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PUBLICATIONS

NisrUnited States Department of Commerce

Technology Administration

National Institute of Standards and Technology

NIST Special Publication 919

International Workshop on Fire Performance

ofHigh-Strength Concrete^ NIST^

Gaithersburg, MD, February 13-14, 1997

Proceedings

Long T. Phan, Nicholas J. Carino, Dat Duthinh, and Edward Garboczi

QC

100

.U57

NO. 919

1997
COVER

Fire-induced spalling of concrete and buckling of reinforcement

in the Channel Tunnel due to fire on November 18, 1996

(photo by Paul Acker - Laboratoire Central des Fonts et Chaussees, France)
NIST Special Publication 919

International Workshop on Fire Performance

ofHigh-Strength Concrete^ NISTy

Gaithersburgj MDy February 13-14^ 1997

Proceedings

Editors:

Long T. Phan

Nicholas J. Carino

Dat Duthinh

Edward Garboczi

Building and Fire Research Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

September 1997

U.S. Department of Commerce

William M. Daley, Secretary

Technology Administration

Gary R. Bachula, Acting Under Secretaryfor Technology

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Robert E. Hebner, Acting Director
National Institute of Standards

and Technology

Special Publication 919

Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol.

Spec. Publ. 919

165 pages (Sept. 1997)

CODEN: NSPUE2

U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington: 1997

For sale by the Superintendent

of Documents

U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington, DC 20402
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A workshop on the fire performance of high-strength concrete (HSC) was sponsored by the Building

and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), on

February 13-14, 1997 at NIST facilities in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The organizing committee

included Dr. George C. Hoff of Mobil Technology Company, Mr. Michael P. Gillen of Dupont

Engineering, Dr. S.K. Ghosh of the Portland Cement Association, and Drs. Nicholas J. Carino, H.S.

Lew, and Long T. Phan of NIST. The objective of the workshop was to identify research areas to address issues concerning the fire performance of HSC: namely, (1) the high rate of compressive

strength loss of HSC when exposed to high temperature; (2) the high susceptibility of HSC to explosive spalling; and (3) the current inadequacy of code provisions for design of HSC structures exposed to fire. The workshop participants included leading researchers, representatives of trade

organizations, government regulators from nine different countries, including Canada, Finland,

France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Following the welcoming remarks by Dr. Jack Snell, Deputy Director of BFRL, the workshop

commenced with 13 technical presentations by various researchers. These presentations were

followed by four concurrent working group sessions whose objectives were to develop lists of

research needs in the topic areas of material testing, element testing, analytical studies, and codes

and standards. The workshop concluded with a plenary session where recommended research

needs were summarized by the four working group Chairmen. The following are summaries of the

recommended research needs identified by the four working groups:

Material Tests

(1) Develop an understanding ofthe spalling mechanism(s) and establish a predictive parameter

and standard test method(s) to measure it. A parameter that includes concrete properties such as permeability, tensile strength, porosity, and moisture content has been found to be useful in

predicting susceptibility to spalling of refractory concrete during the de-watering process prior to exposure to refractory temperatures. A similar parameter is desirable and needs to be developed for use in evaluating spalling potential of fire-exposed HSC. Factors that contribute to the occurrence of spalling need to be understood so that methods to mitigate spalling tendency can be developed.

(2) Measurement ofproperties ofHSC as a function oftemperature. Material properties of HSC

need to be measured as functions of temperature to provide input data for numerical models. These

include mechanical properties (compressive strength, elastic modulus, tensile strength, timedependent behavior, and fracture mechanics parameters), transport properties (permeability,

diffussivity, etc.), thermal properties (thermal conductivity, heat capacity, etc.), sorption isotherms,

and water release during dehydration.

(3) Methodsfor evaluating aggregatesfor optimizingfire resistance ofconcrete. Practical methods,

based on aggregate characteristics such as coefficient of thermal expansion and physico-chemical

reactions leading to volume changes, are needed to evaluate different aggregate sources so that those

that can be expected to result in poor performance during fire can be eliminated during the selection

of materials for HSC mixtures to be used in critical structural elements.

