Fire Safety Journal 20 (1993) 135-149

Evaluation of the Fire Resistance of Compression

Members Using Mathematical Models
T. T. L i e
National Fire Laboratory, Instttute for Research m Construction, National Research
Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA 0R6
&

M. C h a b o t

Canadian Steel Construction Council, 10867 Clark, Montreal, Quebec,

Canada, H3L 2S9
(Received September 1990; revised version recetved 5 December 1991;
accepted 12 December 1991)

ABSTRACT

This paper deals with the research work being conducted at the Institute
for Research in Construction of the National Research Council of
Canada to develop mathemattcal models for the calculatzon of the fire
reststance of compression members, such as concrete walls, columns
made with steel and concrete and compostte steel-concrete columns.
The various steps tn the calculation procedure, namely the calculation
of fire temperature and the thermal and structural response of the
members, are dtscussed. Comparisons of results obtamed with the
models and test results are also shown for various types of columns.

1 INTRODUCTION

Calculation of the fire resistance of a m e m b e r is similar to design for

structural purposes. W h e r e a s in structural design the use of calculation
methods is well established, this is not yet the case m the area of fire
resistance.
Recently, there has been rapid progress in the field of theoretical
prediction of fire resistance. In particular, the use of numerical
techniques and a better k n o w l e d g e of material properties at elevated
temperatures have contributed to the rapid d e v e l o p m e n t of these
methods.
135
© 1992 National Research Council of Canada
136 T T L,e, M. Chabot

For a number of years, the National Research Council of Canada

(NRCC) has been engaged in studies, both theoretical and experimen-
tal, to determine the fire resistance of compression members. With the
support of the North American steel industry, these studies have in
recent years focused on concrete-filled hollow steel columns.
This paper describes the procedures and mathematical models
developed at the NRCC to predict the fire resistance of building
members subjected to compression loading. Comparisons between the
temperatures, deformations and fire resistances predicted by these
models and those measured during tests are also presented for
protected steel columns, reinforced concrete columns and concrete-
filled steel columns.

2 CALCULATION PROCEDURE

The calculation of fire resistance is performed in three steps:

(1) calculation of the fire temperature,
(2) calculation of the temperatures in the fire-exposed structural
member, and
(3) calculation of the strength of the member during the exposure
to fire, including an analysis of stress and strain distribution.
Each of these steps is discussed.

2.1 Fire temperature

The fire temperature course can be determined from a heat balance for
the room under consideration, taking into account the heat produced
and the heat losses to the enclosure and through the openings. One of
the earliest studies to calculate fire temperatures m enclosures ~s
described m Ref. 1. Based on these studies, NRCC has developed
temperature-time relationships that characterise the severity of real-
world fire as a function of the important factors that determine it.
Further developments m the prediction of fire temperatures are
described in Ref. 2.
The temperature courses of fires can vary widely. The two most
important factors that determine the fire temperature course are the fire
load and the size of the openings through which combustion air can
enter. Figure 1 shows how the fire loads affects fire temperatures,
primarily in relation to the duration of the fire. The openings in a
compartment affect both the duration and the intensity of the fire (Fig.
 Fzre resistance of compression members 137

1400 I I I I I I I

1200
O
o

uJ" 1000
¢r
800
rr
uJ
600
13_ Fireload i
HJ
400
I--
200
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
TIME, h
Fig. 1. Influence of fire load on fire temperature course.

2). The u p p e r m o s t curve in Fig. 2 represents fires of high t e m p e r a t u r e

but short duration, such as would occur when the window area of a
r o o m is large. The lowest curve Is typical of a fire m a r o o m with a
relatively small window area. Detailed expressions for the prediction of
the fire temperature, as a function of the significant factors, are given in
Ref. 3.
It is possible to calculate the p e r f o r m a n c e of structural m e m b e r s
when e x p o s e d to these fires, which resemble real world fires. A t

1200 [ ' I , I ,
I
1000 I-Large opening factor _ _
oo I//~......~ ......... "S~andard curve
800

600

400

200

0
0 1 2 3
TIME, h
Fig. 2. Influence of opening factor on fire temperature course
138 T T Lte, M. Chabot

present, however, most calculations and tests are based on exposure to

the standard A S T M or ISO fire, 4"5 shown by the dotted line in Fig. 2.

