Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting II Alexander et al (eds)

2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-46850-3

623
Residual strength of R.C. buildings after a fire: A case study
I. Venanzi & A.L. Materazzi
University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
M. Zappia
Fire Department, Florence, Italy
ABSTRACT: In the present paper a procedure for the assessment of the residual strength of R.C. structural
members after a fire is proposed. The procedure has been applied to the evaluation of the load bearing capac-
ity of a storage and apartment building which experienced a real fire. The damage provoked by the fire was
evaluated through a survey and an experimental campaign carried out using non destructive techniques. Then,
the analytical assessment of the residual strength using a simplified fire model based on the zone method was
performed. On the basis of the analysis results, a retrofitting programme was defined, with the aim at restoring
completely the serviceability of the building.
how the fire started and developed. Probably a limited
amount of fuel was introduced in the gap between the
basement and the wall, through the grating that runs
parallel to the perimeter of the basement. Then the fire,
intentionally started, spread in the whole basement, in
a condition of slow speed combustion (ventilation-
controlled fire). The opening of windows and doors,
necessary for the entrance of the fire brigade, pro-
voked the sudden transition to a generalized fire (fuel
controlled fire). The lack of compartments within the
basement (Figure 2) allowed the diffusion of the fire
1 INTRODUCTION
The assessment of the residual load bearing capacity
of reinforced concrete structures after their exposi-
tion to fire is a complex task. It includes the estimate
of the actual strength of both concrete and steel and
the subsequent computation of the sections capacity.
However in most cases the knowledge of materials
strength, even after accurate and extensive testing, is
not sufficient for the purpose.
In fact in-situ testing cannot be extended over all
the sections depth, while every single spot of the sec-
tions contributes to the overall bearing capacity with
a strength that depends on the local maximum tem-
perature reached during the fire.
The present paper is aimed at giving a contribution
to solve this problem, proposing an assessment meth-
odology based on a suitable analytical procedure.
The proposed procedure was applied to a case-
study consisting in a seven-storey reinforced concrete
building which was badly damaged by a severe fire.
2 DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRE
During the night between the 23rd and the 24th of
March 1991 a large fire developed in the basement
and the ground floor of a building located in Rende,
Cosenza, Italy, which was used for storage and sell-
ing of clothing. The upper floors of the building were
occupied by houses (Figure 1). From the survey car-
ried out after the fire, it was possible to reconstruct
Figure 1. Building involved in the fire.
624
in the ground floor, through the opening of the steel
staircase, which was totally destroyed by the fire.
Extremely high temperatures (higher then 1000C)
were reached and maintained for several minutes, due
to the significant quantity of fuel in the compartments
on fire.
3 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING
The structure damaged by the fire, built around the
half of the seventies, is made of seven floors and the
basement. It has an L shape in plan, with a symme-
try axis at an angle of 45 from the direction of the
external walls.
The gross surface of the basement and the ground
floor is around 800 m
2
, while the surface of the other
floors is around 560 m
2
.
The building is made of reinforced concrete. The
number of columns is 57 at the first two levels and 50
at the upper levels. The first floor is made of a rein-
forced concrete 20 cm thick slab, while all the others
are cast in situ ribbed hollow block slabs.
4 DESCRIPTION OF THE DAMAGE
The high temperature reached in the structural ele-
ments in the compartments where the fire developed
provoked transversal cracks, separation and crum-
bling away.
As a consequence of concrete spalling, in some
cases the steel reinforcement was exposed directly to
the fire and so plastic strains, loss of bond and local-
ized yielding occurred. The most damaged structural
elements were those at the basement. Minor damages
were observed at the ground floor.
4.1 Floors
The RC slab (20 cm thick) located between the base-
ment and the ground floor, directly subjected to the
fire, underwent a significant increment of tempera-
ture that provoked the expansion of the slab.
Such expansion caused the failure of the slab itself
and the failure of most of the basement columns sub-
jected to important shear forces. Also on the second
floor the cracks are diffused (Figure 3).
4.2 Beams
Some of the beams of the basement appeared exces-
sively deformed and without reinforcements cover
(Figure 4), while the beams at the first and second
floors did not undergo significant damage.
4.3 Columns
Transversal, longitudinal and oblique cracks occurred
in all the columns. Also a significant spalling occurred
with the consequent yielding of the web reinforce-
ment. In some columns, cracks are particularly evi-
dent and in one column (Figure 5) it was observed the
failure of the reinforcement in compression.
