The mechanical and material properties of structural steel at elevated temperatures play an important role in structural fire design. The South African 350W and S355 structural steels are common in building structures with S355 slowly replacing the older 350W. The cost and feasibility of full scale fire tests are some of the causes for the lack of experimental data on the behaviour of steel structures when exposed to fire. Therefore excessively conservative design codes based on isolated laboratory experiments are used in practice which leads to increased material costs. Another area of concern with respect to building safety is the reusability of structural steels post fire exposure, which is not effectively addressed within these codes. This study aims to establish greater insight into structural fire design and simulation on which further research can be built. Experimental programs on the temperature dependent behaviour of these steel members loaded axially are conducted and compared with theory and the Eurocode 3 standard [1]. The reusability of steel exposed to fire and after being cooled down is investigated and compared to the findings by Outinen [2]. Further testing on material to determine the relationship between remaining life and hardness degradation after cooling down was conducted. Experimental data from various external studies are used to develop novel computer models using the finite element analysis software, SimXpert [3]. These are verified against the original data and compared to existing design codes. A parametric approach is used with these models to demonstrate the advantages of computer simulations in structural fire design. Different cross sections and slenderness ratios are evaluated for their susceptibility to buckling at elevated temperatures. The results of this study show that as temperature and exposure time increase the integrity of steel members decrease. The current design codes accurately predict the behaviour of isolated specimens but lack data on real situations where the specimen is part of a complex structure. It was found that steel members can be reused if their exposure temperature does not exceed 700°C, after which their strength can reduce to 90%. This temperature dependant behaviour was successfully modelled using basic computer simulations and then demonstrated the ease in which they can be used in place of experimental regimes. The parametric advantages of these simulations were demonstrated by predicting the effects of slenderness ratios and geometry cross sections on the buckling behaviour. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This thesis focuses on fire resistance of 19th century cast iron framed structures. Based on material property data obtained from a comprehensive literature review, upper and lower bound relationships of the thermal and mechanical properties of 19th century fireproof floor construction materials have been derived. Because these materials have large variability, a sensitivity analysis has been undertaken to investigate the most effective ways of representing such variability. The sensitivity analysis has indicated that the elevated mechanical properties of cast iron should be reliably quantified. The thermal expansion of cast iron can be taken as equal to that of steel as in EN1993-1-2. Variabilities in other material properties have modest effects on fire resistance of cast iron structures and can be safely modeled according the Eurocode material models for similar modern materials (using thermal properties of modern steel for cast iron, using thermal properties of modern concrete for the insulation materials of cast iron structures). In order to resolve some of the uncertainties in mechanical properties of cast iron at elevated temperatures, a total of 135 elevated temperature tests have been performed, including tension and compression tests, transient state and steady state tests, tests after cooling down and thermal expansion tests. These test results have been used to establish the elevated temperature stress-strain-temperature relationships in tension and compression. Afterwards, calculation methods are developed to calculate the bending resistance of cast iron beams and compression resistance of cast iron columns at elevated temperatures. For cast iron beams, a fibre model has been developed to calculate elevated temperature moment capacity of cast iron beams in jack arch construction, taking into consideration non-uniform temperature distributions in the cross-section. The fibre model divides the cross section into a large number of fine layers and for a given curvature and neutral axis position calculates the strain, the temperature, the stress and the force of each layer. It has been found that under historically applied load, the fire resistance of such beams can be 60 minutes or higher. The Monte Carlo simulation method has been used to take into account the variabilities of important mechanical properties of cast iron at elevated temperatures; Young’s modulus, 0.2% proof stress, ultimate strength, corresponding strain at ultimate strength and failure strain in tension and Young’s modulus, proportional limit and 0.2% proof stress in compression. This has enabled material safety factors of 1.50, 2.50, 4.50 and 5.50 to be proposed for target failure probabilities of 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 and 10-4 respectively. For cast iron columns, a finite element model, built using the commercial software ABAQUS, has been used to examine the effects of changing different design parameters (column slenderness, member imperfection, cross section imperfection, degree of axial restraint, load factor and load eccentricity) on fire resistance of cast iron columns. Validation of the finite element model was by comparison of the simulation results against six fire resistance tests, three on unprotected and three on protected cast iron columns. The results of this numerical parametric study indicate that the fire resistance of cast iron columns is generally higher than that of modern steel columns because the applied loads on cast iron columns are lower and cast iron columns have thicker sections than modern steel columns. Comparison of the numerical parametric study results with the calculation results using the steel column design method in EN1993-1-2 has found that the EN 1993-1-2 calculation results are generally on the safe side.

