REGULATORY INFORMATION

REPORT
Fire hazard properties of timber veneers on standard MDF

and particleboard substrates in accordance with

AS5637.1:2015

Client: Forest and Wood Products Australia Ltd

Report number: 45982 Revision: R13.0

 Regulatory Information Report R13.0

DOCUMENT REVISION STATUS

Date Issued Issue No Description

25/09/06 RIR 45982.1 Initial Issue

15/06/07 RIR 45982.2 Extension of application to any timber veneers

Extension of application to any timber veneers and
09/04/10 RIR 45982.3
adhesives
04/05/10 RIR 45982.4 Typographical amendment

07/07/10 RIR 45982.5 Typographical amendment

19/5/2011 RIR 45982.6 Inclusion of Pyrotech flame retardant MDF as a substrate

Inclusion of FLAMEBLOCK™ FRMDF flame retardant MDF
12/8/2011 RIR 45982.7
as a substrate
15/8/2011 RIR 45982.8 Typographical amendment

19/09/2011 RIR 45982.9 Typographical amendment

21/12/2015 RIR 45982.10 Revised to change the details of report sponsor

23/09/2016 RIR 45982.11 Revised to confirm validity with respect to 2016 NCC

18/03/2019 RIR 45982.12 Revalidation in accordance with AS 5637.1:2015

Revised to include proposed variation to timber veneer
24/09/2019 RIR 45982.13
thickness

CONTACT INFORMATION

Warringtonfire Australia - ABN 81 050 241 524

Melbourne – NATA Registered Laboratory

Unit 2, 409-411 Hammond Road

Dandenong Victoria 3175
Australia

T: +61 (0)3 9767 1000

F: +61 (0)3 9767 1001

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CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 4
2 TESTED PROTOTYPES 4
3 VARIATION TO TESTED PROTOTYPES 6
3.1 Timber veneers on MDF and particleboard substrates 6
4 REFERENCED TEST PROCEDURES 6
5 FORMAL ASSESSMENT SUMMARY 6
6 DIRECT FIELD OF APPLICATION 7
7 REQUIREMENTS 7
8 VALIDITY 7
9 AUTHORITY 8
9.1 Applicant Undertakings and Conditions of Use 8
9.2 General Conditions of Use 8
9.3 Authorisation on behalf of Warringtonfire Australia 8
9.4 Date of Issue 8
9.5 Expiry Date 8

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1 INTRODUCTION
This report contains the minimum information sufficient for regulatory compliance and refers to
the assessment report Warringtonfire 45982.13. The referenced report was prepared at the
request of the Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) as an assessment on the fire
hazard properties of timber veneers on Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) and particleboard
substrates for use as wall and ceiling linings in accordance with the requirements of
AS 5637.1:2015.

The tested prototypes described in section 2 of this report, when subjected to the proposed
variations described in section 3 and tested in accordance with the relevant standards
described in section 4, are assessed to achieve performance as summarised in section 5.
The validity of this assessment is conditional on compliance with sections 6, 7, 8 and 9 of this
report.

2 TESTED PROTOTYPES

The referenced assessment report is based on the reports summarised in Tables 1 and 2
referring to tests on veneered MDF and particleboard products. The reports were sponsored
by Timber Development Association NSW Ltd and undertaken by Warringtonfire Australia,
CSIRO and BRANZ.

Table 1 – Referenced AS3837 Tests of Solid Timber

WFRA 499163j WFRA 499163f WFRA 499163t WFRA 499140f
WFRA 499163b WFRA 499163k WFRA 499182l WFRA 499163q
WFRA 499240d WFRA 499140d WFRA 499163r WFRA 499182k
WFRA 499163i WFRA 499163s WFRA 499163d WFRA 499182e
WFRA 499240b WFRA 499182n WFRA 499163p WFRA 499163n
WFRA 499163h WFRA 499163e WFRA 499182j WFRA 499182h
WFRA 499140a WFRA 499240c WFRA 499182b WFRA 499240n
WFRA 499163l WFRA 499163c WFRA 499163u WFRA 499240a
WFRA 499163v WFRA 499163g WFRA 499182m WFRA 499182i
WFRA 499140e WFRA 499182c WFRA 499182d FH4384
WFRA 499182f WFRA 499140b WFRA 499163a FH4385
WFRA 499182g WFRA 499163o WFRA 499140c FH4389
FH4391 FH4392 FH4393 FH4394
FH4390

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Table 2 – Referenced AS/NZS3837 Tests of Particleboard and MDF

Total
Report Species
Thickness
WFRA 499240g Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) 12mm
WFRA 499240k Particleboard 12mm
WFRA 2146200E Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) 12mm
CMIT 02/276 Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) 12mm
Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) faced with PVA
FH4386 6.5mm
adhesive
Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) faced with
FH4388 6.5mm
Resorcinol adhesive

Table 3 – Referenced AS/NZS3837 Tests of Veneered Particleboard and MDF

Total
Report Species
Thickness
0.6mm Ash, Alpine (Eucalyptus Sieberi) veneer on
WFRA 499240H.1 13.5mm
each side of 12mm thick MDF
0.6mm Box, Brush (Lopehostman confertus)
WFRA 499240J.1 13.5mm
veneer on each side of 12mm thick MDF
0.6mm Ash, Alpine (Eucalyptus Sieberi) veneer on
WFRA 499240L.1 13.5mm
each side 12mm thick Particleboard
0.6mm Box, Brush (Lopehostman confertus)
WFRA 499240M.1 13.5mm
veneer on each side of 12mm Particleboard
Tasmanian Oak Veneer on 12mm thick
CMIT 02/276 12mm
Particleboard

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3 VARIATION TO TESTED PROTOTYPES

3.1 Timber veneers on MDF and particleboard substrates
The following combinations of timber veneers can be bonded to particleboard or MDF
substrates and obtain the Group numbers described in Table 6, if tested in accordance with
the requirements of AS 5637.1:2015.

