses
considered. At t= 3600 s, the surface temperature increased up to
80 °C, which means that the insulation criterion was fully verified
because the average temperature increase did not exceed 140 °C in
relation to the initial average temperature. Moreover, the maximum
temperature at any point of the unexposed surface did not exceed the
final temperature of 180 °C. Therefore, it can be concluded that the
earth-based render acted as a fire exposure protecting layer for the
wooden structure improving the overall fire performance of this type of
building element.
Fig. 40 shows the time-temperature evolution of the points of the
unexposed surface in where the thermocouples were placed and using
infrared thermography (see Fig. 3). Comparing the respective time-
temperature evolution obtained by these two data acquisition proce-
dures it is possible to figure out that there is adequate accordance.

7. Conclusions

This paper presents the first research study related to fire behaviour
of tabique walls, concerning its fire resistance. An experimental
program including tabique panels manufactured in laboratory was
developed. The tabique panel represents a portion of a real-scale wall,
and all the dimensions are real ones, like the tabique panels that can be
met in real buildings. Experimental results allowed the authors to
verify that both criteria (insulation and integrity) defined in the
European standard for fire resistance tests [10,11] were fulfilled by
the three tested tabique wall panels for the whole test duration.
The insulation criterion verification was conducted according to the
relation between the average temperature increase and the average
initial temperature, which was not higher than 140 °C. Moreover, the
maximum temperature at any point of the unexposed surface of the
tabique panel did not exceed the final temperature of 180 °C, above the
initial average.
The integrity criterion was observed throughout the experiments by
employing a cotton wool pads saturated in ethyl alcohol. No flame or
ignitions of the cotton have been identified. However, a significant
amount of smoke release from burning wood was noticed at the final
stage of the test.
The earth-based render acted as a fire protection layer to the
wooden structure improving significantly the fire resistance of this
building construction element.
The tabique walls behaviour was similar in all experimental tests. It
Fig. 40. Time-temperature evolution of the tabique wall panels by IR thermography
(unexposed surface). can be seen that the highest temperatures were recorded near to the
exposed surface, as it was expected. The temperature evolution was
more pronounced in tabique panel with thinner render layer.
6.3. Tabique panel with th =5 mm of earth-based render Concerning the temperatures recorded at 1/5 depth from the unex-
posed surface, the temperature remained almost unchanged at the
Fig. 38 shows the temperature evolution of the tabique panel with ambient value.
5 mm of earth-based render thickness. The time-temperature evolution shows that the first part of the
In this case, the minimum temperature recorded throughout the graphics remains unchanged because a covering layer isolated the heat
test is 21 °C. The average temperature at the end of the test was 28 °C. coming from the furnace during a period of 120 s at 200 s approxi-
According to IR thermography, the increasing of temperature of the mately until it reached the laths existing in the fire exposed face. At that
outer face of the panel was noticed after 5 min and it reached the moment, the temperature near to the exposed surface rose linearly
maximum value of 35 °C. At the same time, the highest experimental until the wood moisture evaporation plateau was reached. Afterwards,
temperature of 26 °C was recorded by TD1 thermocouple (see Fig. 34). the temperatures of the unexposed surface began to increase. In this
The temperature evolution was more pronounced in this panel because process, both materials accumulate energy in an endothermic process.
its render layer is thinner. When the water evaporation ended, the measured temperatures

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increased again, following the same evolution slope than the initial on Urban Rehabilitation and Sustainability (URES’09), Environmental Science and
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