Ill
(4) Methods for evaluation offire damage. The applicability of advanced techniques based on

stress-wave propagation (e.g., acoustic tomography and spectral analysis of surface waves),

microwave radiation, and scanning electron microscope (micrographic and chemical analysis) to evaluate the extent of damage after a fire needs to be studied and standards for their used developed.

Element tests

(1) Spalling Mechanisms and Methods to Prevent or Control Spalling. Explosive spalling occurs

inconsistently in fire-exposed HSC test specimens and is not completely understood. It is safe to conclude that material tests alone will not suffice in predicting spalling in reinforced structural

elements, and element tests will be needed so as to be able to include the effects of reinforcement, cover depth, element size and shape in studying the spalling mechanisms and methods to prevent

or control spalling.

(2) Application of Laboratory Test Results to Actual Structures. For normal strength concrete

(NSC), laboratory fire tests have been successfully extrapolated to actual structures. However,

because the fire performance of HSC is not completely understood and predictable, this cannot yet

be done for HSC. Tests, which include scaling laws to account for size effects, are needed to translate reduced scale laboratory tests to full scale prototypes.

(3) Tests ofConnections. Individual members are fire tested much more often than entire firames or joints between members, because of the size and cost associated with the latter. However, these

tests are necessary for understanding and predicting the behavior of critical areas in HSC structures under fire. This is particularly important in the case of connections between columns of HSC and

slabs of NSC.

(4) Determination ofResidual Strength. Most structures damaged by fire do not collapse. However,

they may have to be demolished because of uncertainty about their residual strength. This is true of NSC and HSC. Much can be learned from post-fire evaluations of residual structural capacity.

The effectiveness of repair methods should also be evaluated.

Analytical Studies

(1) Transport Phenomena: (a) Coupled heat and mass transfer leading to pore pressure prediction.

The relationships of pore pressure buildup and thermal stresses to the initiation of spalling of HSC

need to be studied. The observed success of polypropylene fibers in reducing spalling suggest that

pore pressure buildup is a significant factor in the spalling phenomenon. Modeling the heat and mass transfer in HSC should be done to gain an understanding of the spalling process and how fiber can be used to reduce this tendency.

(2) Transport Phenomena: (b) Investigation of new numerical methods to handle the saturatedunsaturated interface zone. The success of different numerical techniques in handling numerical

modeling difficulties that occur at the sharp liquid-vapor interface (saturated-unsaturated) zone in

concrete when heat is applied needs to be studied.

iv
(3) Thermal stress analysis with inclusion offracture mechanics. Analysis of internal stresses in

HSC elements, caused either by thermal stresses or pore pressure buildup, with consideration of

other factors such as creep and shrinkage, must be made in order to determine the relative

importance of thermal stresses and pore pressure on the tendency for spalling. A fracture mechanic

approach may be needed.

(4) Coupling ofpore pressure andfi-acture process. Accurately measuring and predicting pore

pressure buildup during a fire situation is not enough. Experimental data showing that pore pressure

does not drop to zero when a crack forms led to a new approach in analyzing the initiation of

spalling. Thus modeling to predict spalling should include the effect of cracking and interaction

between the pore pressure and the crack.

Codes and Standards

(1) Standard Test Protocols for Engineering Properties of Fire-Exposed HSC. Internationally

accepted protocols for fire testing of HSC, which include guidelines for data collection and

reporting, need to be developed to ensure compatibility of results from different test programs.

(2) Mechanical Properties-Temperature Design Curves for HSC. Existing design curves for

estimating mechanical properties of fire-exposed concrete have been developed based on

experimental data of NSC. These design curves have been shown to be unconservative when

applied to HSC. Thus, mechanical properties-temperature design curves for HSC at high

temperature need to be developed and incorporated into building codes to ensure safety in HSC

structures in the event of a fire. Such design curves would also be helpful for assessing the residual

strength of HSC structures after a fire.

