Investigation of fire impact on structural steel through case studies

by Nacewicz, Rebecca Marie.

Death of firefighters due to structural collapse has been on the rise for the past few years, and has not gone unnoticed by the research and firefighting branches of the industry. However, the modes for improving this situation by both are very different. While firefighters depend on experience for detection, research organizations have invested in developing new technology to detect signs of structural collapse. Thus far neither effort has led to any improvement in the current circumstances. In order to bridge this gap, members of the fire-safety community need to more thoroughly understand the reasons for structural collapse due to fire. Through research and analysis, a case study manual analyzing structural steel failures due to fire was developed. This manual contains analysis of the actual mode of failure for the cases chosen, as well as analysis of alternative situations for each case that may have led to different outcomes. The goal of this manual is to aid in the teaching and practice of structural steel collapse due to fire as a supplement to current knowledge. ii