In many tunnel designs, reinforced concrete tunnel lining design is selected based on construction requirements rather than design loads. A constant cross-section is typically used along a tunnel even if the design loads change from one location to another, especially for tunnels constructed by tunnel boring machines (TBM). Factor of safety against failure is not constant along the length of tunnel and is typically high at shallow depth regions. Factor of safety during a rare event is usually much less than the ones set for service load states. Rare events such as earthquake, train derailment, explosion and long duration fires do not happen daily and generally a minor reparable damage is targeted at the structure during those types of events. The focus of this study is to analytically investigate structural fire safety of reinforced concrete circular tunnel linings in terms of reduction in service load safety and to develop recommendations for preliminary assessment of structural fire endurance of circular tunnel linings. Analytical methods accounting for thermal non-linearity, material degradation, tunnel lining-ground interaction and fire time stages are available to assess the structural fire safety of the concrete tunnel linings. Analytical results are determined to be in good agreement with tunnel key segment hydrocarbon fire test.

<p>This report deals with the fire resistance of cross-laminated timber (CLT). Themain purpose is to verify a new model on CLT and its ability to sustain itsbearing capacity when exposed to fire. To establish this, a series of bendingtestshas been conducted in combination with fire exposure of the CLT. Twodifferent series, with different dimensions, of beams were tested (series 1 andseries 2). Four basic set-ups: CLT in tension or compression, either equippedwith fire protective covering or not. Results from the tests has been gatheredand evaluated to verify the theoretical model of the fire resistance. Evaluationwas made through analysis of the residual cross-sections of the beamsregarding charring depth and rate and moment of inertia (I).Results of the tests verify to a large extent the Design model. Externalproblems and variations in the beams themselves caused some deviations.Analysis confirmed the CLT as being more similar to other laminated productssuch as Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) then homogenous solid beams. BothCLT and LVL experience delamination when exposed to fire resulting in anincreased charring rate. The difference in rate when using Gypsum plaster as aprotective barrier against the fire exposure is also equal to LVL.The results of the report will be used in the new version of the EuropeanStandard, Euro Code 5 and in the third edition of Fire Safe Timber Buildings.Charring rates proved to be less than expected but the CLTs ability to withstandfire while keeping its bearing capacity</p>

Composite slab flooring systems for steel-framed buildings consist of a profiled steel deck and a cast in-situ slab. The slab traditionally includes a layer of light gauge steel mesh reinforcement. This mesh is placed near the surface, which controls the early-age cracking caused by concrete drying and shrinkage. The steel mesh also performs a vital structural role at high temperatures. Structural fire tests and numerical investigations over the last 15 years have established that the mesh can provide enhanced fire resistance. A load-carrying mechanism occurs in fire with the mesh acting as a tensile catenary, spanning between perimeter supports. This structural mechanism is currently utilised regularly in the performance-based fire engineering design of steel-framed buildings. In a recent development, this mesh can be removed by using concrete with dispersed polymer fibre reinforcement to form the composite slab. The polymer-fibre-reinforced concrete (PFRC) is poured onto the deck as normal, and the fibres resist early crack development. For developers this technique has several advantages over traditional reinforcing mesh, such as lower steel costs, easier site operations and faster construction. However, to date the fire resistance of such slabs has been demonstrated only to a limited extent. Single element furnace tests with permissible deflection criteria have formed the basis for the fire design of such slabs. But these have not captured the full fire response of a structurally restrained fibre-reinforced slab in a continuous frame. The polymer fibres dispersed throughout the slab have a melting point of 160ºC, and it is unclear how they contribute to overall fire resistance. In particular, there has been no explanation of how such slabs interact with the structural perimeter to maintain robustness at high deflections. This project was designed to investigate the structural fire behaviour of restrained polymer-fibre-reinforced composite slabs. An experimental series of six slab experiments was designed to investigate the effects of fibre reinforcement and boundary restraint. A testing rig capable of recording the actions generated by the heat-affected slab was developed and constructed. Model-scale slab specimens were tested with different reinforcement and perimeter support conditions, to establish the contributions to fire resistance of the polymer fibres and applied structural restraint.

