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Assessment of concrete structures subjected to fire - The FBTest

Article  in  Magazine of Concrete Research · January 2002

DOI: 10.1680/macr.54.3.203.38793

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 ASSESSMENT OF CONCRETE STRUCTURES SUBJECTED TO FIRE

- THE FBTEST

By J. R. dos Santos1, F. A. Branco2 and J. de Brito3

Abstract: One of the main problems in the assessment of concrete structures that

have been subjected to a fire action is to determine the deteriorated concrete depth. In

order to do that, a new method, the FBTest (Fire Behaviour Test), has been developed.

With it the deteriorated concrete depth is quantified by resorting to the measurement of

the water absorption and tensile failure stress characteristics in discs obtained from

cores drilled from the structure under analysis.

INTRODUCTION

Fire related accidental situations occur with some frequency in concrete structures,

namely in buildings, industrial premises, or tunnels and bridges due to traffic accidents.

The determination of the deteriorated concrete depth is one of the main problems in

the structural assessment of concrete structures that have been subjected to a fire action.

This information is particularly important in order to optimise the future operations of

repair / strengthening, or in decision-making concerning a possible demolition.

Presently, this information can be acquired from a microscopic analysis of the

deteriorated concrete. This method is complex to apply and presents some difficulties to

define the boundary of deteriorated concrete.

Alternatively, during the assessment of these structures, concrete cores are usually

drilled (Fig. 1) in order to determine the compressive strength of the concrete affected, a

______________________________________________________________________
1
Ph.D. Student, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
2
Full Prof., Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
3
Assoc. Prof., Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
fundamental characteristic to prepare the strengthening design. In the preparation of the

cores for testing, the concrete near the surface, which has been in direct contact with the

fire, is usually eliminated. The remaining part of the core is made of concrete whose

strength varies along the core’s length as a function of the temperature range to which it

has been subjected. The value of the failure stress obtained in the compression tests is

therefore difficult to interpret since it depends on the whole of the core and thus not

reflect specifically the characteristics of the damaged superficial region.

This paper presents a new method - the Fire Behaviour Test (FBTest) - developed

by the authors in order to evaluate the deteriorated concrete depth in structural elements

subjected to a fire action, using standard cores. The method is based on the

determination of the water absorption and tensile failure stress tests results obtained

from discs sliced from the cores drilled from the structure affected by the fire.

CONCRETE STRENGTH VERSUS TEMPERATURE

As a result of very high temperatures in concrete, physical-chemical alterations

occur which lead to an irreversible loss of strength. The relatively low thermic

conductivity of concrete causes the strongly non-stationary process of temperature

evolution during the fire to result in important thermic gradients in concrete elements.

Because of this, restraint stresses are generated within the concrete mass. These,

together with the differentiated increases in the volume of the concrete components with

diverse thermic dilatation coefficients and the stresses generated by the humidity

evaporation, lead to cracking, partially responsible for the loss of strength at the heating

stage. The inversion of the gradients at the cooling stage causes cracking to proceed,

leading to an even lower residual strength.

In general terms, the evolution of the concrete behaviour with temperature can be
numerically summarised as follows (Schneider 1990):

• 100 ºC - water evaporation occurs, even though without strength loss;

• 200 ºC - residual strength of around 80 to 90 % of the initial strength;

• 300 ºC - decomposition of silicate hydrates; residual strength around 70 %;

• 500 ºC - dehydrated portlandite; residual strength around 30 to 40 %.

Nevertheless, it must be noticed that, due to the low conductibility of the concrete,

if the fire action does not remain active for a long period, the temperatures that lead to

permanent alterations will remain circumscribed to the exterior layers of the elements.

This is the main reason why it is so important to determine the depth of the area affected

when considering structural rehabilitation.

DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION OF THE TECHNIQUE

From the cores drilled from the fire action damaged area, 1,5 cm thick discs are

sliced along the whole length of the core, starting from the face that has been in direct

contact with the fire. After the discs are cut, they are taken to a standard oven where

they remain at 100 ºC for 24 hours. The discs are then cooled down to the environment

temperature and then weighed, thus determining the dry weight (wdry).

The saturation of the discs then proceeds, which is done by leaving them

underwater for 48 hours. Afterwards, the surface of the discs is dried up and the discs

are weighed again, thus determining the saturated weight (wsat). The water absorption

after immersion can be evaluated from (Neville 1981):

(wsat - wdry)
water absorption (%) = x 100 (1)
wdry

In order to determine the tensile failure stress, the saturated discs are subjected to

diametrical compression until failure occurs. The tensile failure stress is determined by

(Neville 1981):
 2 Nc
σt = (2)
πde

where: σt - tensile failure stress;

Nc - compression force recorded at failure;

D - disc diameter;

e - disc thickness.

