• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.21-39
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• 2013

The paper presents a numerical investigation, done with the computer program SAFIR, in order to obtain simpler finite element models for representing the behaviour of the partially protected composite steel concrete slabs in fire situations, considering the membrane action. Appropriate understanding and modelling of the particular behaviour of composite slabs allows a safe approach, but also substantial savings on the thermal insulation that has to be applied on the underlying steel structure. The influence of some critical parameters on the behaviour and fire resistance of composite slabs such as the amount of reinforcing steel, the thickness of the slab and the edge conditions is also highlighted. The results of the numerical analyses are compared with the results of three full scale fire tests on composite slabs that have been performed in recent years.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.105-118
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• 2007

On September $11^{th}$ 2001, the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were struck by two hijacked airplanes. Despite severe local damage induced by the impact, the towers were able to sustain 102 and 56 minutes of the subsequent multi-storey fires before collapsing. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the in-fire performance of composite trusses by examining the behaviour of the longer-span type used in the towers. It makes no attempt to be a forensic study of the actual events. Using the finite element package Vulcan, the structural mechanics of typical long-span composite floor trusses are explained, under a variety of scenarios, as the fire temperatures rise. Different boundary conditions, degrees of protection and loading are all covered, the results being presented mainly in the form of graphs of deflection and internal force of members against time.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.8-16
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• 1998

The first purpose of this study is to verify the application of computer modelling to a enclosed space fire. The second one is to determine temperature distribution for the three different ventilation types in case of a enclosed space fire. The third one is to find out the ventilation direction and ventilation quantity to remove effectively heat and combustion products generated by a fire in variable air volume(VAV) system. Firstly, compared with experimental results of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory(LLNL), numerical results show good agreements. Secondly, among three different ventilation types, the numerical analyses show the highest temperature distribution in occupied zone(up to 1.8 m from bottom) from firing moment to 100 sec. when supply ducts are placed in ceiling and extract duct is placed close to the bottom on side walls. This is due to disadvantageous position of extract duct in ventilating high temperature air which rise because of buoyancy force. Thirdly, this study finds out effective ventilation direction and ventilation quantity to remove heat and combustion products generated by a fire by using VAV system. $CO_2$ concentration is used as a fire fume removal index. As soon as a fire happens, ventilation direction is changed in order to gather and drive out fire fumes. In case of three times ventilation quantity of ordinary one, $CO_2$ concentration and temperature have begun to decrease at 120 sec. after firing, i.e.fire fumes have begun to be removed.

• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Fire Science and Engineering Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.328-331
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• 2007

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

This paper reviews the recent developments in fire engineering and the design approaches which are being used in the UK, compared with traditional prescriptive solutions. The research background which has underpinned this is briefly summarised, and the benefits of these more advanced methods are discussed. The focus is on structural fire engineering, but some consideration of modelling fires is also included. Some of the more commonly used design tools are discussed, together with the relative benefits they offer. The use of these more advanced approaches is then outlined in the context of which building types might be most suitable, and a number of case studies are included to illustrate this. Likely future developments are also discussed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.3 no.6
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• pp.383-401
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• 2003

Two new formulae for the design of beam-columns at room temperature have been proposed into Eurocode 3, prEN 1993-1-1 (2002), and are the result of great efforts made by two working groups that followed different approaches, a French-Belgian team and an Austrian-German one. Under fire conditions the prEN 1993-1-2 (structural fire design) presents formulae, for the design of beam-columns based on the prENV 1993-1-1 (1992). In order to study the possibility of having, in part 1-1 and part 1-2 of the Eurocode 3, the same approach, a numerical research was made using the finite element program SAFIR, developed at the University of Liege for the study of structures subjected to fire.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.217-233
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• 2019

