Chap.

I Fundamentals of fire
and fire safety
Second course

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J-M Franssen & T. Gernay

1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Fundamentals of fire and fire safety: objectives

Explain the process of combustion in solids

Distinguish the concepts of fire reaction and fire resistance
Describe the physics of a fire development in a compartment
Explain the main effects of fire on materials and structures
Formulate the place of fire resistance in the overall field of fire safety engineering

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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on materials
- Loss of strength and stiffness with temperature
e.g. reduction factors for carbon steel according to EN 1993-1-2

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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on materials
- Loss of strength and stiffness with temperature
For all common materials
Relationships given in the Eurocodes
o EN 1992-1-2: concrete, reinforcing steel
o EN 1993-1-2: structural steel
o EN 1995-1-2: timber (Annex B)
o EN 1996-1-2: masonry (some materials in Annex D)
o EN 1999-1-2: aluminum

Result from different physical processes

o e.g. in concrete: dehydration, microcracks due to differential thermal dilatations
o Note: carbon steel melts at 1500C, i.e. at a temperature higher than typically
experienced during a fire, but at 600C it has already lost +50% of its strength
More detailed information about the temperature relationships for the mechanical properties
of different materials will be given in Chap. III: Evaluating fire resistance
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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on materials
- Additional material-dependent effects (specific to each material)
e.g. explosive spalling of concrete

Due to the combined effect of:

Stresses due to external applied loads
Stresses due to differential thermal dilatation in the section (temperature-induced)
Increase in pore pressure (linked to moisture content and permeability)
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J-M Franssen & T. Gernay

1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on materials
- Additional material-dependent effects (specific to each material)
e.g. explosive spalling of concrete
Occurrence of spalling:
May be explosive, in a single explosion or a series of explosions
Concrete layers of 100-300 mm in length and 15-20 mm in depth, sometimes larger
High strength concrete is more prone to spalling due to lower permeability
High heating rate increases the likelihood because it induces high temperature gradients
Occurrence can be largely decreased by adding polypropylene fibers (0.05-0.1% by
weight) in a concrete mix

Spalling in fire-exposed concrete is a detrimental phenomenon caused

by the combination of stresses and pore pressures, which occurs mainly
in HSC (low permeability), and should be prevented as much as possible
using adequate measures (pp fibers)
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J-M Franssen & T. Gernay

1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on materials
- The case of timber
Distinction between non combustible material (steel, concrete) and combustible
material (timber)
Wood experiences charring reducCon of the size of the secCon to carry the loads
Charring is a chemical process of incomplete combustion of certain solids when subjected to
high heat. The resulting residue matter is called char. By the action of heat, charring removes
hydrogen and oxygen from the solid, so that the remaining char is composed primarily of
carbon. source: Wikipedia

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J-M Franssen & T. Gernay

1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on materials
- The case of timber
Charring rate (mm/min) given for different types of wood
Notional charring rate n, includes the effects of corners and fissures
e.g. 0.7 mm/min 21 mm aGer 30 min on each fire-exposed side

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J-M Franssen & T. Gernay

1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on materials
- Thermal expansion of the constituting materials
L/L (x103)

20

Concrete (siliceous)

15

T = L/L = T
10

Steel

5
0
0

200

400 600 800 1000 1200

Temperature (C)

The coefficient of thermal expansion varies with temperature

Average value for steel from 20-800C:

1.4 x 10-5 (/K)

Average value for concrete from 20-800C: 1.8 x 10-5 (/K) (siliceous)
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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on structures
- Leads to thermal expansion of the heated elements
Case of a simply supported beam without axial restraint and uniform heating
L = L T
Uniform
temperature rise T
L

In a real structure: no freedom to elongate

L = 0
P

P
Uniform
temperature rise T

P = E A m = - E A T = - E A T

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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on structures
- Leads to thermal expansion of the heated elements
Case of a simply supported beam subjected to a uniform thermal gradient

Thermal gradient over the depth

T,y = (1 2) / d
Curvature induced along the length
= T,y

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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on structures
Consequences of thermal expansion
- Forces build up due to restrained expansion
- Deflections cause increased second order effects
P0
P0

Column axial expansion is restrained

Mur top,
encastr
libre on one face
Wall free at the
heated

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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on structures
Consequences of thermal expansion

Response

Simply supported beam

Continuous beam

Thermal deflection

Moment under
uniform exterior load
Thermal moment

Total moment

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1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Effects on structures
Consequences of thermal expansion
Global behavior of a building structure

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J-M Franssen & T. Gernay

1. Fundamentals of fire and fire safety

Effects of fire on structures

Response of a structure subject to fire
Increase in temperature thermal expansion + loss in mechanical properCes
addiConal deecCons possible collapse

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t = 0 = 20C

16 min = 620C

22 min = 720C

28 min = 820C
University of Liege

J-M Franssen & T. Gernay