OVERVIEW
The Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 723 Surface Burning Characteristic of Building Materials test is a United States fire safety standard which determines the burning characteristics, or fire resistance, of building materials that may be exposed to flames.
The results of this test are used to determine whether interior finish materials for wall and ceiling applications in commercial facilities are acceptable. The scope of testing exposes specimens to a test fire and evaluates the flame spread across the specimen’s surface as well as the density of smoke produced.
DESCRIPTION OF TEST
A 5/8 inch (approximately 16mm) thick sheet of standard, untreated, plywood was painted with a 1.3mm coat of Zenova FP fire protection paint and exposed to flame by Intertek, in accordance with the appropriate testing criteria.
TEST RESULTS
Although the plywood substrate was highly flammable, the test concluded that the addition of Zenova FP fire protection paint greatly reduced flame spread and does not contribute significantly to smoke development.