The Importance of Lifespan & Durability Assessments.
As part of the international Roberts Group of companies, we recognize the importance of having the relevant third-party accreditation required to comply with regional regulations. That’s why Stormcure invests in UL, FM and ASTM testing for the United States, providing a wealth of performance information for clients including fire resistance, wind uplift and hail resistance. However, there is one area of assessment that is currently missing from mainstream construction material testing in the USA, and that is lifespan testing of membranes.
In the United Kingdom, the Protec FW-25 and Protec Evolve systems hold British Board of Agrément (BBA) certification. The BBA is the recognized independent testing body for construction materials in this market, and a key element of their certification is Service Life, designating an expected lifespan of the material.
For our liquid applied membranes, this figure is an impressive minimum 30 years in exposed applications or matching the design life of the roof in which it is incorporated for buried membrane applications.
So what exactly is involved in the BBA testing to assess the lifespan of a membrane? The short answer is “rather a lot”! They put products through a range of rigorous tests, designed to provide a broad assessment of product performance in a range of conditions, and is in accordance with ETA protocol EAD 0303501-00-0402.
The testing involves undertaking mechanical property tests on a freshly prepared sample and then repeating them after intense accelerated weathering, designed to replicate decades of real-time exposure to the elements. The mechanical tests include:
- Resistance to fatigue movement – Test over a 39 mil crack cycling from 0 to 80 mils 1,000 times and carried out at 14°F with any visible damage being subjected to watertightness testing
- Enhanced Watertightness – Prolonged exposure to a head of water at 60 kPa (8.7 psi) water pressure
- Resistance to delamination – Tests both adhesion to substrates and inter-coat adhesion
- Resistance to dynamic indentation – Impact resistance tested at 73.4°F and -4°F, with any visible damage being subjected to watertightness testing
- Resistance to static indentation – Resistance to a static load, tested at 73.4°F and 194°F with any visible damage being subjected to watertightness testing
- Mechanical properties – Assessing tensile strength and elongation at max load
- Skid resistance – Slip resistance measured wet and dry using a pendulum tester
- Fire performance – Fire resistance measured in accordance with BS- EN 13501-5
The results are assessed against pass / fail criteria, with a single failure in any of the tests resulting in a rejected approval. These mechanical tests are then repeated after age testing, which includes:
- Artificial weathering – Longterm exposure to a fluorescent UVA light source, repeated cycling 5 hours dry UV at 122°F then 1 hour water spray at 73.4°F (Test Protocol TR 010)
- Hot water – 140°F for 180 days to achieve 25-year durability or 216 days to achieve 30-year durability (Test Protocol TR012)
- Dry heat – 158°F for 200 days to achieve 25-year durability or 240 days to achieve 30-year durability (Test Protocol TR011)
When viewing the extent of these durability tests, it is clear to see why clients put so much value on the results. And when the results come from an independent assessor, rather than claims made by manufacturers or associations, it provides greater reassurance on their reliability.
Stormcure’s approach within the USA construction industry will be to collaborate with other manufacturers, trade associations, testing bodies and regulators towards the continued improvements in building material testing, just as the Roberts Group has done in the UK and Europe. We hope to raise awareness of the importance of durability and lifespan testing to provide meaningful data to clients, helping them make informed choices on product selection. Until then, we hope the sharing of international test data provides useful information and reassurance to clients regarding the lasting, proven performance of Stormcure liquid applied membranes.