abstract: Concrete columns constitute the fundamental supports of buildings, bridges, and various other infrastructures, and their failure could lead to the collapse of the entire structure. As such, great effort goes into improving the fire resistance of such columns. In a time sensitive fire situation, a delay in the failure of critical load bearing structures can lead to an increase in time allowed for the evacuation of occupants, recovery of property, and access to the fire. Much work has been done in improving the structural performance of concrete including reducing column sizes and providing a safer structure. As a result, high-strength (HS) concrete has been developed to fulfill the needs of such improvements. HS concrete varies from normal-strength (NS) concrete in that it has a higher stiffness, lower permeability and larger durability. This, unfortunately, has resulted in poor performance under fire. The lower permeability allows for water vapor to build up causing HS concrete to suffer from explosive spalling under rapid heating. In addition, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of HS concrete is lower than that of NS concrete. In this study, the effects of introducing a region of crumb rubber concrete into a steel-reinforced concrete column were analyzed. The inclusion of crumb rubber concrete into a column will greatly increase the thermal resistivity of the overall column, leading to a reduction in core temperature as well as the rate at which the column is heated. Different cases were analyzed while varying the positioning of the crumb-rubber region to characterize the effect of position on the improvement of fire resistance. Computer simulated finite element analysis was used to calculate the temperature and strain distribution with time across the column's cross-sectional area with specific interest in the steel - concrete region. Of the several cases which were investigated, it was found that the improvement of time before failure ranged between 32 to 45 minutes. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Mechanical Engineering 2011

Este trabalho estabelece critérios para avaliar a resistência ao fogo de tubulações fabricadas com compostos vinílicos, com diferentes teores de cloro, para os sistemas prediais de chuveiros automáticos, verificando o relacionamento entre os resultados obtidos nos ensaios realizados em trechos de tubulações pressurizados e submetidos a uma elevação de temperatura e os resultados observados nos ensaios realizados em tubulações em escala real exposta diretamente às chamas, simulando uma situação de incêndio. Assim, nos ensaios em trechos de tubulações ocorreu um aumento da resistência ao fogo proporcional ao aumento do teor de cloro dos compostos; nos ensaios em tubulações em escala real observou-se que corpos-deprova com tubos vinílicos grau a partir de 64 (grau este relacionado ao teor de cloro) suportam as condições de exposição ao fogo; a relação entre os ensaios mostrou que tubulações fabricadas com um composto vinílico com resistência a partir de 110 segundos de exposição ao fogo, no ensaio em trechos de tubulações, suportam também as condições estabelecidas no ensaio em escala real. Isto indicou a possibilidade de se utilizar o ensaio em trechos de tubulações para avaliar, preliminarmente, a capacidade dos materiais em resistir ao fogo, antes de serem submetidos ao ensaio em escala real, pois este apresenta maiores custos envolvidos e maiores dificuldades na sua execução. / This work establishes standards to evaluate the fire resistance of the piping manufactured with vinyl compounds, with different chlorine contents, for buildings sprinklers systems, verifying the relation amongst the results obtained with pressured small sections of piping and submitted to a temperature rise, and the results obtained from the real scale tests, simulating a fire situation with the samples in real scale were exposed to the flames. Therefore, in the small sections of piping tests an increase of the fire resistance proportional to the chlorine content of the compositions increases occurred; in the real scale tests observed that the piping with degree starting from 64 (degree related with to the chlorine contents) per cent supports the exposition to the flames; the relation between the tests showed that piping manufactured with vinyl compounds with fire resistance starting from 110 seconds of the small sections of piping tests, also supports the established conditions in the real scale tests. It was shown the possibility to employ the reduced scale test to evaluate, previously, the fire resistance of the materials previous to the real scale tests, which is more expensive and shows bigger difficulties to be done.

