Behaviour of Structural Steel in Fire: Report of a Symposium Held at the Fire Research Station, Borehamwood, England, 24 January 1967

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Technical Note (National Research Council of Canada. Division of Building Research), 1967-08-01

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Behaviour of Structural Steel in Fire: Report of a Symposium Held at

the Fire Research Station, Borehamwood, England, 24 January 1967

Stanzak, W. W.

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NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA

OF BUILDING RESEARCH DIVISION

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1HI N ][ CAlL

NOTlE

No.

492

PREPARED BY W. W. Stanzak CHECKED BY _{G. W.}

s.

DATE August 1967

PREPARED FOR

SUBJECT

Inquiry and Record

BEHAVIOUR OF STRUCTURAL STEEL IN FIRE: Report of a Symposiwn held at the Fire Re search Station, Borehamwood, England, 24 January 1967.

The purpose of the Symposium was to describe and discuss the results of a recent program of experiments on the behaviour of structural steel in fire, carried out at the Fire Research Station in collaboration with the British Iron and Steel Federation, and to compare them with the results of similar

work carried out elsewhere. A list of those attending is

attached. The Division of Building Research, National Research

Council, was represented at the meeting by T. Z. Harmathyand W. W. Stanzak, who presented a paper resulting from their work on the creep properties of structural steels.

Ten papers were presented:

1. Parameters which determine the severity of fire, by

A. J. M. Heselden (JFRO).

2. The severity of fires in steel-frame buildings, by

L. G. Seigel (United States Steel Corporation).

3. The temperatures reached by structural steel in fires,

by E. G. Butcher (JFRO).

4. Temperature criteria of failure of steel-supported floors

and beams in fire, by T. Z. Harmathy and W. W. Stanzak, DBR/NRC (presented by T. Z. Harmathy).

2

-5. Analysis of some results of experimental fires,

by Margaret Law (JFRO).

6. Some aspects with regard to the behaviour of steel

structures in fire, by J. Witteveen, lnstitut TNO,

Delft.

7. Temperature of protected steel in fire, by T. T. Lie,

lnstitut TNO, Delft.

8. Fire resistance of steel deck floor assemblies, by

H. Shoub, and S.H. lngberg, NBS, Washington (presented by D. Gross, NBS).

9.

fires, by E. G. Butcher and Margaret Law (JFRO).

10. Furnace tests and fire resistance, by D. Sfintesco

(European Iron and Steel Community).

From the titles of the above papers it is apparent that the Symposium could have been more appropriately named "Fire

in Steel Framed BuildingsJl

, since only two papers {4, 8}

dealt with structural behaviour. The remaining contributions

dealt with fire severity and the temperature attained by

structural steel in fires. Proceedings of the Symposium will

be published by HMSO in due course.

The writer of this note submitted a written discussion on

paper No.8. A copy of the authors' closure is attached.

Owing to the large number of papers read, only a short time remained for discussion and questioning following each

presentation. Such discussion as time permitted, however,

was usually very lively and stimulating. A rift between

administrative and t-echnical people was largely responsible for this ....the administrative wanting greater simplification, the technical striving for more sophisticated methods.

. 3

-After all the papers had been presented, the meeting was opened for general discussion on the papers and related

matters. This again proved to be lively and varied. Two points

of controversy developed:

1. The problem of converting research to practice;

2. The significance and validity of the standard

time-temperature curve used in fire tests.

The first matter was of great interest to all those present

at the Sympo shun. Although many points of view were preｳ･ｮｴ･､ｾ

it was finally agreed that the design of fire protection for buildings should be taken out of the hands of architects and building officials and made the responsibility of the structural engineer or an

engineer specializing in the field of fire protection.

The second point has been raised countless times,

particu-larly by the steel interests. Most persons at the meeting agreed

that the standard time-temperature curve is not applicable to all

cases of real fire. They did, however, resist any suggestions

that the curve should be altered, or that different curves should

be used to evaluate various types of construction. Any changes in

thinking should involve the interpretation or application of the

result yielded by the standard fire test, not the test itself. With

a few exceptions, there was agreement on this ｰｲｯｰｯｳ｡ｬｾ and it

was implied that future research in this area might prove fruitful.

