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Structural Performance of Slim Beam Floor System in Fire

Article  in  Journal of Structural Fire Engineering · March 2011

DOI: 10.1260/2040-2317.2.1.57

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 57

Structural Performance of Slim Beam

Floor System in Fire
Sengkwan Choi+, Faris Ali+, Ali Nadjai+, Sanghoon Han+
and Joungyoon Choi++
+FireSERT, School of the Built Environment, University of Ulster,

Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT37 0QB, UK. s.choi@ulster.ac.uk

++Reliability Assessment Center, Korea Institute of Construction Materials, 805,

Hyundai I-Valley, 14-1, Dang-dong, Gunpo-si, 405-010, Republic of Korea.

ABSTRACT
This paper presents a numerical study to predict the in-fire performance of slim floor
system, composed of asymmetric steel beam, deep steel decking and in-situ concrete
slab. The reliability of the proposed numerical model was verified by comparison with
experimental results obtained for 4.2m beam tests. A pilot study was also conducted to
examine the effect of the cross sectional modification of the steel section on performance
enhancement of the model in fire.

Keywords: asymmetric beam; slim floor; fire safety; structural stability; structural
modification; performance based design method

1. INTRODUCTION
There have been significant improvements in the structural design of multi-storey buildings in recent
years, based on the development of composite constructions. The wide variety of automatically
fabricated long-span composite structures has not only economic benefits due to fast, light-weight and
accurate construction, but also allows the potential advantage of maximising flexibility in internal
layout, which is one of the major trends in modern buildings. The multi-storey buildings were initially
developed for mainly commercial purposes but nowadays they are well adapted for residential function.
Slim floor construction, shown in Figure 1, is a type of composite structures that comprises of a
partially concrete-encased steel beam with concrete slab. Due to the embedment of the steel beam, the
construction contains inherent advantages from the structural configuration such as reduction of
construction height, natural resistance to fire and fast construction period. Although the principal of
the construction was introduced at the middle of nineteenth century in the UK, it has initially become
publicly popular at Sweden since mid 1970’s. The Swedish slim floor system, typically characterized
by using various shapes of fabricated top-hat beam with concrete slab [1]. Under the influence of the
Nordic popularity for the type of construction, practical and simple form of slim floors, proposed using
universal columns with welled bottom plate, hot-rolled asymmetric sections and RHS with welled
welded plate, were eventually introduced from the early 90’s in the UK [2]. In terms of the
configuration of floor slab, precast hollow concrete floor unit was initially introduced to be used for the
secondary direction under two way spanning. However, due to relatively high self-weight, profiled
steel deep decking becomes eventually to be the major partner.
In Korea, the British style of slim floor system, using hot-rolled asymmetric section with deep steel
decking, has been introduced since early 2000s, in accordance with an introduction of a performance-
based fire design concept. Multi-storey buildings occupy approximately 53% of the domestic
residential buildings in 2005 [3], estimated to increase over 60% within following 10 years. Since 50%
of the multi-storey residential buildings are greater than 10 storeys [4] (recently becomes more
common 25 plus storeys buildings), the type of buildings has been typically constructed including at
least two-storey underground spaces, which is often used for car parking spaces or other general
purposes. With respect to the high cost of the underground excavation under a solid rock geological

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58 Sengkwan Choi, Faris Ali, Ali Nadjai, Sanghoon Han and Joungyoon Choi

situation of the region, the proposed slim floor structure has been appeared as an optimistic solution for
the application. Certainly, it is also highly competitive option for the floors above the ground level in
the high-rise buildings.
This study proposes a finite element model to investigate the structural behavior of slim floor
structures in fire. Further, a pilot study is numerically conducted to envisage an effect of a cross-
sectional modification on the performance response. The structural response of a model of slim floor
composite beam in fire is also examined under various levels of loading.

Figure 1. Typical floor system of the slim beam

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Comprehensive amount of experimental and numerical research has been widely conducted to
investigate the structural performance of slim floor systems at ultimate limit state under various
considerations, such as composite actions formed between embedded steel section and concrete, plastic
section capacity, contribution of beam to column connection, development of design method [5-8].
With respect to the effect of robustness of shear bond under repeated working loading and web
openings, flexural section capacity of slim floor fabricated and asymmetric beams at ultimate limit state
was also experimentally investigated in detail to deliver a design guidance [9-10].
Fire resistance of various types of the slim floor has been widely tested for simply supported 4.2 m
beams, which is under 3-sided exposure against the standard ISO fire. Early experiments on the
structure, composed of unprotected UC 254×254×73 & 89 and a precast concrete slab, demonstrated
the way of application to contain a practically feasibility with a good performance against fire [11].
Midspan deflection and temperature development across the cross section were experimentally
measured for eight loaded slim floor beams in fire, made using unprotected UC sections with welded
plate. By adapting analytical approach based on the results, design recommendations were suggested
for this type to be used without any insulation for 60 minutes of fire resistance period [12, 13]. Two
standard fire tests, conducted on partially encased asymmetric steel sections (280 ASB 100 and 300
ASB 153) in a deep concrete deck, suggested that carefully designed ASB sections also offered a 60-
minute fire resistance without any application of additional insulation [9]. In order to identify the
continuity effect in a whole structure, a natural fire test was conducted on full-scale slim floor at
Cardington [14], which has 12.2 m z 12.2 m floor consisting of 4 bays each 6.1 m × 6.1 m. The floor
system incorporates 280 ASB 100, RHS 250×150×8 with welded bottom plate (260×15) and T-section
(191×229×49) with 295mm deep NWC composite slab. The ASB and RHS slim beams demonstrate
much better in-fire performance than predictions estimated from the previous small scale tests.