The variation with depth of both the water absorption after immersion and the

tensile failure stress is then plotted. In what concerns the water absorption, it tends to

decrease with depth, from the face that was directly in contact with the fire, until it

reaches a level of practically constant values. This is explained by the greater porosity

and cracking of the concrete near that face, due to the fire action. Regarding the tensile

failure stress, it increases with depth, also until a certain level is achieved, since

cracking decreases the tensile strength. In both cases, the beginning of this level of

stable values indicates approximately the interface between the deteriorated concrete

and the sound concrete. This is the reason why these characteristics (water absorption

and tensile failure stress) are chosen to determine the thickness of the concrete affected

by the fire action.

LABORATORY TESTS

This technique was calibrated by performing water absorption and tensile stress

tests in discs cut from concrete specimens, in which one of the faces had been

previously heated according to a heating standard curve.

In order to simulate the cores, the specimens built had a cylindrical geometry, with

a 9 cm diameter and a 20 cm height. In 6 of the cores, 6 thermocouples were positioned

along their longitudinal axis (next to the heated face and 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 cm from it)

in order to record during the heating stage the temperatures in the cores as a function of
its depth.

In order to heat the cores, a fire-simulation oven adapted to cylindrical elements

and with heating only in one of its faces (Fig. 2) was used. The heating curve adopted is

characterised by three linear variations, from the initial temperature of the cores to 70 ºC

in 10 minutes, from 70 ºC to 170 ºC also in 10 minutes and from 170 ºC to 800 ºC in 30

minutes, and a steady 800 ºC level for 60 minutes. It was possible to heat two cores

simultaneously, one installed next to the oven upper end, and the other next to the lower

end (Fig. 2). Recording the temperatures inside the instrumented cores was done

automatically (Fig. 3).

After cooling occurred, the cores were removed from the fire-simulation oven and

the process of slicing the discs was initiated. The discs were cut and the water absorption

and tensile stress tests were performed, always with a set of cores heated at the oven

upper and lower ends. In some cases, discs were also sliced from non-heated cores, in

order to compare the results of the tests performed in them with those from the heated

cores.

After the preparation of the discs, they were carried to a standard oven, and kept

there at 100 ºC for 24 hours, in order to dry according to the standard procedures for

evaluating the water absorption of concrete specimens and aggregates by immersion.

After this time interval, the discs were weighted. Having determined the dry weight, the

discs were positioned in a reservoir with a thin layer of water (Fig. 4), where they were

left for 48 hours. After saturation, the discs were weighted again thus determining the

saturated weight. The saturated discs were then subjected to diametrical compression

until failure (Fig. 5).

 Since the reference temperature for permanent damage of the concrete is 200 ºC,

the fact that the specimens were dried at 100 ºC before the tests were performed did not

affect the determination of the depth of deteriorated concrete.

ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS

Variation of the maximum temperature with depth

Fig. 3 presents a diagram of the maximum temperature in the cores versus depth

for cores installed at the fire-simulation oven ends, in which depth nil corresponds to the

face in contact with the oven. The points correspond to the maximum values registered

in the thermocouples for the 6 different depths at which they have been positioned. The

curve presented in dotted lines, typically a third degree polynomial, is adjusted to the

values obtained in the thermocouples, which have been used to calibrate the technique

in terms of temperatures at various depths.

Variation of the water absorption with depth

In each set of discs obtained from each core, it is possible to evaluate the variation

of the water absorption after immersion with depth. Fig. 6 presents this variation for a

core positioned at the fire-simulation oven upper end, another one positioned at the

lower end and, finally, a non-heated core.

In the diagram of Fig. 6 it can be observed that, from a distance of 4,55 to 6,45 cm

(corresponding to temperatures from 100 to 200 ºC) from the heated face on, the water

absorption variation with depth is very small for both the heated cores, with the

exception of the point next to the non-heated face (Branco and Santos 2000). This

indicates that, from these depths on, the heat has not affected the concrete. The value

next to the non-heated face does not seem to be representative, since the values obtained

may be explained by a higher concentration of upper grade aggregates next to that face

during casting. The analysis of Fig. 6 also shows that the variations presented in the
inner region are similar in scale to the ones obtained for the non-heated core. It must be

stressed that the variation coefficient for the water absorption has not exceeded 5 %,

both for the heated cores for depths over 4,55 to 6,45 cm and for the non-heated ones.

From the results obtained in the water absorption tests, a diagram of absorption

variation (above the average value) versus temperature variation over 200 ºC has been

devised (Fig. 7). The values of the absorption (between 500 and 200 ºC) have been

determined based on diagrams such as the one in Fig. 6. The mean value adopted

corresponds to the average in all the heated cores, in the region where variations are

very small. This mean value shows a variation coefficient of 2,2 %, which demonstrates

its uniformity (Branco and Santos 2000).

From the diagram in Fig. 7 it is possible to conclude that the greater the

temperature variation over the reference value of 200 ºC (corresponding to the concrete

mass of the cores not permanently affected by the heat) the greater the increase in terms

of water absorption relatively to the mean value representative of that region. This

diagram also allows the estimation of the temperatures to which the concrete has been

subjected, based on the absorption experimental values.