This paper describes the numerical modelling of an interior slab-column connection to investigate the punching shear resistance of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs under fire conditions. Parameters of the study were the fire direction, flexural reinforcement ratio, load levels, shear reinforcement and compressive strength of concrete. Moreover, the efficiency of the insulating material, gypsum, in reducing the heat transferred to the slab was assessed. Validation studies were conducted comparing the simulation results to experiments from the literature and common codes of practice. Temperature dependencies of both concrete and reinforcing steel bars were considered in thermo-mechanical analyses. Results showed that there is a slight difference in temperature endurance of various models with respect to concrete with different compressive strengths. It was also concluded that compared to a slab without gypsum, 10-mm and 20-mm thick gypsum reduce the maximum heat transferred to the slab by 45.8% and 70%, respectively. Finally, it was observed that increasing the flexural reinforcement ratio changes the failure mode from flexural punching to brittle punching in most cases.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.637-647
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• 2018

Numerical approach using finite element method has been used to evaluate the behaviour of reinforced concrete frame structure subjected to fire. The structure is previously designed in accordance with Eurocode standards for the design of structures for earthquake resistance, for the ductility class M. Thermal and structural response are obtained using a commercially available software ANSYS. Temperature-dependent nonlinear thermal and mechanical properties are adopted according to Eurocode standards, with the application of constitutive model for the triaxial behaviour of concrete with a smeared crack approach. Discrete modelling of concrete and reinforcement has enabled monitoring of the behaviour at a global, as well as at a local level, providing information on the level of damage occurring during fire. Critical regions in frame structures are identified and assessed, based on temperatures, displacements, variations of internal forces magnitudes and achieved plastic deformations of main reinforcement bars. Parametric analyses are conducted for different fire scenarios and different types of concrete aggregate to determine their effect on global deformations of frame structures. According to analyses results, the three-dimensional finite element model can be used to evaluate the insulation and mechanical resistance criteria of reinforced concrete frame structures subjected to nominal fire curves.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.625-637
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• 2023

The application of ML approaches in determining the resisting capacity of fire damaged RC columns is introduced in this paper, on the basis of analysis data driven ML modeling. Considering the characteristics of the structural behavior of fire damaged RC columns, the representative five approaches of Kernel SVM, ANN, RF, XGB and LGBM are adopted and applied. Additional partial monotonic constraints are adopted in modelling, to ensure the monotone decrease of resisting capacity in RC column with fire exposure time. Furthermore, additional suggestions are also added to mitigate the heterogeneous composition of the training data. Since the use of ML approaches will significantly reduce the computation time in determining the resisting capacity of fire damaged RC columns, which requires many complex solution procedures from the heat transfer analysis to the rigorous nonlinear analyses and their repetition with time, the introduced ML approach can more effectively be used in large complex structures with many RC members. Because of the very small amount of experimental data, the training data are analytically determined from a heat transfer analysis and a subsequent nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis, and their accuracy was previously verified through a correlation study between the numerical results and experimental data. The results obtained from the application of ML approaches show that the resisting capacity of fire damaged RC columns can effectively be predicted by ML approaches.

• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Fire Science and Engineering Conference
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• 1997.11a
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• pp.392-403
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• 1997

There is a strong international move towards performance based fire regulations for buildings with New Zealand and Australia at the forefront of research in this fold. The reform of regulations is thought to offer more innovation and flexibility in building design and greater cost effectiveness in construction. An important part of the research in this area is related to the development of agreed approaches to fire safety design, such as the Fire Code Reform Centre's "Fire Engineering Guidelines" or New Zealand's "Fire Engineering Design Guide". Such design process documents have incorporated or referenced much of the latest research in areas such as: tenability criteria fire compartment models egress models risk assessment. Use of such design guidelines or equivalents in major projects in countries such as Hong Kong and Australia have highlighted where fro engineering can offer real benefits to building designers and ultimately building owners and operators. However, there is still much research to be done and use of a systematic, logical design approach clearly identifies where design data or modelling techniques are still urgently required. Such areas are: fire growth rates and peak heat release rates for non-residential occupancies pre-movement times related to egress experimental validation and limits of applicability of CFD and other compartment Ire models probability/reliability data on fire protection systems for risk based analysis. Examples from case studies will be shown where lack of such research and poor judgement can lead to inferior design solutions or where unnecessarily conservative designs can lead to cost excesses. In summary, the link between Ire engineering designers and the research community is very important to highlight areas of fire research that will have the most benefit to the building and construction industry.nstruction industry.