Burnout resistance; Cooling phase; Glulam (GLT); Natural fire tests; Structural failure; Timber columns; Wood crib; Compartment fires; Fire tests; Natural fire; Natural fire test; Wood cribs; Chemistry (all); Materials Science (all); Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality; Physics and Astronomy (all)
Abstract :
[en] Timber framing is increasingly used as a load-bearing structural system in mid-rise and high-rise buildings. While extensive data exists from standard furnace tests, there is a lack of data on the fire performance of loaded timber members in full-scale compartment fires. Compartment fire tests are crucial to investigate a structure's performance under conditions where the fire is let to grow naturally with the fuel and oxygen present in the room and then let to cool down as the fuel burns out. This paper presents the findings from six fire tests performed on glue laminated timber columns in a custom-built compartment. Wood cribs are used as fuel. The columns, 3680 mm long with a 280 × 280 mm2 section, are subjected to constant axial loading during the whole fire duration. Column design and loading are based on a 60-min fire resistance. The tests vary in opening factor, fire load, and wood crib size. Column failure was observed in the six tests, with failure times ranging from 35 to 71 min. In four of the tests, failure occurred after the gas temperature had started to cool down. Comparisons with tests on similar columns made in a fire resistance furnace allow comparing charring rates observed in standard conditions and in natural fires.
Disciplines :
Civil engineering
Author, co-author :
Renard, Silvio ; CERIB Fire Testing Centre, Epernon, France
Robert, Fabienne; CERIB Fire Testing Centre, Epernon, France
Franssen, Jean-Marc ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo ; Liege University, Belgium
Zehfuß, Jochen; Technische Universität Braunschweig (iBMB), Braunshweigh, Germany
McNamee, Robert; RISE Research Institutes, Lund, Sweden
Bamonte, Patrick; Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Gernay, Thomas; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
Language :
English
Title :
Structural behavior of timber columns in wood crib compartment fire tests
Alternative titles :
[fr] Comportement structurel de colonnes en bois lors d'essais au feu de bois dans un compartiment
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