In the paper the results of experiment are presented which main goal was to examine the influence of lithium carbonate addition on the phase composition development of calcium aluminate cement. The study shows that the lithium carbonate has the significant influence on the reaction rate of alumina cement components and water. Very little addition of admixture (as 0.03%) causes the X-ray identifiable effect on calcium aluminate hydrates after 15 minutes mixing with water. Hydration products in the presence of lithium carbonate differ from the phases that occur in the case of alumina cement binder without the admixture. The article shows the test results for the monocalcium aluminate. A significant impact on the course of the hydration reaction is also confirmed by the results of calorimetric look into alumina cement and monocalcium aluminate paste.

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External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) are the most common technical solution to improve the thermal efficiency of existing buildings. In the light of the applicable regulations, ETICS are kits that apply only one type of thermal insulation material. All typically used ETICS introduced into the market classify as non-combustible. Despite that, the emerging recommendations in some countries point to the need for the introduction of barriers of non-combustible material such as mineral wool (MW) around the openings and horizontal isolation barriers around the building between different floors to prevent fast fire spread. That raises an important question: Do MW partitions significantly improve the fire safety of the building and balance other aspects such as the sustainability and durability of such combined insulation materials with different properties? Here, we assessed the impact of MW partitions in EPS-based ETICS on the spread of the fire according to the requirements of BS 8414-1: 2020. Four different variants were investigated. The study showed slight differences in average temperatures and the size of the polystyrene melting area for various insulation variants with the introduced horizontal MW partitions. The introduction of MW partitions shows no significant benefits or improvement of fire safety of the investigated ETICS.

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