Fire Performance of Materials and Structures

Description of impact

Fire resistance is defined as the ability of a structure or structural element to maintain structural integrity and load capacity for a sufficient duration of time during a fire situation. Reinforced concrete design standards contain guidelines on minimum section sizes and cover to reinforcement that needs to be provided to achieve a specified fire resistance. Traditionally, concrete has been an attractive option in this regard due to its non-combustible nature and slow rate of heat transfer. However, the fire resistance of new types of concretes may be different from that of conventional concrete structures. Materials and Structures Innovation Group at the University of Western Australia has investigated several new types concretes performance during fire using local materials which the results can be very helpful for cement, concrete and construction industry.