page_title: Calcium silicate
section_title: Passive fire protection
hierarchical_section_title: Calcium silicate / Use / Passive fire protection
caption_attribution_description: Circuit Integrity Fireproofing of Cable trays in Lingen/Ems, Germany using Calcium silicate board system qualified to DIN 4102. Contractor: Signum, Bissendorf, Germany.
context_page_description: Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca₂SiO₄, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes formulated as 2CaO·SiO₂. It is also referred to by the shortened trade name Cal-Sil or Calsil. It occurs naturally as the mineral larnite.
context_section_description: It is used in passive fire protection and fireproofing as calcium silicate brick or in roof tiles. It is one of the most successful materials in fireproofing in Europe because of regulations and fire safety guidelines for commercial and residential building codes (see Calcium Silicate use in Europe). Where North Americans use spray fireproofing plasters, Europeans are more likely to use cladding made of calcium silicate. High-performance calcium-silicate boards retain their excellent dimensional stability even in damp and humid conditions and can be installed at an early stage in the construction program, before wet trades are completed and the building is weather-tight. For sub-standard products, silicone-treated sheets are available to fabricators to mitigate potential harm from high humidity or general presence of water. Fabricators and installers of calcium silicate in passive fire protection often also install firestops.
  While the best possible reaction to fire classifications are A1 (construction applications) and A1Fl (flooring applications) respectively, both of which mean "non-combustible" according to EN 13501-1: 2007, as classified by a notified laboratory in Europe, some calcium-silicate boards only come with fire classification of A2 (limited combustibility) or even lower classifications (or no classification), if they are tested at all.
caption: Circuit integrity fireproofing of cable trays in Lingen/Ems, Germany using calcium-silicate board system qualified to DIN 4102. Other methods for exterior protection of electrical circuits include boards made of sodium silicate bonded and pressed vermiculite and flexible wraps made of ceramic fibre and rockwool.
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