(3) Guidelines for Interpretation of HSC Material Tests and Standard Fire Tests. Engineering

properties of HSC at elevated temperature are obtained by testing HSC cylinders or prisms. The

measured properties are typically related to the temperature measured at the center of the specimens

and are dependent on, among other things, heating rate. Whereas the current standard fire tests, such

as ASTM E 119 and ASTM E 1529, prescribe procedures for testing structural assemblies by

subjecting them to standard ambient temperature-time histories. These standards characterize the

temperature history and duration of exposure inside the test chamber, but not necessarily the

temperature and the rate of temperature development within the assemblies. Thus the results of

material and standard tests are not directly compatible. Guidelines should be developed to relate the

results of these tests.

(4) Guidelines for Selecting Realistic Design Fire Exposures. Current standard fire exposures,

prescribed by ASTM E 119 and E 1529, ISO 834, and JIS A 1304, do not represent likely

temperature histories of real fires. As a result, the exposure conditions specified in these standard

fire test methods are not necessarily representative of the conditions that may exist in real fire scenarios. With the current tendency of moving towards performance-based standards, it is necessary to provide guidance for the selection of realistic design fire exposures which are

particularly suitable for the specific HSC structure being evaluated.
(5) Guidelinesfor Fire Design ofHSC Structural Elements. Guidelines for the fire design of HSC

structural elements, which allow the calculation or assessment of the fire resistance period and load

carrying capacity of structural elements, are not available in U.S. codes and standards. Such

guidelines are desirable and should incorporate the different responses due to differences in

structural element types (beam, column, wall, or slab), HSC engineering properties, applied loads,

and HSC spalling characteristics.

(6) Design Guidelines to Mitigate Spalling in Fire-Exposed HSC. The risk of explosive spalling

in HSC elements may be reduced by using appropriate design detailing , such as optimal sizes and

spacing of transverse reinforcement, concrete cover, etc., and additions such as steel and

polypropylene fibers. The effects of these design details and mixture additions should be studied,

and results should be incorporated into design guidelines to reduce the risk of explosive spalling in

HSC structures during a fire.

vi
CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. NIST WORKSHOP ON FIRE PERFORMANCE OF HSC 3

2.1 Workshop Objectives and Format 3

2.2 Workshop Presentations 4

2.2.1 High-Strength Concrete in Germany - Utilization, Research and

Standardization

Ulrich Diederichs, Germany 4

2.2.2 Fire Test of Normal-Weight/High Performance Concrete in Taiwan

T.D. Lin, Taiwan 5 2.2.3 Fire Resistance and Residual Strength of HSC Exposed to Hydrocarbon Fire

