The performance of aluminium building products in bushfires

A study of the behaviour of aluminium building products in bushfires was carried out to test the validity of assertions that they perform poorly under bushfire conditions. The work was conducted in two parts: an examination of data from bushfire damage surveys and laboratory experiments in which window assemblies were exposed to radiant heat from a furnace. Data from surveys conducted after major bushfires were augmented with information from a questionnaire related specifically to this work. Analysis of these data did not provide any support for the belief that houses incorporating aluminium building products are at greater risk of being destroyed. The laboratory experiments on both timber- and aluminium-framed windows showed their performance under simulated bushfire conditions to be similar. It was found that bending of glass through distortion of the frames was not a factor in crack initiation.