This paper reports on two experiments conducted in a fire resistance furnace to study the differences in the boundary conditions, the fire dynamics and the fuel required to run the furnace when a combustible timber specimen as opposed to a non-combustible concrete specimen is tested. In both experiments measurements were taken in the furnace to evaluate the difference in the environments of the furnace and the response of the elements being tested. These include non-control plate thermometers distributed throughout the furnace; O2, CO2 and CO gas measurements taken at different distances from the specimen surface and in the furnace exhaust; instrumentation of one of the bricks comprising the furnace lining with thermocouples at different depths from the exposed surface; and mass loss of the combustible timber specimen. Thermal exposure of elements in a furnace is discussed, as well as the impact of the different materials on the similarity of thermal exposure. This is done through analysis and discussion of the different measurements taken and the apparent influence of the specimen being tested on the boundary condition of the heat diffusion equation. We conclude that; (1) the fire dynamics in a furnace are dependent on the specimen being tested; (2) that the test with the combustible specimen requires less fuel flow to the burners such that the control plate thermometers follow the ISO 834 temperature–time curve compared to the non-combustible specimen, however that this is not only a result of the combustibility of the specimen but is also a consequence of the different thermal inertia of the two materials; (3) that the boundary condition for heat transfer to a test object in furnace tests is dependent on the properties of the specimen being tested; and (4) that the timber when placed on the furnace experiences smouldering combustion after the char layer has formed. A fire resistance test of combustible construction of a given period represents a significantly less onerous test in terms of energy absorbed or fuel made available than one of a non-combustible construction, implying that the existing fire resistance framework may not be appropriate for timber structures and that an alternative approach may be required.

We present the application of a simple probabilistic methodology to determine the reliability of a structural element exposed to fire when designed following Eurocode 1-1-2 (EC1). Eurocodes are being used extensively within the European Union in the design of many buildings and structures. Here, the methodology is applied to a simply-supported, reinforced concrete slab 180 mm thick, with a standard load bearing fire resistance of 90 min. The slab is subjected to a fire in an office compartment of 420 m2 floor area and 4 m height. Temperature time curves are produced using the EC1 parametric fire curve, which assumes uniform temperature and a uniform burning condition for the fire. Heat transfer calculations identify the plausible worst case scenarios in terms of maximum rebar temperature. We found that a ventilation-controlled fire with opening factor 0.02 m1/2 results in a maximum rebar temperature of 448°C after 102 min of fire exposure. Sensitivity analyses to the main parameters in the EC1 fire curves and in the EC1 heat transfer calculations are performed using a one-at-a-time (OAT) method. The failure probability is then calculated for a series of input parameters using the Monte Carlo method. The results show that this slab has a 0.3% probability of failure when the compartment is designed with all layers of safety in place (detection and sprinkler systems, safe access route, and fire fighting devices are available). Unavailability of sprinkler systems results in a 1% probability of failure. When both sprinkler system and detection are not available in the building, the probability of failure is 8%. This novel study conducts for the first time a probabilistic calculation using the EC1 parametric curve, helping engineers to identify the most critical design fires and the probabilistic resistance assumed in EC1. 

ABSTRACT The use of glass as a structural material has increased in the built environment over the last decades. Despite the large number of research projects and studies, it still poses difficulties in structural design. This particularly applies to the behaviour of glass in fire and under elevated temperatures since the available data on temperature dependent mechanical and thermal properties of glass is still limited. This contribution provides a brief overview of material properties of glass at elevated temperature and elaborates on current requirements for the fire safety included in standards.

No consensus currently exists on how to measure and evaluate Critical Infrastructure (CI) resilience. Attempting to use the public’s declared coping capacity as a target for CI resilience, this paper explores how to develop relevant resilience performance measurements that enable comparison to the tolerance levels of the general public. To do so, one must first establish the normal performance of the system and the applicable performance measures. Then, a survey is used to convert public perception into these measures as to enable comparison with the technical resilience performance. The CI resilience will be presented through a family of so-called resilience triangles which will illustrate the evolution of the performance, before, during and after a crisis event. A case study of the Municipal Water Network of Barreiro, Portugal, is used. The overall performance is preferably described with the categories quality, quantity and delivery. In quantifying the performance the importance of what is being assessed, to what hazard and for which end-user became evident.

The objective of this project was to address a request from the Standing Committee of Construction (SCC) to provide EC Member States regulators with a means to regulate the fire performance of façade systems based on a European approach agreed by SCC.