J.J. Jensen, Norway 5

2.2.4 Spalling Phenomena of HPC and OC

Yngve Anderberg, Sweden 6

2.2.5 Fire Damage in the Eurotunnel

Franz-Josef Ulm, France 6

2.2.6 Research Activities in Finland on Fire Resistance of HSC

Ulla-Maija Jumppanen, Finland 7

2.2.7 Studies on the Fire Resistance of HPC at the National

Research Council/Canada

Venkatesh K.R. Kodur, Canada 8

2.2.8 SpalHng of High-Strength LWA Concrete - Cause and Cure

M.P. Gillen, Dupont Engineering 8

2.2.9 Limitations of Current U.S. Standards and Challenges on

Proposed Performance-Based Standards

J. A. Milke, University of Maryland 9

2.2.10 Computational Modeling of Temperature, Pore Pressure, and

Moisture Content in Concrete Exposed to Fire

G. Ahmed, Portland Cement Association 10

2.2.1 1 Analysis of Pore Pressure, Thermal Stress, and Fracture of

Concrete in Rapidly Heated Concrete

Z.P. Bazant, Northwestern University 10

2.2.12 Fire Tests on Normal and High-Strength Reinforced Concrete Columns

Corina-Maria Aldea, Northwestern University 10

2.2.13 Measurement and Prediction of Pore Pressure in Cement Mortar

Subjected to Elevated Temperature

G. Consolazio, Rutgers University 11

vii
3. RESEARCH NEEDS IDENTIFIED BY WORKING GROUPS 13

3.1 Working Group A-1: Material Tests 13

3.1.1 Introduction 13

3.1.2 Research Needs 17

3.2 Working Group A-2: Element Tests 20

3.2.1 Introduction 20

3.2.2 Research Needs 20

3.3 Working Group B: Analytical Studies 23

3.3.1 Introduction 23

3.3.2 Research Needs 23

3.4 Working Group C: Codes and Standards 25

3.4.1 Introduction 25

3.4.2 Research Needs 25

4. RELEVANT RESEARCH PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE 28

4.1 Introduction 28

4.2 Organizations Performing Research and Descriptions of Research Programs 28

4.2. 1 Fire Safety Design (FSD), Lund, Sweden 28

4.2.2 Milan University of Technology, Milan, Italy 29

4.2.3 Institut fiir Baustoffe, Massivbau und Brandschutz (IBMB),

Braunschweig, Germany 30

4.2.4 Portland Cement Association, U.S.A 31

4.2.5 Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees (LCPC), France 32

4.2.6 Rutgers University, U.S.A 33

4.2.7 University of Missouri-Rolla, U.S.A 33

4.2.8 National Research Council-Canada (NRCC) 34

4.2.9 Fire Laboratory of Architecture and Building Research

Institute (ABRI), Taiwan 35

4.2.10 City University, London, U.K 35

4.2.11 SINTEF, Norway 36

4.2.12 VTT, Finland 36

4.2.13 Monash University, Australia 37

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 40

6. REFERENCES 40

APPENDIX A. Workshop agenda/List of participants/Lists of Working Group Members. ... 41

A. 1 Workshop Agenda 43

A.2 Workshop Participants 47

A. 3 List of Participants by Working Groups 51

viii
APPENDIX B. Workshop Papers 53

B. 1 Concrete Fire Test Programs in Taiwan - by T.D. Lin and Sam Chou 55

B.2 Fire Resistance and Residual Strength of HSC Exposed to Hydrocarbon Fire

by J.J. Jensen, T.A. Hammer, and P.A. Hansen 59

B.3 Spalling Phenomena of HPC and OC - by Y. Anderberg 69

B.4 Studies of the Fire Resistance of High-Strength Concrete at the National

Research Council in Canada - by V.K.R. Kodur 75

B.5 Limitation of Current U.S. Standards and Challenges of Proposed

Performance-Based Standards - by J. A. Milke 87

B.6 An Analytical Approach for Investigating the Causes of Spalling of High-Strength

Concrete at Elevated Temperatures - by Gamal N. Ahmed and James P. Hurst 95

B.7 Fire Test on Normal and High-Strength Reinforced Concrete Columns

by Corina-Maria Aldea, Jean-Marc Franssen, and Jean-Claude Dotreppe 1 09

B.8 Measurement and Prediction of Pore Pressure in Cement Mortar Subjected to Elevated Temperature - by G.R. Consolazio, M.C. McVay, and J.W. Rish III .... 125

B.9 Mechanical Properties of Siliceous HSC Subjected to High-Temperature Cycles

by R. Felicetti and P.O. Gambarova 149

B.IO Analysis of Pore Pressure, Thermal Stress, and Fracture in Rapidly Heated

Concrete - by Zdenek P. Bazant 155

ix

1. INTRODUCTION

With the recent increase in use of high-strength concrete (HSC) for building and other structural

applications, a considerable number of studies, which focus on the material properties as well as the

design, manufacturing, and curing aspects of HSC, have been initiated and conducted at various

laboratories worldwide. These studies aim to provide technical data for the full exploitation of HSC

as a superior construction material compared with the conventional normal strength concrete (NSC).

