FIRE RESISTANCE OF SLIM FLOOR BEAMS, FROM EXPERIMENTAL WORK TO SIMPLE FIRE DESIGN METHODS

Response of the slim floor beams at elevated temperatures has fascinated various researchers and several investigations have been conducted to understand and analyse their behaviour in fire. The results obtained from the previous investigations have shown that these beams offer a higher fire resistance in comparison with the traditional steel-concrete composite beams. Although several investigations have been conducted to analyse the response of slim floors in fire, limited attempts have been made to devise simple fire design methods. This study is initiated to devise simple fire design methods for slim floor beams. An experimental investigation is initially conducted to analyse the response of slim floor beams in fire while the response exhibited during the test is replicated through numerical modelling. The validated numerical modelling method is later used to conduct a parametric study to investigate the response of slim floor beams under different degrees of utilisation. Using the results from the parametric study, simple fire design methods are devised by establishing a relationship between the degree of utilisation and their fire resistance. The proposed fire design method is the state-of-the-art and will serve as a design tool for future use. The proposed fire design method will contribute to the current database of knowledge and will reduce the current fire protection requirements and associated finances in addition to providing a better understanding on the behaviour of slim floor beams exposed to elevated temperatures.