Impact resistance

Bumps and scrapes are just a small part of the abuse that buildings receive on a daily basis. Durability and robustness in walls of buildings with high traffic is vital for the safety of the occupants as well as the aesthetics of the building.

To ensure that your walls receive with the durability and robustness it needs to endure the impact it receives on a daily basis, we conduct strenuous tests on our boards in accordance with BS 5234: Part 2.

Our partition walls are sorted into four duty categories as per the table below:

Grade	Category of Duty	Examples
Light Duty (LD)	Adjacent spaces that are only accessible to individuals with high incentive to exercise care. Minimal occurrence of accident or misuse.	Domestic accommodation
Medium Duty (MD)	Adjacent space moderately used by individuals with some incentive to exercise care. Minimal occurrence of accident or misuse.	Office accommodation
Heavy Duty (HD)	Adjacent space frequently used by the public with little incentive to exercise care. Higher occurrences of accident or misuse.	Public circulation areas and industrial areas
Severe Duty (SD)	Adjacent space intensively used by the public and others with little incentive to exercise care. Prone to vandalism and abnormally rough use.	Major circulation areas and heavy industrial areas

The test methods conducted on our partition walls include:

Partition Stiffness - a point load is applied to the partition and the maximum deflection together with any residual damage recorded.
Hard Body Impact - two levels of impact are applied; firstly to assess the resistance of damage of the partition lining and secondly to assess the resistance to perforation.
Soft Body Impact - two levels of impact are applied; firstly to assess the resistance to aesthetic damage and secondly to assess the resistance to structural damage.
Door Slamming - a door built within the partition system is mechanically slammed and the deformation and damage on the partition system is then assessed.

The standard also includes optional test methods, which are not included in the duty grading system. These are:

Crowd pressure - a line load is applied to the partition and the partition's ability to resist the load is then assessed
Heavyweight anchorages - wall cupboard and wash basin
Lightweight anchorages - pull out and pull down

Market sectors

This performance is particulary helpful in the following sectors.

Education