Licluded in these HSC studies are a limited number of studies on the effect of elevated temperatures on the thermal and mechanical properties of HSC. A subset of the elevated temperature studies

includes those where HSC specimens were exposed to increasing temperature and properties were

measured as a function of the temperature. These studies, which used a typical heating rate of about

1 °C/min and a maximum temperature of about 800 °C, were designed to provide an understanding

of the behavior of HSC when exposed to fire conditions. The results of this group of studies have

design implications and were reviewed and reported in NIST publications on the state-of-the-art on

the fire performance of HSC [Phan, 1996; Phan and Carino, 1997]. These publications are part of

the overall research effort on high performance concrete (HPC) at the National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST). The NIST publications compiled and compared test data as well as experimental observations reported by various investigators. Specifically, the NIST publications

outlined and discussed issues concerning the fundamental differences in material properties between

HSC and NSC at elevated temperatures, the increased susceptibility of HSC to explosive spalling

when subjected to rapid heating, and the applicability of existing code provisions to fire design of

concrete structures made of HSC. Three major findings were identified as a result of this data

synthesis:

1 . HSC has a higher rate of compressive strength loss at high temperatures compared with NSC.

The range of temperatures where this difference is most pronounced is between 100 °C and 400

°C.

2. HSC is susceptible to explosive spalling when exposed to temperatures above 300 °C.

3. Current code provisions for concrete properties at elevated temperatures are unconservative

when applied to HSC.

Besides these findings, the NIST publications also identified a shortage of data on a number of issues

that are essential for a complete understanding of how HSC would behave at elevated temperatures.

The missing data include experimental measurements of tensile strength, pore pressure buildup, and

permeability of HSC at high temperatures. Also lacking are data on thermal and mechanical

properties of HSC under stressed test conditions (the specimens carry load prior to heating, similar

to the case of HSC columns in a building during a fire). This shortage of data inhibits effective

validation of existing analytical models and limits the development of new ones.

Thus, following the publication of the reports on the state-of-the-art, it was decided to organize a workshop on the fire performance of HSC. Workshop participants were to include researchers and

members of academia who have been involved in studies of fire-exposed concrete, as well as

1
practitioners, regulators, and representatives of professional trade organizations who have an

understanding of the technical needs concerning the use of HSC. The focus of the workshop would

be on research needs to address the technical deficiences associated with fire-exposed HSC. As a

result, the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) at NIST, in collaboration with industry

representatives, which included Dr. S.K. Ghosh of Portland Cement Association, Mr. Michael P. Gillen of Dupont Engineering, and Dr. George C. Hoff of Mobil Technology Company, convened

an International Workshop on Fire Performance of HSC in Gaithersburg, Maryland on February 13

and 14, 1997. The workshop participants were comprised of a select group of individuals from nine

different countries, including Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, United

Kingdom, and United States. A list of the workshop participants is provided in Appendix A.2.

In the chapters to follow, the workshop objectives and format are explained and technical

presentations made at the workshop are summarized (Chapter 2); the research needs to address the

current knowledge gaps concerning fire performance of HSC are described (Chapter 3); and

information on worldwide research activities related to the subject of fire performance of HSC are provided (Chapter 4). Finally, papers which accompanied technical presentations made at the

workshop are included in Appendix B.

2
2. NIST WORKSHOP ON FIRE PERFORMANCE OF HSC

2.1 Workshop Objectives and Format

The workshop was intended to provide an open forum where researchers, practitioners, and

regulators could exchange expert opinions on current knowledge, technical problems, and design

needs concerning the fire performance of HSC. The objective was to identify research areas which

would address the unresolved issues concerning the fire performance of HSC as outlined in the NIST

report [Phan, 1996]. Fire tests are expensive, and it is not possible for any one agency to perform

all of the needed research. Thus a secondary objective of the workshop was to foster a collaborative

spirit for potential joint research activities between different agencies, universities, and laboratories.

It is hoped that these workshop proceedings will serve as a catalyst for such integrated international

research efforts.

The workshop format included: (1) technical presentations, (2) working group sessions, and (3) a

final plenary session. Thirteen technical presentations were given on the first day of the two-day

workshop. The topics included experimental and analytical studies as well as proposed code

applications in various countries. This activity was followed by working group sessions, which

continued to the second day of the workshop. The workshop concluded with a plenary session

where summaries of the findings were presented by the working group Chairmen. These findings

form the basis for these workshop proceedings.

