CASE STUDY: FEASIBILITY STUDY 3-D NUMERICAL MODELLING OF MIXED USE MULTISTOREY BUILDIUNGS

In general, when the structure is exposed to high temperatures, such as in a fire situation, the physical and resistance characteristics of the materials employed in the structure deteriorate as the temperature increases. This fact promotes a considerable loss in the bearing capacity and stiffness of the structural system. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the whole-building behaviour of the multi-storey buildings under the fire condition. A 3-D Finite Element global model is proposed to simulate the whole building behaviour under fire conditions using SAFIR advanced FE software. The mechanical and thermal material nonlinearities of the structural members, such as the structural steel members, concrete slabs and reinforcing bars were included in the model. The structural analyses were conducted under nominal fire condition (ISO834 standard fire), for all the unprotected elements, while for the ones protected with intumescent coating a curve which stops at 200°C is considered, based on literature reference [4]. To reduce the computational time, the substructure analysis is adopted, according to Eurocode. The aim of the substructure analysis is to
evaluate the structural fire response through the modelling of significant parts of the entire structure.