NOFIRNO gasket for manholes passes severe fire test

Beele Engineering has successfully subjected NOFIRNO gaskets for manholes to an A-0 fire test.

Manholes on board ships or in industrial and offshore installations are mostly used irregularly. Most of the time the holes are closed and are only opened at the time when, for example, maintenance or installation work needs to be carried out. For a reliable connection of the steel sealing plates to the manhole, gaskets are used. The NOFIRNO gasket that Beele Engineering supplies for this type of installation was recently successfully subjected to one of the toughest possible fire tests.

The fire test was conducted on two manholes in an uninsulated steel bulkhead sealed with a 10 mm thick steel plate and NOFIRNO gasket. The fire test was designed to investigate the fire resistance of the gasket in accordance with FTP Code 2010 criteria. The gaskets have an outer diameter of 365 mm and an inner diameter of 275 mm. At 12 evenly spaced locations there are openings for mounting the cover plate with bolts.

Although the cover plate and the bulkhead became red hot during the fire test and even deformed under the influence of the heat, the 5 mm thick gasket continued to perform its function unabated. The gasket thus complies with the FTP Code 2010; its fire resistance was thereby set at 60 minutes A-0.

NOFIRNO gaskets from Beele Engineering are distinguished by their special profiling and high-quality rubber design. These, in combination with BEBOLTITE bolts, ensure that a maximum tightness of up to 6 - 15 bar is already achieved with low tightening forces of 6 Nm. Once tightened, the gaskets provide a durable

seal. This makes regular tightening of bolts unnecessary. Due to the high recovering power of the NOFIRNO rubber, the gaskets can be used again even after the flange has been loosened once and then tightened again.