Updated report on the fire resistance of exposed wood members released

Leesburg, Va. — The American Wood Council (AWC) released a revised Technical Report 10 (TR10): Calculating the Fire Resistance of Exposed Wood Members.

Revisions incorporate new sections that support the use of the mechanics-based design method for design of exposed structural composite lumber (SCL) and cross-laminated timber (CLT) members in accordance with the 2015 National Design Specification (NDS) for Wood Construction.

“The superior fire performance of timbers can be attributed to the insulating effect of the char layer created as wood burns” said AWC Vice President of Engineering Brad Douglas. “Wood members, including SCL and CLT, can be designed so that a sufficient cross section of uncharred wood remains to resist loads for the required duration of fire exposure. Recent testing, as outlined in the revised TR10, has verified this approach.”

The free report can be downloaded at www.awc.org/codes-standards/publications.