Four working groups were organized based on four research topics: Material Tests (Working Group

A-1), Element Tests (Working Group A-2), Analytical Studies (Working Group B), and Codes and

Standards (Working Group C). Each working group had a Chair and co-Chair to facilitate

discussion. NIST staff attended each working group session to serve as a liaison and help record the

discussion. The membership of each working group was selected in advance by individual

participants based on their interests in the working group topics. The agenda for the workshop is listed in Appendix A.l, and a list of workshop participants by working group is given in Appendix

A.3.

Section 2.2 summarizes the technical presentations and includes brief biographies of the presenters.

Of the thirteen authors who made technical presentations at the workshop, nine followed up with

papers. These papers are included with minimal editorial changes in Appendix B of these

proceedings. In addition, a summary of the research efforts at Milan University of Technology,

which was submitted by Drs. R. Felicetti and P. Gambarova who were invited but were not able to attend the workshop, is also included in Appendix B. Workshop findings are presented in Chapter

3.

3
2.2 Workshop Presentations

2.2.1 High-Strength Concrete in Germany - Utilization, Research and Standardization

Presenter: Ulrich Diederichs, Amtliche Materialprufanstalt fiir das Bauwesen, Germany.

About the presenter.

Dr. Ulrich Diederichs is a physicist at AmtHche Materialprufanstalt fur das Bauwesen of the

Institut fiir Baustoffe, Massivbau und Brandschutz (IBMB/MPA). IBMB/MPA is the largest

building materials testing and research institute in Northern Germany and is a non-profit institute

of the Technical University of Braunschweig, operating under the auspices of the Lower Saxony

State Ministry of Economics and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Culture. His main fields

of research included: behavior of concrete at high temperatures, microstructure of building materials,

building materials physics, fire resistance of HSC structures, and behavior of concrete for prestressed

nuclear reactor vessels under accidental and service conditions. He was a member of RILEM TC

PHT-44 "Properties of Materials at High Temperatures," RILEM TC FMC-50 "Fracture Mechanics

of Concrete," and RILEM TC MHT-129 "Test Methods of Mechanical Properties of Concrete at High Temperatures."

Summary ofpresentation:

A summary of Germany's effort in utilization, research, and standardization of HSC was

presented. Due to environmental demands for high durability and structural demands for higher

compressive strength in new building constructions, HSC is being used more and more in Germany.

The German Standard DIN 1045 defines HSC as concrete with average cube compressive strength

exceeding 55 MPa (strength class B 55). To meet classification, reinforced HSC structural elements

and plain concrete cylinders had to pass fire resistance tests performed by specialists. Many of the

fire tests were performed at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Some of the specimens were

pre-dried for 6 to 8 weeks at 60 °C, and all were exposed to the ISO 834 standard fire curve. Despite

this treatment, severe spalling occurred. Explosive spalling was also observed in many small, 80mm

dia. X 700mm, cylinders, made with and without silica fume, after the temperature within the

specimens reached 350 °C. In structural element tests, anti-spalling mesh and steel fibers were also

used as protection against spalling. The anti-spalling mesh is currently required by DIN 4102, Part

4/03.94 for fire safety on the exposed sides of structural elements. This anti-spalling mesh must be

installed with a nominal concrete cover of at least 15 mm if the elements are in normal

environments. For elements in moist and/or chemically agressive environments, this nominal

concrete cover is to be increased by 5 mm. These spalling mitigation techniques, however, were

observed in experiments at the Technical University of Braunschweig to be ineffective..

The results of fire tests on structural elements were incorporated into a set of guidelines of the

Deutscher Ausschuss flir Stahlbeton, which is a supplementary standard for the German DIN 1045

(DAfStb-Richtlimiefiir hochfesten Beton - Ergdnzungzu DIN 1045/07.88fur die Festigkeitsklassen

B 65 bis B 115). The current version ofthese guidelines (August 1995) provides design information,

such as fire endurance and load carrying capacity of columns, beams, and walls, made of HSC of

strength classes up to B 95. For HSC with compressive strength exceeding 95 MPa, additional tests

4
and requirements must be met prior to use. According to the guidelines, spalling tendency must be

counteracted by an antispalling mesh or other means (e.g., addition of polypropylene fibers). At

present, the Technical University of Braunschweig is conducting fire tests on concrete tunnel linings

made with HSC.

