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Hempel launches passive fire protection coating to safeguard civil steel structures

Fire Safety

Coatings manufacturer Hempel’ new fire-protection coating, Hempafire Optima 500, is specifically designed to improve the productivity of passive fire protection (PFP) coating applications

It achieves this by reducing the number of coats required and the process time required to apply them – thus saving time and costs, according to the company.

Hempafire Optima 500 helps to maintain the stability of steel structures in large infrastructure buildings such as airports, stadiums and commercial centres by delivering up to 180 minutes protection against cellulosic fires, being optimised for 120 minutes. It is a one component waterborne acrylic intumescent coating with zero volatile organic compounds (VOC) and can be used for both open or closed steel sections.

Hempafire Optima 500 is fast drying and highly is resistant to sagging. The application which can be delivered in two days as part of Hempel’s PFP system, outperforms in warm conditions and provides two-hour fire protection in ISO 12944 C3 interior environments. The ease of application allows customers to improve their painting process by reducing the number of coats needed, minimising drying times and maximising the speed of the application.

Roger Soler, Hempel’s Group Product Manager, Cellulosic PFP, said, “When developing Hempafire Optima 500, we created a coating to enhance efficiency for customers by increasing their productivity and reducing costs. Thickness build-up of the coating can be achieved in less coats that dry faster. Thus, application costs and time to deliver are reduced. We also wanted a coating that outperforms in warm climates such as those found in the Middle East and in parts of Europe. We’ve managed to achieve this without compromising the protection or the aesthetic finish.

At 40ºC, it comfortably holds up 750 microns (μm) dry film thickness (DFT) per coat, and can be overcoated in just three hours. For applications where speed is the key, coats of 500 μm DFT can be applied every 75 minutes and recoated with a PU topcoat after 16 hours. This means that the whole system - primer, PFP, and topcoat - can be applied and dry to handle within a 48-hour period.”

Hempafire Optima 500 is now available in the Middle East and will soon be available in certain countries in Europe.

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