2.2 Temperature of member

The next step in the p r o c e d u r e ~s to calculate the t e m p e r a t u r e s of the

member. In the calculation, it is assumed that heat is transferred to the
m e m b e r predominantly by radiation.
W~thin the fire-exposed m e m b e r , the t e m p e r a t u r e distribution is
determined by a finite difference method. 6 In this m e t h o d , the
cross-section of the m e m b e r is dwlded into a n u m b e r of elemental
regions which may have various shapes such as squares, triangles or
layers, d e p e n d m g on the geometry of the m e m b e r 7,~
For square concrete columns, a convenient a r r a n g e m e n t of these
regions is a combination of squares and triangles as illustrated in Fig. 3,
where a one-e~ghth sectton of the column is shown. The elements are
square reside the column and triangular at the surface.
For each element or layer, a heat balance is undertaken. By solving
the heat balance equations for each element or layer, the t e m p e r a t u r e
history of the m e m b e r can be calculated, if the t e m p e r a t u r e - d e p e n d e n t
thermal properties of the materials, of which the m e m b e r ~s composed,
are known.

P1,1 P 1,3

\
Y \
/ \
)\ \
\

Fig. 3. The arrangement of the elements in a one-eighth sechon of column.

 Ftre reststance of compression members 139

The effect of moisture in materials, such as concrete and fire

protecting insulation, is taken into account by assuming that, in each
element, the moisture starts to evaporate when the temperature reaches
IO0°C. All the heat supplied to the element is used for evaporation
until the element is dry.

2.3 Strength of member

In the third step, a stress-strain analysis is conducted to determine the

strength of the column during exposure to fire. The strength of the
member, i.e. the maximum load that it can carry, is determined by an
iterative method based on a load-deflection or stability analysis.
In this method, a column is ldealised as pin-ended with an effective
length KL, where K is the effective length factor and L the unsup-
ported length of the column (Fig. 4). The eccentricity of the load on the
column is e. The curvature of the column is assumed to vary from
pin-end to mid-height according to a straight line relation as dlustrated
in Fig. 4. The lateral deflection at mid-height, Y, in terms of the
curvature at mid-height, %, is given by

(KL) 2
Y= Z 12 (1)

DEFLECTION CURVATURE

. . . . KL

L/2 /
_L

Fig. 4. Load deflection analysis

140 T T Lte, M. Chabot

To determine the stress-strain distribution in the critical cross-sect~on

at mid-height, the cross-sectional area of the column is subdivided into
a number of elements. As an example, in Fig. 5 an arrangement of
elements is shown for a quarter section of a circular concrete-filled
hollow steel column.
During exposure to fire, each element will be subjected to deforma-
tions resulting from thermal expansion, compression and bending. The
stress-related strata of each element, E, i.e. the strain determining the
stress, is obtained by adding the different strain components as follows:

E = E .... I + Ebendlng -- ~'th .... I (2)

To stmplify fire calculations, the following assumptions are made:
(1) there is no slip between steel and concrete,
(2) plane sections remain plane,
(3) the strata distribution ts linear, and
(4) the concrete has no tensile strength.
With these assumpttons and the aid of stress-strain relationships at
elevated temperatures (such as those shown in Figs 6 and 7 for steel and

BOUNDARY
STEEL - CONCRETE

Fig. 5. Arrangements of elements m quarter section of concrete-filled hollow steel

column.
 Fire resistance of compresston members 141

500 I I I I

T = 20 °C

400

T = 200°C

300
T = 400°C

200
T = 600 °C

100 f T = 800 °C

0 I I I I
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0 05

STRAIN, m / m
Fig. 6. S t r e s s - s t r a t a curves for steel at various temperatures_