Orientador: Luiz Carlos de Almeida / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T20:01:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Zabeu_LeandroJoseLopes_M.pdf: 17571606 bytes, checksum: 1534dc736c9956b69842ff908bb80bcc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: As edificações em geral estão sujeitas ao efeito do fogo, que impõe ações térmicas para as suas estruturas, modificando o seu comportamento, degradando os materiais constituintes, resultando na redução da capacidade portante. No caso das indústrias, é normal a existência de compartimentações que permitem a independência entre as diversas instalações e processos. Estas divisões são garantidas por elementos corta-fogo, sejam estes horizontais, representados pelas lajes, ou verticais, garantidos através de paredes. As características mínimas funcionais das edificações são determinadas pelas legislações estaduais, que orientam e determinam a necessidade de compartimentações, quanto às necessidades estruturais, e são complementadas pela NBR15.200:2004. Essas orientações visam apenas a remoção dos ocupantes das edificações, sem se preocupar com a resposta das estruturas e na maneira que reagem ao efeito da energia térmica. Em algumas instalações industriais compartimentadas, apesar de uma unidade ser paralisada devido a um incêndio, as unidades contíguas devem continuar sua operação normal. Entretanto as normas em vigor não contemplam esta utilização da estrutura durante e após o tempo de resistência ao fogo - TRRF. Neste trabalho foi realizado através da modelagem numérica de uma edificação industrial, executada em concreto armado, de uma subestação abrigada composta de três células contíguas onde são instalados equipamentos utilizados na distribuição de energia elétrica. Tais equipamentos são resfriados a óleo e sujeitos ao incêndio, e em caso de sinistro em alguma unidade as demais devem permanecer em serviço. Através da variação das diversas metodologias executivas em concreto armado (estrutura pré-moldada isostática, pré-moldado hiperestático e moldado in-loco), foi observado o comportamento global da estrutura. Esta variação da metodologia executiva reflete diretamente na rigidez das ligações e da estrutura. A análise do comportamento estrutural foi realizada através da comparação entre os resultados de dimensionamento, desempenho, bem como a influência no custo unitário. Finalmente foi sugerida uma opção de concepção estrutural para uma edificação que apesar de sujeita a um sinistro, deve permanecer em condições de atender a sua utilização / Abstract: The buildings in general are subject to the effects of fire, which imposes thermal actions for their structures, by modifying their behavior, degrading the constituent materials, resulting in a lower load bearing capacity. In industries, it is normal the existence of compartmentalization that enable independence among different facilities and processes. These divisions are guaranteed by the stop fire elements, whether horizontal, represented by the slabs, or vertical, secured through firewalls. The minimum functional characteristics of the buildings are determined by state laws that guide and determine the need for partitioning, and structural needs are complemented by NBR15.200: 2004. These guidelines are intended only to remove the occupants of buildings, without worrying about the response of structures and the way they react to the effect of thermal energy. In some Compartmentalized industrial facilities, even if one unit is paralyzed due to a fire, contiguous units should continue its normal operation. However the current rules do not contemplate this use of the structure during and after the time of fire resistance - TRRF determined by the rules. This research was conducted through numerical modeling of an industrial building, executed in concrete, housed in a substation consisted of three contiguous cells where are installed the equipment used in electricity distribution. Such devices are oil-cooled and subjected to fire, in case of accident in some unit, the others must remain in service. By varying the different executive methodologies in reinforced concrete structure (pre-shaped isostatic, hyperstatic precast and cast in-place) was observed the overall behavior of the structure. This change in executive methodology directly reflects the stiffness of the structure and connections. The analysis of the structural behavior was conducted by the comparison of the results of scalability, performance, and the influence on unit cost. Finally an option was suggested for the structural design of a building which, although subject to a claim, must remain able to meet its use / Mestrado / Estruturas / Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Orientador: Armando Lopes Moreno Junior / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T12:44:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliveira_ClaytonReisde_D.pdf: 8877102 bytes, checksum: d8520eb5d1f0d3af309830281acd7dfc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: A técnica de polímeros reforçados com fibras (FRP) vem sendo cada vez mais utilizada como alternativa de reforço estrutural, com o objetivo de aumentar a resistência e a ductilidade das estruturas de concreto armado. Entretanto, o desempenho desses sistemas em situação de incêndio é uma séria preocupação devido ao fato dos materiais de FRPs serem combustíveis. Informações a esse respeito ainda estão restritas à literatura internacional e, mesmo assim, ainda são escassas e limitadas. Assim, antes de serem utilizados, com segurança, em reforços estruturais no interior de edifícios, os FRPs devem ter seu comportamento avaliado em situação de incêndio, verificando tanto o cumprimento dos critérios de resistência ao fogo, especificados em códigos normativos nacionais, quanto procedimentos de dimensionamento dessas estruturas contra a