A Review on Concrete Structures in Fire

Concrete as a construction material is versatile because it displays high degree of fire-resistance. Concrete’s inherent ability to combat one of the most devastating disaster that a structure can endure in its lifetime, can be attributed to its constituent materials which make it inert and have relatively poor thermal conductivity. However, concrete structures must be designed for fire effects. Structural components should be able to withstand dead and live loads without undergoing collapse. The properties of high-strength concrete must be weighed against concerns about its fire resistance and susceptibility to spalling at elevated temperatures. In this paper, the causes, effects and some remedy of deterioration in concrete due to fire hazard will be discussed. Some cost effective solutions to produce a fire resistant concrete will be conversed through this paper.

Authors:

• S. Iffat
• B. Bose

Keywords:

• Concrete
• fire
• spalling
• temperature
• compressive strength
• density.

References:

[1] Technical Paper on “Performance of Concrete Structures in Fire (2011)”, MPA - The Concrete Centre.
[2] Lecture by Colin Bailey, “One Stop Shop in Structural Fire Engineering”, University of Manchester.
[3] David N. Bilow (2008), “Fire and Concrete Structures”, Structures 2008: Crossing Borders, ASCE.
[4] Ir. J.F. Denoel (2007), “Fire Safety and Concrete Structures”, FEBELCEM ‐ Federation of Belgian Cement Industry.
[5] Jeremy Ingham and Fathi Tarada (2007), “Turning Up the Heat – Full Service Fire Safety Engineering for Concrete Structures”, Concrete Structures in Fire.
[6] Technical Note on “Fire Damaged Reinforced Concrete–Investigation, Assessment and Repair102”, April, 2011.
[7] Venkatesh Kodur (2014), “Review Article-Properties of Concrete at Elevated Temperatures”, ISRN Civil Engineering, Hindawi Publishing Corporation.
[8] V. R. Kodur and T. Z. Harmathy, “Properties of building materials,” in SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, P. J. DiNenno, Ed., National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Mass, USA, 2008.
[9] T. Z. Harmathy, “Thermal properties of concrete at elevated temperatures,” ASTM Journal of Materials, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 47–74, 1970.
[10] Tae Sup Yun, Yeon Jong Jeong, and Kwang-SooYoum (2014), “Review Article- Effect of Surrogate Aggregates on the Thermal Conductivity of Concrete at Ambient and Elevated Temperatures”, The Scientific World Journal, Hindawi Publishing Corporation.
[11] Fabienne ROBERT (2012), Fire resistance assessment of concrete structures, European Commission.
[12] Julia Chan (2013), “Thermal properties of concrete with different Swedish aggregate materials”, Master Thesis, Lund University.
[13] Dr. Shakir A. Salih, Dr. Saeed K. Rejeb, Khalid B. Najim, “Improving The Modulus of Elasticity of High Performance Concrete by Using Steel Fibers”, Anbar Journal for Engineering Sciences.
[14] Professor Luke Bisby (2014), “State-of-the-Art on Fire Resistance of Concrete Structures: Structure-Fire Model Validation”, Applied Research Associates.
[15] V. R. Kodur and M. A. Sultan, “Thermal properties of high strength concrete at elevated temperatures,” American Concrete Institute, Special Publication, SP-179, pp. 467–480, 1998.
[16] T. T. Lie and V. K. R. Kodur, “Thermal and mechanical properties of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures,” Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 511–517, 1996.
[17] ACI 213R-03 (2003), “Guide for Structural Lightweight-Aggregate Concrete”, Reported by ACI Committee 213.
[18] Alliance for Concrete Codes and Standards (ACCS), Balanced Code Provisions for Residential Structures.
[19] Colin Bailey, “Holistic Behaviour of Concrete Buildings in Fire, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Structures and Buildings 152, August 2002, Issue 3, pp 199-212.
[20] BS 8110-2, (1985), “British Standard-Structural Lightweight Concrete-Part 2: Code of Practice for special circumstances”, British Standards Institution, London, UK, BSI.
[21] Ian A. Fletcher, Stephen Welch, José L. Torero, Richard O. Carvel, Asif Usmani, “The Behaviour of Concrete Structures in Fire”,
[22] Lin-Hai Han; Qing-Hua Tan; and Tian-Yi Song (2015), “Fire Performance of Steel Reinforced Concrete Columns”, Journal of Structural Engineering, 141(4): 04014128
[23] Portland Cement Association, “Concrete Information-Types and Causes of Concrete Deterioration”.
[24] Abrams, M.S., Compressive Strength of Concrete at Temperatures to 1,600F, RD016, Portland Cement Association, 1973.
[25] Ian Fletcher, Audun Borg, Neil Hitchen and Stephen Welch, “Performance of Concrete in Fire: A Review of the State of the Art, with a Case Study of the Windsor Tower Fire”.
[26] V.K.R. Kodur, “Fire Performance of High-Strength Concrete Structural Members”, Construction Technology Update No. 31.
[27] Long T. Phan, Therese P. McAllister, John L. Gross, Morgan J. Hurley, “Best Practice Guidelines for Structural Fire Resistance Design of Concrete and Steel Buildings”, NIST Technical Note 1681
[28] Jesse Beitel, and Nestor Iwankiw (2005), “Historical Survey of Multistory Building Collapses Due to Fire”, Magazine on Fire Protection Engineering.
[29] James Milke et al, “Overview of Fire Protections in Buildings”, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[30] Michael T. Davidson; Issam E. Harik; and Douglas B. Davis, S.E. (2013), “Fire Impact and Passive Fire Protection of Infrastructure: State of the Art”, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities © ASCE, 27(2): 135-143
[31] Georgali, B. & Tsakiridis, P. E. Microstructure of fire-damaged concrete. A case study, Cement & Concrete Composites, 27 (2005), 2, pp. 255-259.
[32] ASTM E119-15 (2015). “Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials.” West Conshohocken, PA.
[33] Matthew A. Johann, Leonard D. Albano, Robert W. Fitzgerald, P.E., and Brian J. Meacham, P.E (2006), “Performance-Based Structural Fire Safety”, Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities © ASCE, 20(1): 45-53
[34] Fire Ratings Explained: Part 1 ASTM E-119 Testing, International Masonry Institute, The James Brice House 42 East Street Annapolis, MD 21401.
[35] P. Srinivasan, A. Cinitha, Vimal Mohan and Nagesh R. Iyer (2014), “Evaluation of Fire-Damaged Concrete Structures with A Case Study”, National Conference on Fire Research and Engineering, IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand, March 01-02, 2014.
[36] Felicetti R. and Colombo M. (2007). “New Non-Destructive Techniques for the Assessment of Fire-Damaged Concrete Structures”, Fire Safety Journal, Vol. 42, Issues 6-7, Sept.-Oct., pp. 461-472.
[37] LCPC – Laboratoire Central des PontsetChausées (2005). Présentation des techniques de diagnostic de l'état d'un bétonsoumis à unincendie, Décembre 2005, No.62, Paris (France), 114 pp.
[38] The Windsor Building Fire, 911Research.WTC7.net site.
[39] Ignas. Aloys Rubaratuka (2013), “Investigation of Provisions of Fire Safety Measures in Buildings in Dar Es Salaam”, International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp 40-45.
[40] Behrouz Behnama & Hamid Ronagha (2013), “Performance of Reinforced Concrete Structures Subjected to Fire Following Earthquake”, European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Volume 17, Issue 4.