Selecting the right rainscreen cladding for housing, public buildings, schools and regeneration projects has never been more important. With rising expectations around safety, durability and longterm performance, specifiers and local authorities need confidence that façade materials will stand up to real world use.
One of the most effective ways to demonstrate this confidence is through impact testing, which assesses how a cladding system behaves when subjected to sudden force under realistic installation conditions.
What Does Impact Testing Involve?
Impact testing is an industry recognised method used to evaluate the strength and durability of exterior façade panels once installed as a complete system. Panels are subjected to hardbody and softbody impacts that replicate typical inservice scenarios, such as accidental knocks, vandalism or human contact.
Testing is carried out in controlled environments using calibrated equipment, with procedures guided by recognised standards including CWCT Technical Notes TN75 and TN76, which outline pendulum based impact methods for cladding assessments.
Crucially, impact testing looks beyond the panel itself. Fixing method, panel thickness, support spacing and backing installation all play a significant role in how a façade performs when impacted.
Recent UL Impact Testing: Tested to Practical, Buildable Standards
During recent testing at UL Solutions dedicated facility in Telford, Valcan carried out impact testing on A1-classified Ceramapanel® by Valcan, installed as a complete rainscreen system using:
• 10 mm A1 Ceramapanel® fibre cement panels
• Installed at 600mm centres
• Mounted on a ghost batten support system
• VitraFix subframe and rivet fixings
This configuration reflects a common real world specification and is therefore critical in understanding how impact performance translates to practical application on site.
The system was subjected to both hardbody and softbody impacts representative of public facing environments. Under these conditions, Ceramapanel® demonstrated robust and predictable behaviour, remaining intact and avoiding unsafe failure.
Understanding Category II Use Classifications
Impact performance is often considered alongside Use Categories, as defined in EAD 090062000404:2018, Table G.2. These categories describe the likelihood and severity of impact exposure based on building location and accessibility.
The Use Categories are defined as:
• Category I: Zones readily accessible at ground level and vulnerable to hardbody impacts, but not subjected to abnormally rough use.
• Category II: Zones liable to impacts from thrown or kicked objects, typically public locations where building height limits impact severity, or lower level areas where access is mainly limited to users with some incentive to exercise care.
• Category III: Zones not likely to be damaged by normal impacts caused by people or by thrown or kicked objects.
• Category IV: Zones out of reach from ground level.
In practical terms, Category II is commonly associated with residential façades, education buildings and publicly accessible settings at low to midlevel heights, where accidental or opportunistic impact is possible.
Relating Category II to Tested Performance
While CWCT impact testing and EAD Use Categories do not correspond on a direct one to one basis, they are frequently considered together by specifiers to build a holistic picture of suitability and risk.
CWCT testing assesses how a system responds to defined impact energies, while EAD categorisation considers where that system may reasonably be used on a building.
By successfully completing impact testing at UL Solutions using 10mm A1 Ceramapanel® panels at 600mm centres on a ghost batten system, Ceramapanel® demonstrates performance consistent with the expectations typically associated with Category II zones - namely areas where façade elements should remain safe, intact and nonhazardous when subjected to accidental or moderate impact. Importantly, this conclusion is based on tested installation parameters, rather than generic panel claims.
What This Means for A1 Ceramapanel® Specification
The recent UL Solutions testing confirms that A1 Ceramapanel®:
• Maintains structural integrity when impacted
• Resists cracking, fragmentation and unsafe failure
• Performs reliably when installed to standard, repeatable construction details
• Is suitable for use in accessible and public facing façade zones where impact resilience is essential
For specifiers, this provides clear, independent evidence that A1 Ceramapanel® can be confidently specified in applications commonly associated with Category II environments, when installed in accordance with the tested system configuration.
Valcan’s Commitment to Tested, Transparent Performance
Valcan’s approach to testing goes beyond minimum compliance. Both A1 Ceramapanel® and A1 Vitradual® products are subject to extensive and ongoing assessment programmes covering impact performance, weathering, durability, structural behaviour and fire safety.
Ceramapanel® is manufactured as a noncombustible fibre cement panel, achieving A1 classification in accordance with BS EN 135011, making it suitable for buildings where enhanced fire safety is essential. Vitradual®, Valcan’s premium aluminium rainscreen panel, also classified A1, is tested to similarly robust standards, ensuring predictable performance even under demanding conditions.
By continually testing systems, Valcan provides designers, clients and housing providers with dependable, real world performance data that supports safe, durable and futureproof façade design.
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