1st Edition

Performance-Based Fire Engineering of Structures

    394 Pages 217 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    394 Pages 217 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Major events—notably the Broadgate fire in London, New York’s World Trade Center collapse, and the Windsor Tower fire in Madrid—as well as the enlightening studies at the Cardington fire research project have given international prominence to performance-based structural fire engineering. As a result, structural fire engineering has increasingly attracted the interest not only of fire and structural engineers but also of researchers and students. And studies in recent years have generated a vast number of findings.

    Performance-Based Fire Engineering of Structures summarizes the latest knowledge on performance-based approaches to structural fire engineering, enabling readers to critically assess research in the field. Whereas most recent books have been mainly concerned with dissemination of principles encapsulated in established codes of practice such as the Eurocodes, this work addresses in depth:

    • Global structural behaviour and modelling
    • Progressive collapse of structures in fire and the importance of connection robustness
    • The integrity of compartmentation in fire
    • Structural fire engineering under realistic fire conditions and its implications for material properties
    • The limitations of research results and design methods
    • The unexploited potential for advanced fire engineering design

    This authoritative book draws on the work of internationally active researchers who were core members of the European Network project’s COST C26 working group on fire resistance. It helps readers develop a thorough understanding of how to use advanced fire engineering design to improve structural safety and reduce construction costs.

    Introduction to Fire Safety Engineering and the Role of Structural Fire Engineering
    Introduction to fire engineering
    Roles of structural fire resistance
    The process of performance-based fire engineering of structures
    Introduction to the book

    Recent Major Structural Fire Events and Their Implications
    Introduction
    Broadgate fire, London, 1990
    Cardington fire research programme, 1994–2003
    World Trade Center collapses, 11 September 2001
    Windsor Tower fire, Madrid, 12 February 2005
    Summary and context of this book

    Introduction to Enclosure Fire Dynamics
    Introduction
    Standard fires
    Fires in small compartments
    Fires in large compartments and travelling fires
    Computer models of compartment fires

    Heat Transfer
    Introduction
    Basics of heat transfer
    Convective heat transfer coefficients
    Radiant heat transfer coefficient
    Some simplified solutions for heat transfer
    Importance of using appropriate thermal properties of materials
    Effects of thermal boundary conditions
    Brief introduction to numerical analysis of heat transfer
    Concluding remarks

    Material Properties
    Introduction
    Structural materials
    Fire protection materials
    Concluding remarks

    Element Structural Fire Resistance Design
    Design principles
    Concrete structures
    Steel structures
    Composite steel and concrete structures
    Timber structures
    Masonry structures
    Aluminium structures
    Fire resistance design worked examples

    Global Modelling of Structures in Fire
    Introduction
    Nature of global structural behaviour in fire
    Analytical methods for structures in fire
    Practical modelling techniques

    Steel and Composite Joints
    Introduction
    Typical joints at ambient temperature and in fire
    Current design
    Development of performance-based approaches

    Integrity of Compartmentation
    Introduction
    Issues affecting internal walls
    Design of slabs for integrity in fire

    Robustness of Structures in Fire
    Introduction
    Causes of fire-induced disproportionate collapse
    Design strategies
    Catenary action
    Requirements for connections
    Other considerations
    Summary

    The Practical Application of Structural Fire Engineering for a Retail Development in the United Kingdom
    Introduction
    Methodology
    Design fires
    Acceptance criteria
    Finite element analyses
    Steel beam connections
    Simplified methods
    Comparison between Vulcan and simplified methods
    Conclusions

    References

    Biography

    Yong Wang, Ian Burgess, František Wald, Martin Gillie