40 i i i i

T = 20 °C

30 ~
0 °C

20

10

0
0 01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05

STRAIN, m / m
Fig. 7. S t r e s s - s t r a i n curves for c o n c r e t e at various t e m p e r a t u r e s
142 T T Lte, M_ Chabot

normal-weight concrete, respectively), the stress m each element can be

determined. S o m e creep effect is included m these stress-strata curves.
To determine the strength of the column during the exposure to fire,
successive iterations of e .... ~ and Y are performed unttl the internal
moment at the mid-section is m equdibrlum with the applied m o m e n t ,
given by
Load × (deflection + eccentricity) (3)
The strength of the column decreases with the duration of fire
exposure. The fire resistance is derived by determining the t~me at

r CALCULATIONOF I_
FIRE TEMPERATURE 1~

THERMAL CALCULATION OF
PROPERTIES MEMBER TEMPERATURES

1
AXIAL STRAIN

/STRESS-STRAIN~_~J
,l
CALCULATION OF L.
RELATIONS / - I STRAINS AND STRESSES [
i

CHANGE
CURVATURE
AND AXIAL
STRAIN

INCREASE
TIME

Fig. 8. Flow chart of calculation procedure

 Fire resistance of compression members 143

which the strength of the m e m b e r becomes less than the load to which
the column is subjected.
The calculation p r o c e d u r e is illustrated in the flow chart shown in
Fig. 8.

3 DISCUSSION
A significant n u m b e r of tests have been carried out on protected steel
columns, reinforced concrete columns and concrete-filled steel columns,
exposed to either standard fires or fires that resemble real-world fires.
800 I I I I I I I

Calculated
600 l[ ~ Measured -
; ~ Column 305 x 305 mm _
400

200

0 I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I
o
o

600 -
rr

400
rr
uJ
200
U.l

0 I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I

600 -

400 ~ -

200

0 I I I I I I I
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600
TIME, min
Fig. 9. Temperature at various depths in ~ reinforced concrete column as a function of
ame (fire exposure time 2 h)
144 T T Lie, M. Chabot

To validate or improve the model, the results generated by it are

compared with test results. Usually, comparisons are made between
measured and calculated temperatures, deformations and fire resis-
tances. To undertake such tests, N R C C has several specially designed
furnaces that are capable of simulating the fire and loading conditions
assumed in the mathematical models.
In Fig. 9, calculated concrete temperatures are compared with those
measured at various depths in a reinforced concrete column during a
test to determine the residual strength after exposure to fire. 9 In this
test, the column was exposed to the ASTM standard fire for 2 h and
cooled for more than one day to near ambient temperatures. In Fig. 10,
a comparison is made between calculated and measured steel tempera-
tures in a steel column protected by vermiculite board insulation. ")
These comparisons illustrate that the mathematical models are capable
of predicting, with high accuracy, the temperatures of fire-exposed
members if the thermal properties of the materials are known.
Figure 11 shows, for a typical case, the calculated and measured axial
deformations of a loaded wide flange steel column protected with a
sprayed-on cementit]ous insulation, 1~ and Fig. 12 those of a loaded
reinforced concrete column 7 during exposure to the ASTM standard
fire.
The mathematical models and materml properties used to generate
the calculated curves, shown m Figs 9-12, are described in Refs 7 and
9-11.

1000 I I I i I I I
.....--.'-"'~'\ Furnace
././" "\.temperature
oo 800 •/ \
•/ "\. Steel
/ \ . . temperature
D 600

400 ///~" \\,

,,,//~ \'\'\.\
200 //,,~" Experimental
Calculated
I I I I I I I
0 20 40 60 80 1O0 120 140 160
TIME, min
Fig. 10. Temperature of a protected wide flange steel column as a function of time
(vermiculite board insulation).
 Fire resistance of compression members 145

25 I I I I I I l

Experimental Failure p0mt

20 Calculated ,/I
///

-5 I I I I I I I
0 20 40 60 80 1O0 120 140 160
TIME, mln
Fig. 11. Axial d e f o r m a a o n of a protected wide flange steel column as a function of
exposure time (sprayed cementltlous insulation).

I I I I I

EE6

o o
uJ /
o -2 I-
"J t Measured
-4 Calculated
-6 I I I I I
0 40 80 120 160 200 240
TIME, min
Fig. 12. Calculated and measured axial deformations of reinforced concrete column as
a function of exposure time.
146 T. T. Lte, M. Chabot

1000 • Calculated ... _ ~

~-. . . . Measured~ btee, -
0o 800 ,.""
r /,'~ I "" Concrete. . _,.,
I- / . ~ "-" 35rn--rn - d e ~

4ool- I / .-'"
k /.# / ..~" ~....¢'¢'-" Concrete
200 F A t . , / / . . -" " U J " - 66 mm depth
</ , , ,
0 20 40 60 80 1O0 120 140
TIME, mm
Fig. 13. T e m p e r a t u r e at various d e p t h s m a concrete-filled hollow steel c o l u m n as a
function of e x p o s u r e time (column d i a m e t e r 273 mm)_