For those attending, the meeting was very useful not only because of the information presented, but because it gave an

excellent over-all picture of the present state of studies concerning

fire behaviour of structural steel. Research workers, in particular,

were able to determine areas requiring additional research and

investigation. Again there was a difference of opinion, with one

group (particularly members of the European Iron and Steel Conununity) advocating larger fire te sts, and the other (including the Canadian

representatives) favouring a more fundamental engineering approach

to the problem of structural fire behaviour. This difference of

opinion was not resolved in the time available, nor is it likely to be in the near future.

APPENDIX A

REPLY BY AUTHORS SHOUB AND INGBERG TO COMMENTS ON THEIR PAPER

"FIRE RESISTANCE OF STEEL DECK FLOOR ASSEMBLIES"

While we have no measure of the extreme fiber stresses during the fire test, at room temperature the load applied was calculated

to develop an extreme fiber stress of 18, 000 psi. Where the beams

are simply supported, the maxirrlum extreme fiber stress occurs at mid-span, while for beams with fixed ends, the extreme fiber

stress is highest at the end supports. To accomplish this, a

cor-respondingly greater load was applied for beams with fixed-end supports compared to those simply- supported.

When exposed to fire, the expansion of the floor construction was restrained by a rigid frame so that part of the applied load was

undoubtedly relieved as the test progressed. The welded steel plate

construction, admittedly not currently used, may also have carried

part of the load. However, it should also be noted that the excessive

beam temperature s, and corre sponding maximum deflections, occurred very rapidly in the final stages of the test.

The general problem of restraint by the test frame has been common to the bulk of fire tests on assemblies, whether simple or

composite. A measure of the current concern with this problem may

be seen in the recent paper s by Bletzacker [4] and by Selvaggio and

Carlson [5]. Finally, the reader should consult the evaluation of

the importance of restraint in fire tests by Messrs. Pearce and Stanzak, and their excellent analysis of composite action in steel-concrete beams [6].

[4] R. W. Bletzacker, "Effect of Structural Restraint on the Fire

Resistance of Steel Building Frames," Symposium on Restraint

in Fire Test, ASTM Special Technical Publication STP 422, 196'7.

[5] S. L. Selvaggio and C. C. Carlson, "Restraint in Fire Tests of

Concrete Floors and Roofs." ibid.

[6] N. S. Pearce and W. W. Stanzak. "Fire Test Data on

,

Jose Martinez Paris L.A. Ashton H. T ottenham W.J. Wadey W. J. Smith T. W. Tidey W. J. Clark J. H. Humphreys M. C. G. Ayre E. W. Bunn Repre senting

Boulton & Paul (Steel Construction Ltd.)

British Iron & Steel Federation

Fabrimetal S. A.

Southampton University, Civil Engineering Department.

Greater London Council

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F. Simmons Fire Service College

Ivo Tricario Collegio dei Tecnici dell'Acciaio

Dr.-Ing. W. Bongard Deutscher Stahlbar-Verband

Dr. Giovanni Soddu Pre sidente dell'U I S A A.

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Mettalliche Fursider S. P. A.)

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Gener. Ing. Osvaldo Piermarini Consulente della C.M.F. (Costruzioni

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Prof. Dr. Ing. Karl Kordina Lehrstuhl und Institut fll.r Baustoffkinde

und Stahlbetonbar Technische Hochschule. Herr Meyer Ottens

Herr Dr. Ehm

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University of Newcastle upon Tyne Repre senting

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KingJs College, London Fire Protection Association Name H. B. Evers (+ 3) R. W. Schofield R. S. Soper R. Gavin Orr D. W. Cooper E. H. Needham John W. Doug ill Dr. H. D. Taylor Mr. R. W. Fisher II II II II II Emile Schneider Pete r Bonne r G. B. Godfrey K. R. Lack Haute Autorite de la C E C A D. G. Acier

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Fire Offices I Conunittee A. P. Roach G. C. Ackroyd Mr. Williams 11

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Scottish Industrial Estates Corporation Mandoval Ltd.

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Ing. Werner Geilinger P. J. E. Sullivan Lucien Wahl Commandant Haure Monsieur Arnault Madame Harnagea H. Snaith E.M. Lewis T. Z. Harrnathy W. W. Stanzak Dr. Ing. A. Negri

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