ação do fogo. Este trabalho, inicialmente, reuniu informações disponíveis na literatura internacional sobre os principais efeitos da exposição à altas temperaturas de cada material componente do compósito e, na mesma linha, sobre o comportamento de elementos estruturais reforçados com fibra de carbono em situação de incêndio. A parte experimental do trabalho consistiu na avaliação em laboratório do comportamento de corpos de prova de concreto reforçados com fibra de carbono. As variáveis em análise foram a temperatura limite de exposição do reforço e o tipo de revestimento de proteção ao fogo desses elementos reforçados. Os resultados mostraram que o reforço perde sua eficiência já nos primeiros minutos de exposição ao fogo e que os materiais de proteção, usuais na proteção de elementos de aço, são ineficazes em manter a segurança do sistema FRP em situação de incêndio. Uma simulação computacional via Elementos Finitos, utilizando o software TCD foi feita. Ao final, os resultados deste trabalho confirmaram procedimentos normativos internacionais vigentes que, por unanimidade, enfatizam que durante o incêndio a resistência proporcionada pelo reforço de compósito FRP deve ser desprezada / Abstract: The fiber technique reinforced polymer (FRP) has been used as alternative of structural reinforcement, with the objective to increase the resistance and ductilidade of the reinforcement concrete structures. However, the performance of these systems in fire situation is a serious concern due to the fact of the FRP materials to be combustible. Information to this respect still remain restricted to international literature and, eventhose, still scarced and limited. Thus, before being used, with safety, in structural reinforcements in the interior of buildings, the FRPs must have its behaviour evaluated in fire situation. This paper analyzed the main effects of exposure to high temperatures in FRP systems and investigated this material at laboratory. The main parameter evaluated were the critical temperature of fire exposed and the type of fire coating. The results showed that the reinforcement has lost its efficacy in the first minutes of exposure to fire and protection materials evaluated were ineffective in maintaining the security of the system under fire. Using the software TCD, a computer simulation was generated. At the end, the study confirmed that current code procedures unanimously emphasize: the additional resistance provided by the FRP can not be considered on fire safety design concrete structures / Doutorado / Estruturas / Doutor em Engenharia Civil

Intumescent coating fire protection on steel structures is becoming widely popular in the UK and Europe. The current assessment for the fire protection performance method using the standard fire resistance tests is not accurate, owing to the reactive behaviour of intumescent coating at elevated temperature. Moreover, the available intumescent coating temperature assessment method provided in the Eurocode for structural steel at elevated temperature does not incorporate the steel beam's behaviour and/or assessment for partial protection and/or damaged protection. The research work presented provides additional information. on the assessment of partial and/or damaged intumescent coating at elevated temperature. In the scope of the investigation on the thermal conductivity of intumescent coating, it was found that the computed average thermal conductivity was marginally sensitive to the density and emissivity at elevated temperature. However, the thermal conductivity was found to be reasonably sensitive to the differences in initial dft's (dry film thicknesses). In this research, a numerical model was developed using ABAQUS to mimic actual indicative test scenarios to predict and establish the temperature distribution and the structural fire resistance of partial and/or damaged intumescent coating at elevated temperatures. Intumescent coating actively shields when the charring process occurs when the surface temperature reaches approximately 250°C to 350°C. Maximum deflection and deflection failure times for each damage scenario were analyzed by applying specified loading conditions. It was also found that the structural fire resistance failure mode of intumescent coating on protected steel beams was particularly sensitive to the applied boundary conditions. Careful selection of nodes in the element was necessary to avoid numerical instability and unexpected numerical error during analysis. An assessment of various numerical models subjected to a-standard fire with partially protected 1 mm intumescent coating was analysed using ABAQUS. An available unprotected test result was used as a benchmark. The outcome suggests that the fire resistances of the beams were found to be sensitive to the location of the partial and/or damage protection. The overall fire resistance behaviour of intumescent coating at elevated temperature was summarized in a 'typical deflection regression' curve. An extensive parametric analysis was performed on localized intumescent coating damage with various intumescent coating thicknesses between 0.5mm to 2.0mm. It was found that the average deflection was linear for the first 30 mins of exposure for all the variables, damage locations and intumescent thicknesses. It was concluded that a thicker layered intumescent coating may not be a better insulator or be compared to a much less thick intumescent coating at elevated temperature. The use of passive fire protection, however, does enhance the overall fire resistance of the steel beam, in contrast to a naked steel structure. The research work investigated the intumescent coating behaviour with different aspects of protection and damage and the outcome of the assessment provided a robust guide and additional understanding of the performance of intumescent coating at elevated temperature.