Extensive research in several laboratories ~2° has also been carried

out m the modelling of composite columns, such as hollow steel
columns filled with concrete, which is more complex due to the
contribution of both matertals in carrying the load
In Figs 13 and 14, comparisons are shown for the calculated and
measured temperatures and axial deformations of a cyhndrical hollow
steel column filled with unreinforced, siliceous aggregate concrete. 2~ It
can be seen that the model reasonably predicts the fire temperatures,

I I
EE 2025- ~ 1 "~'~-.. I i Calculated
m

z" 15 , ~ , ....
-
Measured
_o lo d

s
-.. ~ - - . . . . . ~ F a l l u re_
rr 0 ~'
0
LL -5-
LM %.

o -10 - N.
\
__

J \
----- -15 - \
X \
< -20 -
-25 I I I
0 2O 4O 60 80 1O0 120 140
TIME, mln
Fig. 14. Axial d e f o r m a t i o n of a concrete-filled hollow steel c o l u m n as a function of
e x p o s u r e time ( c o l u m n d i a m e t e r : 273 ram)
 Fire reststance of compression members 147

TABLE 1
Calculated and Measured Fire Resistances of Various Hollow Steel Columns Filled with
Plain Concrete (Columns Fixed at Both Ends, Unsupported Length = 3-8 m, 28-day
Concrete Strength = 25 MPa)
Outer Steel wall Test load Fire res~tance (mm )
&ameter thickness ( kN)
(ram) (ram) Measured Calculated

141 6-6 110 55 48

168 4-8 218 56 48
219 4-8 492 80 65
273 5-6 525 133 117
356 12-7 1050 170 144

deformations and fire resistance of the column. The differences

b e t w e e n the m e a s u r e d and calculated concrete t e m p e r a t u r e s in the
early stage of the fire result from thermally induced migration of
moisture which is not taken into account in the model. The d e f o r m a t i o n
curves indicate that the m o d e l can simulate the thermal expansion of
the steel during the first 2 0 - 3 0 min of exposure to fire and the gradual
transfer of the load from the steel to the concrete that follows. Near the
failure point, the difference b e t w e e n the m e a s u r e d and calculated
deformation is p r o b a b l y due to two factors: first, the influence of creep,
which is only partially accounted for m the assumed stress-strain
relations and, secondly, the definition of the failure point during the
tests.
In Table 1, a comparison b e t w e e n calculated and m e a s u r e d fire
resistances of concrete-filled hollow steel columns Is shown. These
columns, all of which had an u n s u p p o r t e d length of 3-8 m, were tested
with both ends fixed. It can be seen that there is reasonably good
agreement b e t w e e n calculated and m e a s u r e d fire resistances, although
the calculated fire resistances are, in general, s o m e w h a t conservative
when c o m p a r e d to those m e a s u r e d during the tests. For this particular
case, the differences b e t w e e n the m e a s u r e d and calculated values were
b e t w e e n 10 and 20%.

4 CONCLUSION

R e c e n t d e v e l o p m e n t s of numerical techniques and a better k n o w l e d g e

of material properties at elevated temperatures, have m a d e it possible
to solve many fire resistance p r o b l e m s by calculation.
148 T T. Lte, M_ Chabot

The National Fire L a b o r a t o r y of the Institute for Research m

Construction, N R C C , has d e v e l o p e d several validated mathematical
models for the calculation of the fire resistance of structural m e m b e r s of
concrete and steel with an accuracy which is adequate for practical
purposes.
Using the models, the fire resistance of columns can be calculated for
any value of the significant parameters, such as load, column dimen-
sions and material properties. These calculations can also be used to
demonstrate compliance with building code requirements. The use of
these models will enable the economisatlon of fire resistant construction
and a significant reduction m full-scale fire resistance testing.
At N R C C , the study of individual structural m e m b e r s is now at an
advanced stage. In the next stage of this research, models to predict the
fire resistance of assembhes wdl be developed. Such research has just
c o m m e n c e d at N R C C .