2.2.2 Fire Test of Normal-Weight/High Performance Concrete in Taiwan

Presenter: T.D. Lin, Architecture and Building Research Institute, Taiwan

About the presenter:

Dr. T.D. Lin is currently the president of Lintek International Inc. and a consultant to the

Architecture and Building Research Institute in Taiwan. He was formerly with the Portland Cement

Association (PCA) and is a pioneer in lunar concrete research. He was a select member of the U.S.

delegation to the 1980 U.S.-Soviet Joint Seminar on "Mathematical Computations of Heat Flow."

His recent work includes a new method for producing concrete using steam to cause hydration of

a dry cement mixture, which results in concrete with twice the compressive strength in 1 8 hours than

that of companion concrete made with the conventional wet procedure. Dr. Lin was the chairman

of the ACI Lunar Concrete Committee (ACI 125) and is a member of the Fire Resistance and Fire

Protection of Structures Committee (ACI-TMS 216) and ASCE's Fire Safety Committee. He is the

recipient of many awards and honors for his research in concrete technology.

Summary ofpresentation:

The text of Dr. Lin's presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.l.

2.2.3 Fire Resistance and Residual Strength of HSC Exposed to Hydrocarbon Fire

Presenter: Jens Jacob Jensen, SINTEF, Norway.

About the presenter:

Dr. Jensen is a senior research engineer at SINTEF Civil and Environmental Engineering,

Cement and Concrete Division in Trondheim; Norway. SINTEF is a research organization with

about 2000 employees and closely connected to the University of Trondheim. Dr. Jensen's main

areas of emphasis are structural mechanics, structural dynamics, reinforced concrete design, high

strength concrete, tension structures, protective structures, bridges, and offshore structures. He has

conducted a number of projects concerning the fire resistance of high strength concrete structures.

Summary ofpresentation:

The text of Dr. Jensen's presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.2.

5
2.2.4 Spalling Phenomena of HPC and OC

Presenter: Yngve Anderberg, Fire Safety Design (FSD), Sweden

About the presenter.

Dr. Anderberg is presently the managing director of Fire Safety Design (FSD) in Sweden and

director of FSD in the U.K., a practice he founded in 1977. He is a frequent speaker at international

conferences, has published numerous papers on fire safety engineering and is a member, secretary,

and chairman of several European committees and working groups, including the Swedish Concrete

Association, RILEM, CIB W14, the Swedish Fire Protection Association, the Society of Fire

Protection Engineers (USA), the Institute of Fire Safety (UK), and Firepro Institute Ltd., which

engaged in the advancement of fire protection techniques. He is the Swedish specialist on fire engineering design for concrete and steel constructions within CEN and has been responsible for

building fire safety solutions for more than 1000 projects in Sweden as well as in Europe since 1977.

Dr. Anderberg has been responsible for and actively involved in the assessment of fire safety of 1

0

offshore platforms, including the Hibemia, Ekofisk, Njord, and Visund.

Summary ofpresentation:

Dr. Anderberg's presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.3.

2.2.5 Fire Damage in the Eurotunnel

Presenter: Franz-Josef Ulm, Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussees (LCPC), France.

About the presenter:

Dr. Ulm is a research engineer in the concrete department at the Laboratoire Central des Ponts

et Chaussees (LCPC), Paris, of the French Ministry of Public Works. He lectures on continuum

mechanics, structural dynamics and materials science at Ecole Normale Superieure de Cachan, Ecole

Centrale de Paris, Technische Universitat Muenchen (FRG), and is Professor at the Federal

University of Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ, Brazil).

Summary ofpresentation:

A brief summary was presented of fire damage to a section of the 52-km long Channel Turmel

connecting Britain and France, caused by a fire on November 18, 1996, and LCPC's repair work.

