FIRE RESISTANT DESIGN OF STEEL STRUCTURE

Structural Engineering

when the steel structure is exposed to fire or elevated temperature is an extreme condition that leads to change in materials properties, consequently, change in overall behavior is expected. The strength of steel at high temperature of 550°C, hot rolled structural steel will retain 60% of its room temperature load capacity and would withstand before collapse. Research has shown, however, that the limiting temperature of a structural steel member is not fixed at 550°C but varies according to two factors, the temperature profile and the load. Many research efforts were devoted toward evaluation of materials performance when exposed to fire and high temperature events. Therefore, design of structures should incorporate measures to mitigate or prevent destruction of the structure while safeguarding safety issues related to human occupancy. Structures exposed to high temperature events (fire) are usually investigated to evaluate their structure integrity and performance. Several active and passive fire protection approaches could be taken to minimize or control the impact of fire on structures and their components; however, the change of materials properties and the loss of structure stiffness require comprehensive evaluation of the structure’s performance to recommend the subsequent actions. In this paper, design recommendations and codes requirements for fire resistant design of steel structure according to Eurocode 3 are discussed.

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