Another type of damage was attributable to the
quick cooling of the structural elements provoked by
EXTERNAL WALL GRATING
RETAINING
WALL
Figure 2. 3D view of the basement of the building.
Figure 3. Damage of the second floor.
Figure 4. Damage of a beam at the basement.
625
the water jets. In fact the most damaged columns are
near the entrances, used by the fire brigade.
5 ANALYSIS OF THE RESIDUAL STRENGTH
AFTER FIRE
In order to program the repair of the structure, it was
necessary to assess the residual strength of the mem-
bers after the fire. The procedure proposed for this
purpose is reported in the following sections.
5.1 The proposed analysis procedure
The load bearing capacity of the structural members
after the fire is assessed by evaluating the interaction
diagrams between the ultimate compressive force
N
ult
and the bending moment M
ult
of the relevant
cross-sections.
The M
ult
N
ult
diagrams are computed considering
the residual strength of materials after their cooling
down after the fire. The residual strength of steel is
assumed not to be affected by the fire.
On the contrary the residual compressive strength of
concrete depends on the maximum temperature reached
at each point within the cross-section during the fire.
As the maximum local temperature is hardly
available, it is estimated through the analysis of the
thermal field, induced by a proper time history of the
air temperature, representing the actual fire.
5.2 Fire modeling
The variation of the air temperature with time during
a real fire can be obtained studying the evolution of
the chemical-physical phenomena that occur during
the combustion of the material contained in the com-
partment. The evaluation of the tT curve is based on
the resolution of the equations of energy and mass
balance that analytically describe the heat and mass
transfer between different regions of the compart-
ment. Due to the complexity of the problem, it is in
general not possible to obtain closed form solutions.
It is necessary to resort to numerical analysis proce-
dures, based on discretization techniques.
The available methods are classified into three
categories. The parametrical models use analyti-
cal curves dependant on the characteristics of the
compartment and the contained material. The field
models divide the space of the compartment in many
two- or three-dimensional cells and solve the prob-
lem using computational fluid dynamics techniques
requiring a significant computational effort.
Intermediate difficulty methods of analysis are
the so-called zone models, which operate divid-
ing the compartment in a reduced number of zones,
having similar characteristics, that interact between
each other through mass and energy exchange. The
zone models operate solving, for each region in which
the compartment is divided, a system of differential
equations that express the conservation of mass and
energy, assuming valid the ideal gas law and defining
the density and the internal energy. Usually, only two
zones are considered, an upper and a lower one with
respect to the surface of separation between the hot
and cold gas. The solution of the differential equa-
tions governing the problem can be carried out by
suitable computer codes.
5.3 Analysis of the thermal field
The thermal field of the cross-section during the fire
is evaluated by solving the Fourier equation through
a finite element approach. For this purpose the cross-
section of each member exposed to fire is discretized
in rectangular or triangular finite elements. The tem-
perature may be reasonably assumed constant in each
element, hypothesizing no variation over the length
of the member. The solution of the thermal analysis
requires the definition of the boundary condition and
the temperatures of the surfaces directly exposed to
fire, obtained by the fire modeling (see section 5.2).
The heat exchanged at the section surface is com-
puted considering both convection and radiation
Figure 5. Damage of a column at the basement.
626
at the interface between air and concrete using the
boundary condition:
q A T T V
f s f f s s
=
( )
+

4 4
(1)
in which T
f
, T
s
,
f
,
s
represent the air and concrete
temperatures and the corresponding absolute values,
A is the convection factor, is the Stefan-Boltzmann
constant, V is the shape factor, is the absorption
coefficient of the surface exposed to fire.
After having solved the thermal problem in corre-
spondence of several fire exposition times, the maxi-
mum temperature reached by each concrete element
during the fire is evaluated. It must be pointed out
that the maximum temperatures reached in the cross-
sections elements generally dont occur at the same
time.
5.4 Interaction diagrams
For this purpose the cross-section is discretized in
finite elements, usually adopting the same discretiza-
tion used for the thermal problem.
The M
ult
N
ult
diagrams are obtained assigning over
the considered cross-sections the full set of the strain
diagrams corresponding to all possible failure con-
ditions and computing the corresponding ultimate
internal forces. To evaluate M
ult,i
and N
ult,i
it is neces-
sary to integrate the residual strength of the concrete
fibers corresponding to the assigned strain distribu-
tions. The relation of the residual strength and the
maximum concrete temperature is taken from the
bibliography.
As the residual compressive strength of concrete
depends on the maximum temperature reached at
each point within the cross-section during the fire,
the temperature computed during the analysis of the
thermal field is used.
For every strain value, the corresponding stress is
evaluated by means of the constitutive law of con-
crete having the appropriate temperature-dependent
strength. The parabola-rectangle diagram is used for
the concrete stress-strain law. The outline of the pro-
cedure is presented in Figure 6.
5.5 Assessment of safety
The safety of the considered structural members
is ensured if the points representative of the design
loads (M
d
, N
d
) are internal to the edge of the interac-
tion diagram.
Naturally the loads are factored applying the
standard load factors used for the design in cold
condition.
6 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
6.1 Fire modeling
To simulate the variation of temperature with time in
the compartments exposed to fire, the zone model has
been adopted. In particular, it was used the CFAST
software, contained in the package HAZARD I dis-
tributed by the NIST, that uses a two zones model. The
compartment was preliminarily divided into seven sub-
compartments. Compartment no. 1 to 5 are located in
the basement (Figure 8) and compartments no. 6 and 7
are located at the ground floor. The fire load, esti-
mated on the basis of the material present in the
compartments, is 2063 MJ /m
2
for the basement and
1345 MJ /m
2
for the ground floor. The fire loads used
for the sub-compartments are reported in Table 1.
After having identified the sub-compartment where
the fire developed (no. 2), it was hypothesized a way
of propagation towards the other sub-compartments,
dependent on the time and the ignition temperature
of the materials. The propagation is from no. 2 to
Figure 6. Schematic representation of the procedure for
the assessment of the residual load bearing capacity.
627
no. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Figure 8). In Figure 7 is shown the
time-temperature curve obtained by the simulation for
the compartment no. 2, compared to the conventional
ISO 834 curve, considered as a useful reference. The
simulated real fire curves display a growing branch fol-
lowed by a descending one. The temperature of 700C
is reached after 500s from the beginning of the fire.
Then the temperature continues growing more slowly
up to 1070C after 125 minutes and finally decrease
to the ambient temperature.
6.2 Residual strength analysis of the relevant
structural members
In order to assess the residual strength of the struc-
tural members after the fire and define a program for
the repairing of the building, both in-situ tests and
numerical analyses were carried out.
The experimental campaign included non destruc-
tive testing (rebound index measurements) on all the
damaged structural members. The numerical assess-
ment of the residual strength after fire was performed
on the structural members using the procedure pro-
posed in the section 5.
In Figure 8 is represented the position in plan of
the analyzed structural elements. They are the col-
umn 43 and beam 3442 at the basement, that were
directly exposed to fire. Both the analyzed members
are located in the compartment no. 2. The column 43
was heated on four sides and the beam 3442 was
heated on the bottom surface and on part of the lateral
surfaces (due to the presence of the slab).
In Table 2 are summarized the dimensions and the
reinforcement of each analyzed member.
6.2.1 Thermal analysis
In order to simplify the computations, the tempera-
ture was assumed constant along each structural ele-
ment, hypothesizing no variation over the length of
the member. It was than possible to study a 2D prob-
lem instead of a 3D problem. The cross-section of the
member exposed to fire was discretized in rectangu-
lar or trapezoidal finite elements. The variation of
the thermal field in the cross-section during the fire,
was evaluated solving the Fourier equation through a
finite element approach. With this aim, it was neces-
sary to define the variation with the temperature of
the thermal properties of the materials, as the thermal
conductivity, the specific heat and the density of the
concrete. For the specific case study the thermal prop-
erties of the concrete were taken from EN 1992-1-2.
Since the ratio between the reinforcements and the
concrete surfaces was very small, the presence of the
reinforcements was neglected and the cross-section
was considered homogeneous.
The air temperature time-history of figure 7 was
used for the analysis.
As regards the boundary conditions the convection
factor A is assumed equal to 0.25 W/(m
2
K) and the
absorption coefficient of the surface exposed to fire
was assumed equal to 0.9. In Figures 9 and 10 are
Table 1. Surfaces and fire loads of the sub-compartments.
