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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Intumescent

Intumescent \In`tu*mes"cent\, a. [L. intumescens, p. pr.] Swelling up; expanding.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
intumescent

1796, from Latin intumescentem (nominative intumescens), present participle of intumescere "to swell up," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + tumescere (see tumescence).

Wiktionary
intumescent

a. That becomes swollen, especially upon exposure to heat n. Any substance that swells on exposure to heat, thus increasing in volume and decreasing in density.

Wikipedia
Intumescent

An intumescent is a substance that swells as a result of heat exposure, thus increasing in volume and decreasing in density. Intumescents are typically used in passive fire protection and require listing, approval and compliance in their installed configurations in order to comply with the national building codes and laws.

The details for individual building parts are specified in technical standards which are compiled and published by national or international standardization bodies like the British Standards Institute (BSI), the German Institute for Standardization (DIN), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the International Standardization Organization (ISO).

Intumescent Coatings for steel constructions must be approved in standardized fire tests. Some important fire test standards are listed below:

  • European Union: EN 13381-8 (Replaces national Standards in Europe)
  • United Kingdom: BS 476-20/21 (Commonly referred to in EU, Middle and Far East)
  • United States: ASTM E119 (Equivalent to UL 263, referred to in Middle and Far East), UL 1709 (Test using the hydrocarbon fire curve)
  • Russia: WNIIPO (Also used in former Russian Federation countries)
  • Chile: NCh 1974
  • China: GB 14907/CNS 11728
  • South Korea: KS F2257 1,6,7
  • Taiwan: CNS 11728

Usage examples of "intumescent".

He beheld shuddering lines that a fleshly tongue is witless to describe, except perhaps in spurts of impression --prolongated, splayed at angles, an obliquangular mass of smeared and clotted material, glaucous clay dredged from an old and abiding coomb where earthly veins dangle and fell waters drip as the sculpture dripped, milky-lucent starshine in the cryptic barn, an intumescent hulk rent from the floss of a carnival mirror.