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering

Jayasree.G, Lakshmipathy.M and Santhanaselvi.S 59

In accordance with the progress of the experimental investigations, parametric approaches have been
made to provide a reliable numerical solution to extend its in-fire performance beyond the limitations
induced by experimental methods. With an extension of a two-nodded element for an ASB section
modeling on the basis of an existing purposed written FE package VULCAN [15, 16], subframe
behaviour of slim floor structures in fire are shown a good agreement with the test results obtained from
Cardington frame test and investigated in further to take account of the effect of various rotational
stiffness levels of beam to column connections [17]. Using a more accurate two-nodded element in
correlation with an effective-stiffness slab element in the same FE software, 3D behaviour of the slim
floor at the Cardington was numerically investigated during the whole period of the natural fire [18].
By adapting commercial FE software ABAQUS, the structural behaviour of multi-storey slim floor
frame and 3D floor including supporting columns subjected to fire are conducted to identify the vertical
deflection, lateral deformation and thermal stresses developed by structural interaction [19].

3. COMPARATIVE STUDY FOR ASYMMETRIC SLIM FLOOR BEAM IN FIRE

By using the structural FE software, VULCAN, which has been validated through extensive research
projects for structural response of composite structures at elevated temperatures, the reliability of the
numerical prediction of slim floor beam in fire is inspected by comparison with two standard fire tests
of the Korean asymmetric composite beam. A generalized two-noded line beam element was adapted
to create the cross-section of the composite beam. The standard fire resistance test of the Korean
asymmetric composite beam, conforming to KSF2257-6 [20], was conducted at Korea Institute of
Construction Technology in 2007 (Fig. 2). Two simply supported asymmetric steel sections of SB336
(depth: 336 mm, bottom flange: 240 mm × 30 mm, top flange: 350 mm × 30 mm) were embedded to
normal weight concrete slab resting on deep steel decking (250 mm depth). The span was 4200 mm
length and 525 mm width (span/8) under four point loadings which induces load ratio of 0.30 and 0.15.
The yield strength of the steel coupons was measured to be 317 N/mm2 and the 28-day compressive
strength of the concrete was 25 N/mm2. Under the three-sided exposure to the standard fire, the
midspan deflection and temperature development of the steel cross-section were recoded.
The cross section of the composite beam was numerically modeled by 20 × 20 segments, as shown
in Fig. 3, without any slip between the steel and the concrete. In terms of the temperature development
across the section subjected to fire, beam and slab zones were considered separately. Temperature
variation in the vertical direction of the beam zone was interpolated from the test results based on
thermocouple readings (Figs. 3 and 4(a)). A thermal analysis was conducted by using a heat transfer
FE software [21], to generate the temperature development in the slab zone (Fig. 4(b)). The moisture
content was taken to be 4.0 % of the concrete weight and coefficients of heat transfer were chosen from
generic data given by Purkiss [22]. It was assumed that the temperature is uniform in a horizontal
direction of layers within each zone. The temperature development of the steel section investigated by
the numerical study demonstrates a good agreement with experimental results.
The mechanical and thermal properties of steel and concrete were formulated according to Eurocode
3 Part 1.2 [23] and Eurocode 4 Part 1.2 [24]. The tensile strength of concrete was taken into account
by adopting the series of stress-strain curves proposed by Rots et al. [25] and tested by Huang [26] and
Cai [27]. As shown in Fig. 5, the stress-strain relationship is modelled as linear up to the peak tensile
strength, ft(q)=0.3321√fc(q) [28] where fc(q) is the compressive cylinder strength. Beyond this strain,
a bilinear curve is assumed for tensile strain-softening after cracking [29]. The comparison of midspan
defection between the numerical results and test data is shown in Fig. 6. Under both of loading
conditions, it can be demonstrated that the proposed model is capable of predicting the in-fire
performance of the structural system to a reasonably accurate level. Therefore, this model is adopted
to investigate the asymmetric composite beam to be applied for the further study. With respect to a
realistic application range of the load ratio, up to 0.6, the structural performance of the model was
numerically envisaged as shown in Fig. 7. The results indicate that, in order to satisfy the stability
criteria of span/20 deflection during 60 minutes of fire resistance period, the load ratio of the model
needs to be maintained below 0.54 at which the bottom flange reaches a temperature of 681 oC.

