Fire endurance: some design considerations

Certain principles of fire endurance, considering both the thermal and the structural role of different parts and materials of a building, are described. Thermal movements and stresses, restraint in compression and flexural members, the design of supports and fastenings are discussed. Three examples - steel studs, steel joists, suspended ceilings - are used to illustrate how to manage certain problems by applying the principles explained in the paper.Certains principes par lesquels les destructions par le feu et sp\ue9cialement celles qui sont pr\ue9matur\ue9es, des \ue9l\ue9ments de construction caus\ue9s par leur exposition au feu peuvent \ueatre retard\ue9es ou pr\ue9venues \ue0 dessin, sont expos\ue9es. Il est d\ue9 montr\ue9 comment les effets de mouvements thermiques et les contraintes peuvent \ueatre r\ue9duits par une application efficace du principe de la localisation de la d\ue9formation. La question de contraintes et de genres de profiles est discut\ue9e qualitativement. Trois exemples illustrent alors certaines applications des principes de la conception.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Behaviour of Steel Columns at Elevated Temperatures

One purpose of this report is to discuss the evidence justifying the use of steel temperature as an acceptance criterion. The report will deal mainly with the application of engineering methods to investigate the fire resistance of steel building columns.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Openings in fire protective ceilings: experimental investigations of steel-supported construction

A suspended ceiling and the air space between the ceiling and the floor above proved to provide increased fire endurance. A number of questions remained with respect to the effects on fire endurance of openings in the ceiling for ducting. This paper describes two series of tests designed to demonstrate that 1) ductwork does not significantly affect fire endurance, 2) protection against vertical radiation from the top surface of a duct is adequate, and 3) duct openings through the ceiling may be quite large.Il a \ue9t\ue9 d\ue9montr\ue9 qu'un plafond suspendu et l'espace d'air laiss\ue9 entre le plafond et le plancher de l'\ue9tage sup\ue9rieur am\ue9liorent la r\ue9sistance \ue0 l'incendie. Il restait \ue0 d\ue9 terminer les effets des ouvertures pratiqu\ue9es dans le plafond pour l'acheminement des conduites. Ce document d\ue9 crit deux s\ue9ries d'essais visant \ue0 d\ue9montrer que 1) les conduites ne modifient pas la r\ue9sistance au feu de facon notable, 2) la protection contre le rayonnement vertical \ue0 la face sup\ue9rieure d'une conduite est suffisante, et 3) les ouvertures pour les conduites pratiqu\ue9es dans le plafond peuvent \ueatre assez grandes.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Product Development and Fire Performance

Until recent years fire resistant assemblies evolved more through practice than conscious development, They generally comprised well known materials such as plaster, brick and concrete, long recognizedfor their fire enduring qualities. Fire research, however, has resulted in the development of performance requirements for fire resistance and information on how these can be effectively and economically achieved.This has been in response to increased building volume and the availability of new building materials. Today, development of products and systems is often aimed at specklic building markets for which the fire resistance requirements are well defined.Jusqu'\ue0 r\ue9cemment, les murs r\ue9sistants au feu \ue9taient plut\uf4t con\ue7us sur le terrain plut\uf4t qu'\ue0 la suite d'un processus de d\ue9veloppement r\ue9fl\ue9chi. Ils se composaient g\ue9n\ue9ralement de mat\ue9riaux bien connus tels que le pl\ue2tre, la brique et le mortier, dont la r\ue9sistance au feu est reconnue depuis longtemps. Toutefois, par suite d'un accroissement de la construction et de la disponibilit\ue9 des nouveaux mat\ue9riaux, la recherche sur la pr\ue9vention des incendies a donn\ue9 lieu \ue0 l'\ue9tablissement de normes de performance en mati\ue8re de r\ue9sistance au feu et de donn\ue9es sur la fa\ue7on de les appliquer de mani\ue8re \ue9conomique et efficace. De nos jours, on \ue9labore souvent les produits et les syst\ue8mes en fonction de march\ue9s de la construction sp\ue9cifiques qui ont \ue9tabli des exigences pr\ue9cises en mati\ue8re de r\ue9sistance au feu.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Preliminary Investigation into the Use of Sheet Metal as a Membrane Protection for Steel Beams and Columns

'Membrane protection' is a continuous protective layer separating the member to be protected from the fire, without direct thermal contact between the protective layer and the member. This report describes the results of two fire tests on steel beams protected with loose insulating materials enclosed in a sheet steel membrane case.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Fire protection in civil engineering

Structural fire protection should be incorporated in undergraduate and graduate civil engineering curricula if the engineering approach to fire protection of building structures is to find broad application in North America. The need for inclusion of fire protection in civil engineering education is presented with a view to the many areas of responsibility and jurisdiction that pertain. A case is made that the civil engineer should play a greater role in this multidisciplinary design aspect of structures. A brief review of the available technology and its adaptation for use by civil engineers is presented. Application of design for fire protection of steel, reinforced, and prestressed concrete structures is indicated. Emphasis is on the reduction of complex problems to simple but sufficiently accurate methods that may be readily used in design. Finally, experience with the first Canadian graduate course, "Fire Protection of Building Structures," presented at the University of Toronto is discussed. The course was a 30-hour lecture series offered for three semesters in the period 1974-1976.La protection des charpentes contre l'incendie devrait faire partie des programmes universitaires de g\ue9nie civil afin que l'aspect technique de cette protection soit bien implant\ue9 en Am\ue9rique du Nord. L'auteur explique pourquoi la protection contre les incendies doit \ueatre incorpor\ue9e dans les cours de g\ue9nie civil, en fonction des nombreuses sph\ue8res de responsabilit\ue9 et de comp\ue9tence mises en jeu. Il insiste sur le fait que l'ing\ue9nieur civil devrait jouer un plus grand r\uf4le dans cet aspect multidisciplinaire de la conception des constructions. L'auteur passe en revue les techniques disponibles et leur adaptation possible par les ing\ue9nieurs civils. Il pr\ue9sente des applications pour la protection des constructions d'acier, de b\ue9ton arm\ue9 et de b\ue9ton pr\ue9contraint. Il insiste sur la r\ue9duction des probl\ue8mes complexes \ue0 des m\ue9thodes simples mais suffisammement pr\ue9cises pouvant ais\ue9ment \ueatre utilis\ue9es dans la conception. L'auteur d\ue9crit l'exp\ue9rience du premier cours pour dipl\uf4m\ue9s au Canada: "Protection des charpentes d'\ue9difice contre l'incendie", donn\ue9 \ue0 l'Universit\ue9 de Toronto. Ce cours de 30 heures a \ue9t\ue9 offert pendant 3 semestres entre 1974 et 1976.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Sheet steel as a protective membrane for steel beams and columns

A protective membrane is a continuous layer separating the member to be protected from the fire, without coming into direct thermal contact with the member. This report describes the results of fire tests on a steel beam and two columns, protected with insulating materials enclosed in a sheet steel membrane case.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Fire tests on wide-flange steel beams protected with gypsum-sanded plaster

This report describes a series of three fire tests on wide-flange steel beams protected with gypsum-sanded plaster. The tests were carried out in accordance with the provisions of ASTM standard E119. Alternate Test of Protection for Solid Structural Steel Beams and Girders, which does not require a load to be applied during the fire test. One of the beams was loaded for information purposes.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

Temperature Measurement: Alternate Test of Fire Protection for Structural Steel Columns

Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye