Simulating the Coupled Fire-Thermal Structural Response of Complex Building Assemblies. (POSTER ABSTRACTS)
Simulating the Coupled Fire-Thermal Structural Response
of Complex Building Assemblies. (POSTER ABSTRACTS)
(101 K)
Prasad, K. R.; Baum, H. R.
POSTER ABSTRACTS;
Fire Safety Science. Proceedings. Eighth (8th)
International Symposium. (POSTER ABSTRACTS).
International Association for Fire Safety Science
(IAFSS). September 18-23, 2005, Beijing, China, Intl.
Assoc. for Fire Safety Science, Boston, MA, Gottuk, D.
T.; Lattimer, B. Y., Editor(s), 1647-1647 p., 2005.
Keywords:
fire research; fire safety; fire science; structural
response; structural design; structures; fire dynamics;
thermal environment; methodology
Abstract:
There has been a resurgence of interest in the response
of building structures to fires over the past several
years. Typically, simulations of thermally induced
structural response are de-coupled from fire dynamics.
The thermal environment in such simulations is specified
by a time temperature curve and attention is confined to
the structural response (stress analysis) to spatially
uniform enclosure temperatures. As a result the
structural response of the building to spatially and
temporally varying fires can not be studied. Simulation
of the effects of severe fires on the structural
integrity of building requires a close coupling between
the gas phase energy release and transport phenomena and
the stress analysis in the load bearing materials. A
methodology has been developed for coupling the Fire
Dynamics Simulator with finite element methods for
predicting the coupled thermal - structural response of
structural components and assemblies. A simple radiative
transport model that assumes the compartment is divided
into a hot, soot laden upper layer and a cool relatively
clear lower layer is employed to account for sub-grid
structural members. Finite element models are developed
for the critical structural components and the role of
imperfection in fireproofing is demonstrated. An
interface is constructed for mapping the results of the
thermal analysis on the structural components to predict
the spatially varying body loads. The methodology is
employed to predict the thermo-structural response of
complex building assemblies.