Thesis (DTech (Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011. / This study was aimed to provide baseline information about the environmental levels of selected PBDEs (BDE 28, 47, 100, 99, 154, 153, 183 & 209) and BB 153 in different matrices, including wastewater treatment plants' effluent, sludge, landfill leachate, river water and bottom sediment samples from different locations within the City of Cape Town. The monitoring of these contaminants was carried out bi-monthly over an extended period of 12 months beginning from April 2010 to March 2011. In this study, a total of 63, 168, 312, 93 and 108 samples for leachate, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) sludge, effluent, river water and bottom sediment, respectively were collected from three landfill sites, four WWTPs and two rivers within the City of Cape Town. The aqueous matrices were extracted using a liquid-liquid extraction technique. The extraction of both sediment and sludge samples were performed using mechanical shaking and soxhlet extraction techniques, respectively. Extract obtained were further purified using multi-layer silica gel column chromatographic technique. The routine analysis of these target compounds was carried out using a gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector (GC-µECD). However, the structural elucidation of these compounds was performed with a gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) instrument.

Fire statistics suggest that there is an urgent need for improved performance of light-weight truss construction in fire scenarios. This thesis proposes the use of Fire Retardant Treated Wood (FRTW). Several floor truss systems were designed for a residential living room using sawn lumber and FRTW. A finite difference, heat transfer model was used to determine time to collapse and to identify modes of failure during a simulated exposure to the standard ASTM E-119 test fire curve. As part of ongoing research at WPI, this is an initial effort to use analytical methods in the study of heat transfer and structural performance of wood construction during fire conditions. Results were examined for important relationships to further advance the understanding of collapse mechanisms in wood trusses. Experimental procedures for further testing have also been developed. Acknowledgment that in-service conditions may alter structural fire performance is made and the implications are discussed. An alternate fire scenario, more representative of residential fire loading, was also developed and compared to the ASTM E-119 fire curve.

"Thanks to significant worldwide research directed at understanding and predicting structural behavior at elevated temperatures, analytical methods are available to support a rational, performance-based approach to the structural design of buildings for fire conditions. To utilize these analytical methods effectively, structural engineers need guidance on reliable and appropriate approaches to dealing with a variety of factors, including the effects of fire protection measures, temperature-dependent thermal and structural properties, elastic and inelastic behavior of structural components and assemblies, and thermal and structural response of framing connections. To meet the objective of guiding the structural engineer in appropriate analytical methods and parameter values for performance-based structural fire protection, this thesis proposes a comprehensive way of thinking about the design and analysis of structures for fire conditions. This integration of structural engineering and fire protection engineering into a functional framework is defined herein as Fire-Robust Structural Engineering (FRSE). The FRSE process, which is presented as a series of flowcharts, is designed to guide the structural engineer in executing the functions involved in the design of fire-safe structures and to help identify informational needs critical to these tasks. Currently, mechanisms for identifying possible resources to fulfill fire-related informational needs are generally organized for the convenience of the fire research community. Identification of resources that provide appropriate information for fire-robust structural engineering, such as laboratory fire test results, parametric studies of analytical methods, and other sources of guidance, is often difficult because these resources are rarely organized and presented for the benefit of structural engineers. To begin to resolve this problem, this thesis has developed a prototype information management system (IMS) based on the framework of the FRSE process. The IMS addresses the critical challenge of organizing and presenting the available knowledge and data in a format that is consistent with the perspective and informational needs of the structural engineer. The prototype version of the IMS has been implemented using a Microsoft Excel® platform. In addition to guidance in utilizing specific analytical methods and choosing appropriate parameter values, the structural engineer also requires an understanding of the input requirements and accuracy of various analytical methods in order to make informed decisions regarding which methods are appropriate for use with different structural configurations. Therefore, this thesis includes a model study as an example of a resource that could aid the structural engineer in making such decisions. The model study compares various analytical methods (simplified spreadsheet applications and advanced finite element techniques) to published laboratory test data and discusses concerns that the structural engineer must keep in mind when using each method. Conclusions are drawn regarding the appropriateness of each analytical method to the analysis of a fully restrained, spray-protected steel beam. Given this type of information, the structural engineer can make decisions regarding the types of analytical methods and the level of analytical sophistication required to solve a given design problem."