Aludecor, India's one of the most competitive players in the Metal Composite Panel business, has formed an alliance with the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) to carry out extensive R&D on the Fire Retardant properties of Aluminium Composite Panels.
Gaurav Srivastava, the project head from the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Gandhinagar, submitted an in-depth research report to Aludecor's Management during an event hosted at the campus just a few days back.
The Fire Engineering Research Laboratory (FERL) at IIT Gandhinagar at this moment houses the best-in-class testing facilities to be utilised for research, innovation, product R&D and certification procedures for various products.
The state-of-the-art facility hosts prime machinery like; a cone calorimeter (100 kW), thermogravimetry analyser, large panel furnace (for samples up to 3x3 metres in size, subject to standard fire curve), and a full-scale real-fire testing facility (3 storey structure for real-life fire simulations).
According to a report published by Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI), almost 50,000 people were killed from the year 2016 to 2020 due to fire-related accidents in the workplace or elsewhere. In India, it is estimated that over 35 people die every day due to unprecedented fire accidents.
Among some of the very current occurring is the fire at AMRI Hospital Kolkata that tragically took the lives of more than 90 individuals, followed by the Grenfell Tower Tragedy that happened in 2017, taking the lives of over 72 human beings. Successive fire incidents in the country have influenced the aluminium composite panel maker to indulge in experiments that eradicate the chances of a major fire breakout.
Encouraging more such research ideologies, Gaurav Srivastava, HOD, IIT Gandhinagar, illustrates: "We believe in creating Industry Academia participation to create new benchmarks in Fire Safety. That's why we built this first-of-its-kind laboratory to test Facades on a full scale. Aludecor has rightly opted for this facility to test and conform its products. The Report has elaborated the findings which signify the FR ACP's potential to protect the loss of lives and the buildings from the Fire."
"FERL at IIT Gandhinagar will be augmenting its facilities in the near future with a bomb calorimeter, horizontal and vertical furnaces, and ASTM E2037 test facility and has plans to enhance its capabilities further going forward. The objective of the FERL is to provide a platform for innovation and provide a 'Test in India' framework to support the 'Make in India' initiative of the Government of India through partnerships with relevant stakeholders," concluded Gaurav Srivastava.
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