Computationally effective tool for mechanical simulation of reinforced concrete members subjected to fire

Abstract

There are many buildings and civil engineering works under construction which are at risk of fire. The fire resistance analysis of reinforced concrete structures constitutes an important part in their design. However, the analysis of the behaviour of load-bearing members under high temperature conditions is very complicated. Various factors that influence the behaviour of the members need to be taken into account. Analytical and computation methods have been developed in the field of reinforced concrete building exposed to high temperature or accidental fire. Unfortunately, such models are computationally too demanding and their application are limited even for a simply supported reinforced concrete members (beams, plates etc). In this paper, an attempt has been made to extend application of the Flexural model to stress and strain analysis of flexural reinforced concrete members subjected to high temperature. Constitutive models and key material parameters describing thermo-mechanical behaviour of concrete and reinforcement are discussed. A powerful calculation technique based on layered approach is briefly described. A numerical example of application of present method for calculation of stresses, strains and curvatures of reinforced concrete slab is presented.