Collapse of concrete columns during and after the cooling phase of a fire

This paper presents a study performed on the collapse of reinforced concrete columns subjected to natural fire conditions during and after the cooling phase of the fire. The aim is, first, to highlight the phenomenon of collapse of concrete columns during and after the cooling phase of a fire and then, to analyze the influence of some determinant parameters. The main mechanisms that lead to this type of failure are found to be the delayed increase of the temperature in the central zones of the element and the additional loss of concrete strength during the cooling phase of the fire. A parametric study is performed considering different fires and geometric properties of the column. This shows that the most critical situations with respect to delayed failure arise for short fires and for columns with low slenderness or massive sections.