Watertight, Energy-Efficient 2-Hour Fire-Rated Expansion Joint For Concrete and Gypsum Walls

EMSHIELD WFR2(Wall Fire Rated 2-Hours) is a watertight, fire-rated, dual-sided primary seal for both new and retrofit structural expansion joints in wall applications. As a single unit fire-rated expansion joint it eliminates the need for additional fire stops at the joint gap thereby eliminating the need for multiple separate products that perform the roles of sealing, bridging and fire-rating joints.

With EMSHIELD WFR2, one install does it all.

For joints from 25mm to 150mm where ±25% (50% total) of nominal material size joint movement is expected.

EMSHIELD WFR2 is the second in a series of fire-rated expansion joints being released by EMSEAL. It can be joined with EMSHIELD DFR2, EMSEAL's horizontal deck fire-rated expansion joint, to create a continuous, fire-rated watertight expansion system in both planes as well as at factory-fabricated direction changes between the horizontal and vertical planes.

EMSHIELD WFR2 builds on EMSEAL's track record of over 30 years of innovation in sealing structural expansion joints with impregnated foam sealants and expands the comprehensive line of breakthrough, multi-function, structural expansion joint materials being released by EMSEAL. It has been tested and certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), to the rigours of UL 2079.

The fire-retardant-impregnated foam is factory pre-coated on both inside and outside sides with an intumescent fire-proofing material. Each side is then coated with a silicone coating.  This silicone coating is offered in a choice of 12 standard colours to coordinate with the surrounding wall colours. The resulting composite is then factory compressed to less than its nominal size for installation into structural or other openings.

Because EMSHIELD WFR2 is coated on both sides it is an effective fire-barrier from either side in interior demising walls or partitions. Installed in exterior joints WFR2 can help to prevent wrap-around fires that exit the building through joint openings, wrap around the outside of the building and reenter the building through the joint at the next floor level.

EMSHIELD WFR2 provides a watertight, clean handling, UV stable, non-staining, low-temperature-flexible, high-temperature-stable, watertight, energy-efficient and fire-rated joint seal in a single installation process.

Uses

For expansion joints in walls and vertical structures where watertightness and/or a fire-rating and/or energy-efficiency are required. Applications examples are:

Can be used alone or behind any other expansion joint cover, plate or filler.

Product Description

EMSHIELD DFR2 features a dual-sided silicone sealing surface adhered to a fire-retardant impregnated foam backing and an intumescent bellows. Both sides of the expansion joint are waterproof and fire-rated.

The silicone faces of EMSHIELD WFR2 are available in a choice of colours.

The system is installed into epoxy adhesive field-applied to the joint faces. A field-injected silicone sealant band seals the bellows to the substrate. Joins between each stick are executed using a field-applied silicone sealant band at the join and an intumescent sealant coating over the remaining foam at the adjoining faces.

Features

Watertight
EMSHIELD WFR2 is installed with the tensionless bellows facing the exterior elements ensuring that watertightness is achieved.

Fire-Rated
The fire-retardant-impregnated foam and intumescent bellows on both the interior and exterior faces work together to ensure 2-hour fire protection in accordance with UL-2079.

Non-Invasive Anchoring
There are no hard metal-to-substrate connections with EMSHIELD WFR2. This includes embedded pins, anchors, screws, bolts or tracks, trays or rails, flanges or coverplates. The system is locked to the joint faces by means of the 1) backpressure of the foam; 2) the epoxy adhesive, and 3) the injected sealant bands at the joint face.

Versatility
EMSHIELD WFR2's visible surfaces are available in 12 standard colours. Each side can be a separate colour. This allows for colour coordination with surrounding wall colours and in keeping with the structure's aesthetics.

Joint-Size Variation
Uniform bellows appearance, and the ability to handle variations in joint size through size-switching.

Energy Efficiency
EMSEAL's foam technology also acts an efficient thermal barrier. This means that indoor air quality and HVAC balance can be controlled while insulating the interior space from hot and cold exterior conditions. The non-metallic, non-invasive anchoring means that with WFR2 there are no thermal breaks introduced at structural or other joint openings.

Sound Attenuation
Walls sealed with EMSEAL impregnated foam sealants offer exceptional acoustic dampening and feature sound transmission coefficients virtually equal to that of the solid wall.

Factory-Fabricated Transitions
As in all EMSEAL expansion joint systems, continuity of seal through changes in plane and direction is an essential performance differentiator.
EMSHIELD WFR2 is manufactured in straight-run sticks which can be joined in the field to EMSEAL’s patent-pending DFR2 "Universal-90" Transitions.

Testing and Standards

EMSHIELD WFR2 has been tested and certified under UL 2079 encompassing manufacturing certification, movement cycling, fire test, and hose stream test.

EMSHIELD WFR2 meets the requirements of ASTM E1966, ASTM E119 and ASTM E1399.

UL 2079, like ASTM E1966, was developed to encompass the fire testing of ASTM E119 and the movement cycling regime of ASTM E1399.

EMSEAL’s EMSHIELD WFR2 has been tested in accordance with UL 2079 in the configuration depicted in System # WW-D-1079 and System # WW-D-1081.

Use of this material in wall assembly configurations other than allowed under UL System # WW-D-1079 or UL System # WW-D-1081 will not encumber or lower the resistance of the wall but is done so at the designers’ discretion and responsibility for design of a fire rated wall assembly that meets applicable standards for the project and which additionally is capable of resisting the approximately 2.5 psi (120 lbs per foot of joint based on 4-inch depth of seal) backpressure of the WFR2 material.

This short video summarizes the rigors of the UL 2079 testing process for EMSHIELD WFR2:

 EMSHIELD WFR2 Product Summary