Resilience of Critical Infrastructure (CI) has been a research focus for several years now, with efforts being made to develop methods for the analysis and assessment of CI resilience. However, these efforts are often carried out without consideration of enriching societal risk or resilience assessments with knowledge of the resilience of CI. Bearing in mind that the definition of CI according to the EU reflects the fact that it exists to deliver vital societal functions, the consideration of its resilience in isolation of the community it serves is only addressing part of the problem. The Horizon 2020 project IMPROVER has already developed methodologies for assessing and managing CI resilience. This paper proposes an evolution of the management framework for CI resilience which enriches societal resilience assessment with knowledge of the CI resilience. The framework and societal resilience analysis methodology are both described along with an application of the analysis method.

Glass has been overwhelmingly used for windows and facades in modern constructions, for many practical reasons, including thermal, energy, light and aesthetics. Nevertheless, due to the relatively low tensile strength and mostly brittle behaviour of glass, compared to other traditional materials, as well as to a multitude of interacting structural and non-structural components, windows/facades are one of the most fragile and vulnerable components of buildings, being representative of the physical line of separation between interior and exterior spaces. As such, multidisciplinary approaches, as well as specific fail-safe design criteria and analysis methods are required, especially under extreme loading conditions, so that casualties and injuries in the event of failure could be avoided and appropriate safety levels could be guaranteed. In this context, this paper presents a review of the state of art on analysis and design methods in use for glass facades, with careful consideration for extreme loading configurations, including natural events, such as seismic events, extreme wind or other climatic exposures, and man-made threats, i.e. blast loads and fire. Major results of available experimental outcomes, current issues and trends are also reported, summarising still open challenges.

This report is a summary of the Tisova fire test, conducted in the Czech Republicin January 2015. It is the first of two reports into these test, and describes thebuilding, the experimental setup and discusses the results obtained on the day ofthe test. The results are discussed with a specific focus on the travelling nature ofthe fire in the building, since one of the objectives of the test was to provide anexperimental data set for validation of traveling fire models. To this end theproject was partially successful, since as is discussed a number of factorscontributed to slow fire spread and the need to alter the conditions of the testwhile it was ongoing by adding a mixture of diesel and gasoline to part of the fuelbed. This was needed in order to ensure that the test fulfilled the second of itsmain objectives – to provide a dataset of the response of a real structure exposedto a structurally challenging fire for the purposes of carrying out a round robinexercise of the response. This round robin will be reported in the second of thisreport series.Key conclusions from the test were that while we observed a travelling fire, thefire dynamics which lead to this and which contribute to the evolution of such afire need to be better understood.

This report is the second of two reports into the Tisova fire test. It compares the results of three different groups’ attempts to model the temperature response of the structure in Tisova which was subject to a large scale travelling fire test. Generally it is observed that the different approaches have relatively close results, although one shows systematically hotter temperatures closer to the heated surface than the others; and differences between all three increase further from the heated surface.A comparison between the average calculated results and the experimental results is also shown for illustration. While an absolute comparison is not attempted because of experimental errors present the results do show the possible need for further data to support the heat transfer analysis required to carry out structural design for travelling fires.

Fire resistance is an important characteristic for all building structures regardless the building materials used. Methods for fire resistance testing were developed already before 1900 to measure the response of the structure in fire and compare different products. In the last decade, the increased popularity of timber buildings has led to a renewed interest in the performance of timber structures in fire and timber products were frequently tested in furnaces. Currently, some discussions question the validity of furnace test results for timber members which are carried out according to standards. Generally, it was stated that combustible and incombustible products are exposed to different thermal exposures when tested in furnaces or exposed in real fires. Additionally, some experts think that massive timber elements, e.g. cross-laminated timber (CLT), cannot be tested in furnaces as these products increase the fire load and, thus, statements in the framework of fire resistance testing are not possible. This paper investigates the validity of furnace resistance testing for combustible products and its limitations. It is shown that, firstly, the thermal exposure in fire resistance tests of incombustibles and combustibles is similar. Secondly, in addition to thermal exposure, the term fire exposure should be introduced where the oxygen concentration is described as the oxygen concentration significantly influences the behaviour of combustible material in fires. Thirdly, the furnace and compartment environment in flash-over fires is similar with respect to this fire exposure. Finally, it is not possible to directly use furnace test results to predict a compartment response in real fires including the cooling phase but recent investigations indicate that results from fire resistance tests can be used to predict burn-out when the mass loss of the timber specimen is measured.