Fire & Flammability Testing

Capabilities & Services

• Fire Engineering & Thermal Science Laboratories

  Exponent's Fire Engineering and Thermal Sciences (FETS) Laboratories can help product manufacturers ensure that their materials — regardless of supply chain issues — will continue to pass increasingly tougher national fire test standards.

  From explosions to fire protection systems, the lab specializes in customized fire-testing and protocol development for ignitability, heat resistance, flame development, burning behavior, and heat release, as well as the origin and cause of structural, wildland, and industrial fires and explosions.

• Combustible Dust Hazard Analysis & Facility Inspections

  To mitigate the risks of industrial explosions and fires due to combustible dust particles and finely divided powders, several National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards on combustible dust require industrial facilities to complete a dust hazard analysis (DHA) every five years and to complete a new DHA before implementing a new process or expanding a facility. Exponent helps stakeholders identify equipment and processes that pose dust hazards and implement corrective actions to reduce the risk of combustible dust explosions.

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• Refrigerant Flammability Testing

  Using flammable refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP) in HVAC & Rand refrigeration systems has gained momentum in recent years.  The low GWP refrigerants have also demonstrated good energy efficiencies; however, their flammability properties can increase fire risks in occupiable spaces. 

  Exponent's refrigerant test facility, located in Phoenix, Arizona, provides investigation and experimental analysis of flammability of newly developed refrigerants for clients by running testing on refrigerant-air mixtures with different ignition sources. Exponent had gained extensive experience over the years for testing the low GWP refrigerants, including R-1234yf. 

• Summary of Services

  For 50+ years, we've thrived on solving unstructured problems that require bespoke solutions. Some of our services include:

  • Custom testing
  • Heat release rate
  • Intermediate to large-scale calorimetry
  • Spontaneous combustion/self-heating
  • Fire sprinkler testing
  • Smoke and heat detector testing
  • Full-scale mock-up testing
  • Vehicle fire testing
  • Hot surface ignition testing
  • Fabric and textile flammability testing
  • Upholstered furniture and mattress component and mock-up testing
  • Elevated gas pressure and leak testing
  • Thermal hazard testing
  • Garment/textile testing
  • Litigation support
  • Large-scale research programs
  • Product failure and recall testing
  • Product research and development
  • Refrigerants ignition/flammability testing 
  • Standardized testing