The advantages of cold-formed thin-walled steel studs are many and their applications in building constructions continue to grow. They are used as load-bearing members. An example is lightweight wall panel assemblies which consist of channel steel studs with gypsum plasterboard layers attached to the two flanges, often with interior insulation. At present, expensive fire tests or advanced numerical modelling methods are necessary in order to discover the fire resistance of such wall assemblies. For common practice this is not effective and a simplified method, suitable for use in daily design, is necessary. The aim of this research is to develop such simplified methods. The first main objective of this study is to develop a simple approach to calculate the temperature distributions in the steel section, in particular the temperatures on both the exposed and unexposed sides when the panel is exposed to fire exposure from one side. These two temperatures are the most influential factors in the fire resistance of this type of wall assembly. The proposed method calculates the average temperatures in the flanges of the steel section and assumes that the temperature in the web is linear. The proposed method is based on a simple heat balance analysis for a few nodes representing the key components of the wall panel. The thermal resistance of these nodes are obtained by the weighted average of thermal resistances in an effective width of the panel within which heat transfer in the panel width direction is assumed to occur. The proposed method has been extensively validated by comparison with numerical parametric studies. In order to calculate the ultimate capacity of steel studs, the traditional method is by using effective width. However, this method is now being questioned as it considers elements of section in isolation and does not consider interaction between the elements. In addition, this method is not appropriate to be extended to steel studs under fire conditions. The cross-section under fire conditions has non-uniform temperature distribution which results in the non-uniform distribution of mechanical properties. Using an effective width method to deal with this problem will require many assumptions whose accuracy is uncertain. Recently, the direct strength method (DSM) has been developed and its accuracy for ambient applications has been comprehensively validated. This method calculates cross-sectional plastic resistance and elastic critical loads for local, distortional and global buckling modes with the aid of simple computer programs. The elastic and plastic resistances are then combined to give the ultimate resistance of the structure using interaction equations. This method is suited to steel studs with non-uniform temperature distribution in the cross-section. The second main objective of this study is to extend the direct strength method for application to thin-walled steel studs having non-uniform elevated temperature distributions in the cross-section. It has been found that the DSM concept is applicable, but the interaction equations should be modified to allow for the effects of elevated temperature (non-uniform temperature distribution and changes in stress-strain relationships). Also the effects of thermal bowing should be included when calculating the plastic resistance and the elastic buckling loads of the cross-section. This research has proposed new interaction equations and has developed design tools. By comparing the results of the proposed method with validated Finite Element simulations over a very large range of parametric studies, the proposed method has been demonstrated to be valid. The validation studies include both standard and parametric fire exposures and are generally applicable.

Joint behaviour in fire is currently one of the most important topics of research in structural fire resistance. The collapse of World Trade Center buildings and the results of the Cardington full-scale eight storey steel framed building fire tests in the UK have demonstrated that steel joints are particularly vulnerable during the heating and cooling phases of fire. The main purpose of this research is to develop robust joints to CFT columns that are capable of providing very high rotational and tying resistances to make it possible for the connected beam to fully develop catenary action during the heating phase of fire attack and to retain integrity during the cooling phase of fire attack. This research employed the general finite element software ABAQUS to numerically model the behaviour of restrained structural subassemblies of steel beam to concrete filled tubular (CFT) columns and their joints in fire. For validation, this research compared the simulation and test results for 10 fire tests previously conducted at the University of Manchester. It was envisaged that catenary action in the connected beams at very large deflections would play an important role in ensuring robustness of steel framed structures in fire. Therefore, it was vital that the numerical simulations could accurately predict the structural behaviour at very large deflections. In particular, the transitional behaviour of the beam from compression to catenary action presented tremendous difficulties in numerical simulations due to the extremely high rate of deflection increase. This thesis will explain the methodology of a suitable simulation method, by introducing a pseudo damping factor. The comparison between the FE and the experimental results demonstrates that the 3-D finite element model is able to successfully simulate the fire tests. The validated ABAQUS model was then applied to conduct a thorough set of numerical studies to investigate methods of improving the survival temperatures under heating in fire of steel beams to concrete filled tubular (CFT) columns using reverse channel connection. This study investigated five different joint types of reverse channel connection: extended endplate, flush endplate, flexible endplate, hybrid flush/flexible endplate and hybrid extended/flexible endplate. The connection details investigated include reverse channel web thickness, bolt diameter and grade, using fire-resistant (FR) steel for different joint components (reverse channel, end plate and bolts) and joint temperature control. The effects of changing the applied beam and column loads were also considered. It is concluded that by adopting some of the joint details to improve the joint tensile strength and deformation capacity, it is possible for the beams to develop substantial catenary action to survive very high temperatures. This thesis also explains the implications on fire resistant design of the connected columns in order to resist the additional catenary force in the beam. The validated numerical model was also used to perform extensive parametric studies on steel framed structures using concrete filled tubular (CFT) columns with flexible reverse channel connection and fin plate connection to find means of reducing the risk of structural failure during cooling. The results lead to the suggestion that in order to avoid connection fracture during cooling, the most effective and simplest method would be to reduce the limiting temperature of the connected beam by less than 50°C from the limiting temperature calculated without considering any axial force in the beam.