Aluminium Composite Panel with near 100% Polymer Core (ACP-PE) Wind and Cladding Only Reports and Videos – Cladding Safety Victoria Fire Testing Program

This record contains one reaction-to-fire test report for the ACP-PE Wind Cladding Only Testing Series, commissioned through Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV), together with an associated shortened video. The video relates to the corresponding test report and is intended to complement the written report. CSV is the Victorian Government program responsible for addressing combustible cladding risk in Victoria and improving industry understanding of the fire performance of cladding products identified on buildings referred to the program.

ACP-PE refers to an aluminium composite panel (ACP) product. ACP generally consists of two thin aluminium sheets bonded to a central core material. CSV’s naming convention for ACP products reflects the presence and approximate proportion of flame-retardant or non-flame-retardant filler in the panel core. In this context, PE refers to an ACP panel with close to 100% in polymer

The testing forms part of CSV’s broader cladding product fire testing program. The program was developed to increase collective understanding of the performance characteristics of different cladding types and wall-system configurations, and the degree of risk they may pose in a fire. CSV’s testing is scenario-based and evidence-driven, with tests tailored to reflect specific building configurations, realistic fire exposures and wall-system components observed across CSV’s portfolio, rather than relying solely on a product rating, classification or pass/fail outcome. The report should be read as technical evidence of performance under the specific tested conditions, and not as standalone certification, compliance confirmation, or a universal assessment of all ACP-PE wall systems.

The test assessed standalone ACP-PE cladding wall, installed directly over a fire-resistant plasterboard backing wall. The wall system comprised minimal depth cassette-fixed ACP panels, aluminium cassette angles, steel framing, tracks, studs, noggings, curtain wall brackets and associated fixings. The test was designed as an ad-hoc reaction-to-fire test based on ISO 13785-1:2002 and aimed to assess the behaviour of standalone ACP-PE without a full wall system when exposed to direct flame impingement from a simulated external fire source and once ignited, the addition of airflow to simulate wind conditions.

The report and video provide a technical record of the ACP-PE cladding behaviour under the specific wind-assisted reaction-to-fire test conditions and should not be read as standalone certification, compliance confirmation, or a universal assessment of the ACP-PE product or wall systems. Rather, it provides practical, test-based evidence of how the tested cladding-only system performed under defined fire exposure and wind conditions. The findings assist broader risk evaluation and decision-making by helping to understand the claddings contribution to fire behaviour with the introduction of wind.  The information can be interpreted and used more broadly to support risk evaluation and decision-making for materially similar products or wall-system configurations, provided that differences in installation, backing wall, cassette design, cavity conditions, fixings, wind component, fire exposure conditions and other construction details are carefully considered.