REFERENCES

1 Kawagoe, K. & Seklne, T , Esttmanon of Fire Temperature Ttme Curve m

Rooms. BRI Occasional Report No. 121, Budding Research Institute,
Ministry of Construction, Tokyo, Japan, 1963.
2. Drysdale, D., An Introduction to Fire Dynamws John Wiley and Sons,
Chichester, 1985, pp. 304-50
3. Lie, T. T , SFPE Handbook of Ftre Protection Engineering, Society of
Fire ProtecUon Engineers, 1988, Sectton 3, Chapter 5, pp. 3.81-3-87
4. Standard Methods of Fire Tests of Buddmg Constructton and Materials,
ASTM-El19-83, American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadel-
phia, PA, USA, 1983.
5 Fire Resistance Tests--Elements of Building Construction, International
Standard ISO 834, 1975
6_ Lie, T. T & Harmathy, T. Z , A Numerical Procedure to Calculate the
Temperature of Protected Steel Columns Exposed to Fire. Fire Study No.
28, Division of Building Research, National Research Council of Canada,
NRCC 12535, Ottawa, Canada, 1972
7. Lie, T. T., Lin, T. D , Allen, D. E. & Abrams, M. S , Fire Reststance of
Re,nforced Concrete Columns Division of Budding Research, National
Research Council of Canada, NRCC 23065, Ottawa, Canada, 1984.
8. Lie, T. T., A procedure to calculate fire resistance of structural members
Fire Mater., 8 (1) (1984), 40-8.
9 Lw, T. T , Rowe, T. J. & Lm, T D., Residual Strength of Fire-Exposed
Reinforced Concrete Columns, Evaluatton and Repair of Fire Damage to
Concrete. American Concrete Institute, Detroit, MI, USA, SP92-9, 1986,
pp 153-74
10 Lie, T. T., Temperature distributions in fire-exposed building columns. J.
Heat Trans., 99 (1) (1977) 113-19
 Ftre reststance of compression members 149

11. Lie, T. T. & Macaulay, B. A., Evaluation of the Fire Resistance of

Protected Steel Columns. Internal Report No. 583, Institute for Research
in Construction, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada,
1989.
12. Giddings, T W., Ftre Reszstant Constructzon in SHS--Today and
Tomorrow, Tubes Division, British Steel Corporation, UK, 1979.
13. Grandjean, G., Grimault, J. P. & Petit, L., D~term:natton de la Dur~e au
Feu des Profils Creux Remplis de B~ton, Rapport Final, Recherche
Technique Acler, Commission des Communaut6s Europ6ennes, Luxem-
bourg, 1981.
14. Kordina, E H. K. & Klingsch, W., Brandverhalten von Stahlstiitzen im
Verbund mit Beton und yon masswen Stahlstutzen ohne Beton, Teil 1'
Berlcht, Instltut for Baustoffe, Masslvbau und Brandschutz Lehrstuhl ftir
Massivbau, Technlsche Universit~it Braunschwelg, Germany, 1983.
15. Destgn Manual for SHS Concrete Filled Columns, British Steel Corpora-
tion, Corby Technical Centre, UK, 1984.
16 Schlelch, J. B., Fire Safety Deszgn of Compostte Columns, International
Conference Ftre Safe Steel Constructton: Practtcal Design ARBED-
Recherche, Luxembourg, 1984.
17. Twilt, L., Deszgn Charts for the Fire Resistance of Concrete Filled HSS
Columns under Centrzc Loading. Institut TNO voor Bouwmaterialen en
Bouwconstructies, Delft, Holland, 1988.
18. Kruppa, J., M6thode de pr6vlslon par le calcui du comportement au feu
des poteaux mixtes (acler + b6ton). Constructton M~talhque, 25 (3) (1988),
6-106.
19. Klingsch, W & Wittbecker, F W , Ftre Reststance of Hollow Sectton
Compostte Columns of Small Cross Sections. Bergische Universitat,
Wuppertal, Germany, 1988.
20. Calculation of the Fire Resistance of Centrally Loaded Composite
Steel-Concrete Columns Exposed to the Standard Fire, ECCS-Techmcal
Committee 3---Fire Safety of Steel Structures Techmcal Note, A R B E D
Research Centre, Esk-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, 1988
21. Lie, T. T. & Chabot, M., A method to predict the fire resistance of
concrete filled hollow steel columns. J Ftre Protect. Engng, 2 (4) (1990)
111-26