A model for predicting heat transfer through gypsum‐board/wood‐stud walls exposed to fire

Abstract To facilitate the development of cost‐effective and flexible design options there is a need to develop models to predict the fire resistance of wood‐frame building assemblies. Such assemblies often derive much of their fire resistance from a protective membrane composed of gypsum board. A simple two‐dimensional computer model is presented to predict heat transfer through gypsum‐board/wood‐stud walls exposed to fire. Input data for the thermophysical properties of gypsum board were measured exploying standard bench‐scale tests. Input data for wood were selected from the literature. Small‐and full‐scale fire resistance tests were conducted on gypsum‐board/wood‐stud wall assemblies to provide data for the validation of the model. The model is shown to predict heat transfer through these walls rather well.