Table 4: Summary of Proposed Lining Construction

Substrate

Particleboard
6mm minimum thickness and a Dry Density nominally 700kg/m3
Material
MDF
6mm minimum thickness and a Dry Density 560kg/m3 to 740kg/m3
Veneers for all Substrates
Material Unmodified untreated timber or CCA treated Radiata pine
Thickness Up to 1.2 mm

Seasoned Veneer density

Density Up to 1120 kg/m3 for Particleboard and standard MDF substrates
Adhesive
PVA or Resorcinol
Material
Position of A timber veneer shall be applied to each face, though does not have to
Veneers be of the same species on each side

4 REFERENCED TEST PROCEDURES

This assessment is made in accordance with requirements of AS 5637.1:2015. Group
numbers for particleboard and standard MDF are determined from the prediction method,
based on the heat release data obtained from cone testing in accordance with AS/NZS
3837:1998. Group numbers for substrates treated with flame retardants are determined from
AS ISO 9705-2003 room burn tests as a poor correlation was found between the cone and
room burn tests.

5 FORMAL ASSESSMENT SUMMARY

Based on the discussion presented in Appendix B of the referenced assessment report, the
variations described in Section 3 will achieve the performance stated below, if tested in
accordance with the standards referenced in Section 4. The performance is conditional to the
variations satisfying all requirements described in Section 7.

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Table 5: Formal assessment summary

Performance
Average
Lining Construction Group Specific SMOGRA
Number Extinction (m2/s)
Area (m2/kg)
Substrate
Particleboard
6mm minimum thickness and Dry
Density nominally 700kg/m3
Material 3 <250 -
MDF
6mm minimum thickness and Dry
Density 560kg/m3 to 740kg/m3
Veneers for all Substrates
All unmodified untreated timber or CCA treated Radiata pine previously
Material tested to Group 3.
The list excludes Teak, Burmese – Tectona grandis
Thickness Up to 1.2mm (Nominal)
Seasoned Veneer density
Density Up to 1120 kg/m3 for Particleboard and standard MDF substrates
Adhesive
PVA and Resorcinol
Material
Position of A timber veneer shall be applied to each face, though does not have to be of
Veneers the same species on each side

6 DIRECT FIELD OF APPLICATION

This assessment applies to internal wall and ceiling linings of class 2 to 9 buildings with fire
hazard properties in accordance with the requirements of Specification C1.10 of NCC 2016,
Volume 1 Amendment 1.

7 REQUIREMENTS

All timber species to be used as veneers should be tested previously to achieve Group 3.
Any further variations with respect to size, constructional details, edge or end conditions, other
than those identified in this report, may invalidate the conclusions drawn in this report.

8 VALIDITY

This assessment report does not provide an endorsement by Warringtonfire Australia of the
actual products supplied.
The conclusions of this assessment may be used to directly assess fire hazard, but it should
be recognised that a single test method will not provide a full assessment of fire hazard under
all conditions.
Because of the nature of fire testing, and the consequent difficulty in quantifying the
uncertainty of measurement, it is not possible to provide a stated degree of accuracy. The
inherent variability in test procedures, materials and methods of construction, and installation
may lead to variations in performance between elements of similar construction.
The assessment can therefore only relate to the actual prototype test specimens, testing
conditions, and methodology described in the supporting data, and does not imply any
performance abilities of constructions of subsequent manufacture.
This assessment is based on information and experience available at the time of preparation.
The published procedures for the conduct of tests and the assessment of test results are the
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subject of constant review and improvement and it is recommended that this report be
reviewed on or, before, the stated expiry date.
The information contained in this report shall not be used for the assessment of variations
other than those stated in the conclusions above. The assessment is valid provided no
modifications are made to the systems detailed in this report. All details of construction should
be consistent with the requirements stated in the relevant test reports and all referenced
documents.

9 AUTHORITY
9.1 APPLICANT UNDERTAKINGS AND CONDITIONS OF USE
By using this report as evidence of compliance or performance the applicant(s) confirms that:

• to their knowledge the component or element of structure, which is the subject of this
assessment, has not been subjected to a fire test to the Standard against which this
assessment is being made, and

• they agree to withdraw this assessment from circulation should the component or
element of structure be the subject of a fire test by a test authority in accordance with
the Standard against which this assessment is being made and the results are not in
agreement with this assessment, and

• they are not aware of any information that could adversely affect the conclusions of
this assessment and if they subsequently become aware of any such information,
agree to ask the assessing authority to withdraw the assessment.

9.2 GENERAL CONDITIONS OF USE

This report may only be reproduced in full without modifications by the report sponsor. Copies,
extracts or abridgments of this report in any form shall not be published by other organisations
or individuals without the permission of Warringtonfire Australia.

9.3 AUTHORISATION ON BEHALF OF WARRINGTONFIRE AUSTRALIA

Prepared by: Reviewed by: Authorized by:

S. Soylu O. Saad O. Saad

9.4 DATE OF ISSUE

24 September 2019

9.5 EXPIRY DATE

30 September 2024

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