Fire compliance of construction materials for building claddings: A critical review

External claddings have been identified as a more critical component in buildings than before due to many catastrophic fire incidents that occurred in recent decades. Present-day engineers seek claddings with improved fire performance to satisfy state/government mandates against fire hazards. It is challenging to cater to the increased cladding demand using conventional materials while observing circular economic principles. As such, researchers and materials engineers have been paying more attention to identifying alternative cladding products. This challenge is further exacerbated due to the limited understanding of fire performance and compliance requirements of building claddings by practitioners. This review provides a detailed assessment of building claddings that satisfy compliance for non-combustibility. The review first summarizes the relevant experimental fire test standards and compares them to theoretical/numerical fire modelling and simulation results based on studies reported in the literature. The effect of different cladding materials on fire spread is then explored by discussing desirable material characteristics that are essential for the development of cladding systems with adequate fire performance. Finally, a compliance pathway that satisfies the fire requirements for cladding systems is discussed leading to the proposition of engineering processes and tools for assessing the suitability of cladding materials for different building types. This review paper will benefit the building and construction industries by helping practitioners understand the fire performance and compliance requirements for fire resistant cladding materials ahead of their introduction into buildings.