Sub-compartment (no.) Surface (m
2
) Fire load (MJ /m
2
)
1 139.12 2063
2 139.12 2063
3 252.81 2063
4 139.12 2063
5 139.12 2063
6 266.12 1345
7 90.63 1345
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270
time (min)
t
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

(

C
)
Real fire - compartment no.2 Standard ISO 834 fire
Figure 7. Simulated temperature in the sub-compartment
no. 2.
Figure 8. Location of the analyzed members in the base-
ment and compartments numbering.
Table 2. Dimensions and reinforcements of the elements.
Reinforcements
Element Dimensions Lower Upper
Column 43 55 40 218 + 114 218 + 114
Beam 3442 40 60 212 + 28 212
628
represented the thermal fields of the two analyzed
structural members after 30 minutes of exposition to
the real fire.
6.2.2 Mechanical analysis
To evaluate the interaction diagrams MN of the
analyzed cross-sections it was necessary to know
the variation of the residual compressive strength of
concrete as a function of the maximum temperature
reached during the exposition to fire by each ele-
ment in which the members cross-section is divided.
In the present study the graph suggested by the ACI
216.1-97 for unstressed carbonate aggregate concrete
seemed to best fit the in situ testing and thus was
adopted. The effect of rapid cooling of some columns
was neglected. In Figure 12 is shown the reduction
in percentage of the maximum compressive strength
with respect to the initial value, as a function of the
temperature.
For the constitutive laws of concrete and reinforc-
ing steel, the stress-strain relationships proposed by
the EN 1992-1-1 were adopted. It is assumed that the
maximum strength of steel does not depend on the
temperature reached during the fire, i.e. the residual
Figure 9. Column no. 43: thermal field after 30 of fire
exposition.
Figure 10. Beam no. 3442: thermal field after 30 of fire
exposition.
Figure 11. Residual compressive strength of carbonate
aggregate concrete as a function of the maximum heating
temperature (from ACI 216.1-97).
-1000
-500
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
-250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250
M (KNm)
N (KN)
(M
d
,N
d
)
(M
ult
,N
ult
)
Figure 12. Diagram MN for column 43 after the exposi-
tion to the real fire.
-500
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
-300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
M (KNm)
N (KN)
Figure 13. Diagram MN for beam 3442 after the exposi-
tion to the real fire.
629
strength of steel coincides with the strength in cold
conditions.
The maximum temperatures reached by each finite
element, also in non contemporary instants of time,
were considered to compute the residual strength. In
Figures 12 and 13 are shown the interaction diagrams
(M
ult
, N
ult
) for the two analyzed members exposed to
the real fire, obtained considering the residual strength
of concrete. In the same Figures, the interaction dia-
grams are compared with those obtained considering
the original strength of the concrete. The interaction
diagrams are computed neglecting the cross-sections
reduction due to the cover spalling. In the interac-
tion diagrams displayed in Figures 12 and 13 are also
shown the points representative of the design loads
(M
d
, N
d
) of each structural member, computed using
the partial safety factors for cold conditions and the
maximum internal forces (M
ult
, N
ult
) that the structural
element can withstand after the exposition to fire.
From the interaction diagrams it can be observed
that for the analyzed members there is a significant
reduction of the load bearing capacity after fire, due
to the decreased residual compressive strength of
concrete. The residual capacity of column 43 after
the fire is 56% of its initial capacity, while the beam
3442, subjected only to bending moment, is almost
not influenced by the reduction of the interaction dia-
gram. Thus the column must undergo suitable refur-
bishing works.
7 CONCLUSIONS
In the present paper a numerical procedure for the
evaluation of the residual load bearing capacity of
reinforced concrete structural members after fire is
proposed. The procedure consists in the construc-
tion of the interaction diagrams M
ult
N
ult
for each
structural member, carried out using the residual
compressive strength of concrete, that is a function
of the maximum temperature reached during the fire
by each finite element in which the cross-section is
divided. Prerequisites for the application of the proce-
dure are the knowledge of the law between the resid-
ual strength and the maximum temperature and the
temperature distribution at each time t. In the specific
case study the zone method was adopted for the
evaluation of the real fire. As it was known the mode
of propagation of the fire and the type and quantity of
the combustible in the compartments, it was possible
a realistic fire modeling.
The application of the procedure to a real case
study has shown that, in some cases, the residual load
bearing capacity of the structural members is not
sufficient to sustain the design loads and a retrofit-
ting programme had to be defined on the basis of the
evaluated bearing capacity after the fire.
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