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2011

60 Sengkwan Choi, Faris Ali, Ali Nadjai, Sanghoon Han and Joungyoon Choi

Conventional calculation method of the positive bending moment resistance for composite beams in
fire proposes that the residual section capacity of the test model is typically met to the imposed loadings
in a vicinity of span/42 deflection and the deflection rate enhances significantly afterward. The critical
point is represented by square hollow marks in Fig. 7.

Figure 2. Structural configuration in the fire test

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering

Jayasree.G, Lakshmipathy.M and Santhanaselvi.S 61

20@2
= 40.0mm

15@2
=30.0mm
10@2
=20.0mm
6.0mm

Figure 3. Numerical modeling of the symmetric half of the cross section

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2011

62 Sengkwan Choi, Faris Ali, Ali Nadjai, Sanghoon Han and Joungyoon Choi

9
8
7
6
5

Figure 4. Temperature distribution of the cross section

Figure 5. Stress-strain relationship of concrete in tension at elevated temperatures

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering

Jayasree.G, Lakshmipathy.M and Santhanaselvi.S 63

Figure 6. Comparison of test results with computer predictions for ASB slim beam
in fire

Figure 7. Midspan deflection of 4.2m ASB slim beam in fire under various loadings

4. PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT OF ASYMMETRIC SLIM FLOOR BEAM IN

FIRE
The considered cross section of the asymmetric beam was developed for its optimal application at the
ultimate and service limit states, but not at fire limit state. Although the previous numerical
investigation demonstrates that the current configuration may provide a 60 minutes fire resistance up
to a load ratio of 0.54, performance enhancement from the cross-sectional optimization would be
beneficial in relation to a severe 3 hours fire resistance requirement for high-rise buildings in Korea. In
practice, a capacity of manufacturing facilities and typically combined appliance of ASB with deep
steel decking may restrict to modify the overall depth of the ASB section. However, a thickness
adjustment of flanges and web could be achieved in a relatively easy way. This study is hence organized
to investigate a pilot sensitivity study of the effect of partial thickness modification of the section on its

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2011

64 Sengkwan Choi, Faris Ali, Ali Nadjai, Sanghoon Han and Joungyoon Choi

performance in fire. There are four types of modification proposed to be numerically investigated for
a 4.2m indicative composite beam model subjected to the standard ISO fire. The test model under a
load ratio of 0.6, explained in the previous chapter, is adapted as a proto type. In order to quantify the
effect of a non-linear temperature distribution across the composite section, Type I and II were designed
to have double thickness of web section for the top and bottom half of the original section respectively.
These modifications increase the cross sectional area by 11% and plastic moment capacity by 5% and
3% respectively. Type III and IV were amended to have a double thickness of entire web and a 1.5
times of thickness of bottom flange respectively. These cases increase the cross sectional area by 22%
and plastic moment capacity by 10%.
According to the section modification, the imposed loading was adjusted to deliver a consistent load
ratio of 0.6 for all of the cases. The midspan deflection of the models is shown in Fig. 8. Although the
plastic neutral axis exits within bottom half of the ASB beam of the composite section at ULS, the
results obtained from Type I and II represent that the thickness increase of the bottom half of the web
would induce a significantly better in-fire performance of the model. This is due to the location of the
plastic neutral axis near the top flange after 50 minutes in the duration of the fire test. Since the bottom
flange experiences a severe temperature increase (i.e. beyond 620oC at 50 minutes), the results from
Type III and IV tell that web modification would work more effectively to improve the fire resistance.
Interestingly, it is identified by comparison of Type II and III that, under simply supported condition,
the considered model may not be expected to achieve a performance enhancement by the thickness
increase in the top half of web.

Fig. 8. Midspan deflection of modified composite slim beam in fire

5. CONCLUSIONS
The work presented a numerical study to predict the structural performance of slim floor composite
beams in fire. The model, divided into beam and slab zones for temperature simulations, was verified
using experimental data from loaded ASB slim beam tests in fire. The effect of the load ratio was
discussed with respect to the stability criteria of span/20 and the moment resistance, assessed by using
the conventional sagging moment method, was attained at a deflection of span/42. To further expand,
based on the partial thickness modification of the ASB section, the in-fire performance of the composite
beam, under a load ratio of 0.6, demonstrated to achieve a 60 minutes of fire resistance without any
application of insulation. In particular, it was identified that the bottom half of web is the most effective
area to enhance the resistance. The knowledge gained can be used to develop optimal fire designs for
the structural system using performance-based design methods.

Journal of Structural Fire Engineering

Jayasree.G, Lakshmipathy.M and Santhanaselvi.S 65

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Hyundai Steel Ltd. and KICM in the research
programme of which this study forms a part.

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