Variation of the tensile stress with depth

With the results of the diametrical compression tests of the various discs, it is

possible to evaluate the variation of the tensile failure stress, determined according to

equation (2), with the core depth. Fig. 8 presents a tensile stress versus mean depth

diagram for a couple of heated cores (one positioned next the fire-simulation oven upper

end and the other next the lower end) and also a non-heated core. It is possible to

conclude from it that, in the case of the heated cores, there is a tendency for the values

of the tensile stress to be steady from depths 4,55 and 6,45 cm on (temperatures between

100 and 200 ºC), indicating that the inner concrete has not been permanently affected by
the heat. Fig. 8 also shows there is a significant variability of the tensile failure stress

values and that these variations are higher than the ones for the non-heated core.

Based on the results of the diametrical compression tests, a diagram of the

variation of the tensile failure stress below the mean value versus temperature variation

over 200 ºC can be built (Fig. 9). The mean value obtained corresponds to the average of

the tensile stress values for all the non-heated cores, which has a variation coefficient is

12 % (Branco and Santos 2000), indicating the significant scattering of the tensile

failure stress values obtained from the tests. By analysing Fig. 9, it can be concluded

that the greater the temperature variation over the reference value (corresponding to the

region of the cores not permanently affected by the heat), the greater the decrease in the

tensile stress relatively to the mean value adopted.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

In real structures subjected to fire action, it is possible to obtain both heated and

unheated specimens of some structural elements to double-check the technique’s

conclusions, since the fire effects usually vary a lot even within the same element.

Nevertheless, it is not essential to compare the results from the water absorption and

tensile failure stress tests of the heated specimens with the results obtained in unheated

specimens, since the criteria for estimating the depth of deteriorated concrete are based

fundamentally on obtaining stable values of those characteristics from a certain depth

on. As can be seen in the laboratory tests, this trend is unambiguous and easy to identify.

It is also possible to estimate the maximum temperature achieved at the different depths

of the concrete element, by using either Fig. 7 or Fig. 9.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper presents a technique for the evaluation of the concrete depth

permanently affected by fire based on water absorption and tensile strength tests of discs
cut from cores drilled from the structure damaged by the fire. The technique is

exemplified with lab tests leading, leading to diagrams of absorption and tensile stress

variations relatively to the mean values, for temperature variations over 200 ºC.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the ICIST research centre and of

Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), in Lisbon, Portugal, where the experimental work

presented here was performed.

REFERENCES

Neville, A. M. (1981) “Properties of Concrete”, A Pitman International Text, Third

Edition, 779p.

Schneider, U. (1990) “Repairability of Fire Damaged Structures”, CIB W14 Report,

Special Issue of Fire Safety Journal, V. 16, n.º 4, 292p.

Branco, F. and Santos, R. (2000) “Evaluation of the Deteriorated Concrete Depth in

Structures Subjected to Fire (FBTest)” (in Portuguese), National Meeting on

Conservation and Rehabilitation of Structures - REPAR 2000, Lisbon, pp. 305-314.

BIOGRAPHIC NOTES

José Roberto dos Santos is a Ph.D. student at IST, where he

received his Masters degree in Structural Engineering. His research

work deals with concrete structures evaluation, in-situ testing and

construction materials recycling.

email: roberto@civil.ist.utl.pt

fax: +351-1-8497650

Fernando A. Branco, an ACI member, is full professor of Civil

Engineering at IST - Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal. He is

Vice-Chairman of the IABSE Commission on “Maintenance of

Structures”, Consulting Member of ACI Committee n.º 343 on

“Evaluation of Concrete Bridges” and member of the CSCE. He is national

representative in the European Permanent Committee for Experimental Mechanics

(PCSA). His primary research interests deal with the behavior of bridges and other

public works.

email: fbranco@civil.ist.utl.pt

Jorge de Brito graduated in Civil Engineering and received his

Masters and Doctoral degrees at IST - Technical University of

Lisbon, Portugal, where he is an associate professor. He is a member

of IABSE as well as of several reputed national engineering societies.

His research work deals with deterioration, rehabilitation and management of concrete

structures.

email: jb@civil.ist.utl.pt
Fig. 1 - Concrete cores drilled from the structures inspected
Fig. 2 - Fire-simulation oven
Fig. 3 - Maximum temperature versus depth diagram (discs from the fire-
simulation oven ends)
Fig. 4 - Saturation of the discs inside a reservoir containing a shallow depth of
water
Fig. 5 - Diametrical compression testing of a disc
 region where variations are very small

Fig. 6 - Water absorption variation versus depth diagram (discs from both fire-
simulation oven ends and also from a non-heated core)
 MEAN VALUE = 5,88 %

Fig. 7 - Increase in water absorption over the mean value versus temperature
Fig. 8 - Tensile failure stress versus mean depth diagram (discs from both fire-
simulation oven ends and also from a non-heated core)
 MEAN VALUE = 2,4 MPa

Fig. 9 - Decrease in the tensile failure stress with temperature

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