The incident occurred when a fire broke out on a shuttle train carrying freight trucks that was en

route from France to England through one of the Channel Tunnel's two transport tubes. The fire was

reported to have lasted for about 1 0 hours, and the temperature of the fire was estimated to have

reached between 1000 °C to 1200 °C. The flames and intense heat severely damaged both the

concrete and reinforcing mesh of a portion of one of the two transport tubes. The damaged portion

of the 450 mm thick tunnel ring was about 40 m in length. The concrete used did not contain silica

fume and was designed to have compressive strength of about 50 MPa. However, post-fire testing on the undamaged concrete indicated actual compressive strength of about 100 MPa. Fortunately,

the damaged section was surrounded by solid bedrock, which prevented water from entering the

tunnel at places where full-depth spalling occurred.

6
For most of the damaged section, fire induced spalling, up to a depth of 150 mm to 200 mm, was

observed with an estimated spalhng rate of 1 mm/minute. Local buckling due to exposure to fire after the concrete spalled off was observed for some sections of the reinforcing grid, and a loss of

about 40% of the reinforcement's yield strength was observed for other sections. The reinforcing

grid was found to provide some restraint for the concrete even though it was not actually designed

as anti-spalling mesh. The repair involved the use of fiber reinforced shotcrete. The tunnel was

closed for 6 months, at an estimated revenue loss of about $1.5 million a day.

2.2.6 Research Activities in Finland on Fire Resistance of HSC

Presenter: Ulla-Maija Jumppanen, VTT Building Technology, Finland

About the presenter.

Ms. Jumppanen is a senior research scientist at the Fire Technology Laboratory of the Valtion

Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (VTT, Technical Research Center of Finland). She has conducted

research and written extensively on the subject of properties of fire exposed concrete. A detailed

biography of Ms. Jumppanen is not available at this writing.

Summary ofpresentation:

A brief summary was presented of research activities in Finland on the fire resistance of HSC

and ultra HSC (UHPC, concrete with compressive strength exceeding 150 MPa). These research

activities are in support of research activities of the European BRITE EURAM program (HITECO),

which was created in 1996 to promote the understanding and industrial applications of high

performance concretes in high temperature environments, and in which VTT is a partner. The

following aspects of HSC are investigated in this program:

• Concrete strength: HSC (C60 - 100) and UHPC

• Thermal stability of materials:

- Thermal expansion

- Porosity

- Acoustic emission analysis

• Mechanical behavior:

- Stress-strain relationships

- Total deformation

- Effect of restraint forces

• Spalling

- Small specimen

- Column tests

• Tests on short columns

• Tests on structural members

• Material model for fire exposed HSC

Other partners of the BRITE EURAM program include Bouygues (France), ENEA (Italy), Aalborg

(Denmark), Imperial College (England), PARTEK (Finland), CSIC (Spain), and PADOVA (Italy).

7
Program duration is 3 years (1996-1998). Program deliverables include software, studies of spalling

and mechanical behavior, and prenormative recommendations. The National Building Code of

Finland for Concrete Structures (Ral: MK B4) is one of only a few building codes at present that

prescribes a strength reduction curve as a function of temperature specifically for HSC (concrete

strength classes of K70 to KlOO), and a compressive capacity curve for HSC columns as a function

of fire duration (applicable up to 120 minutes of fire exposure).

2.2.7 Studies on the Fire Resistance of HFC at the National Research Council/Canada

Presenter: Venkatesh Kumar R. Kodur, National Research Council-Canada (NRCC), Canada

About the presenter.

Dr. Kodur is a research associate at the National Fire Laboratory of the National Research

Council in Canada. His expertise is in the areas of laboratory testing and numerical analysis for the

evaluation of fire resistance of structural members, and non-linear design and analysis of concrete

and steel structures. He is a member of many professional committees, including the ASCE's Fire

Protection Technical committee, the Underwriter Laboratories of Canada Task Group on Fire

Endurance Tests, and the Canadian Standards Association Technical Committee on FRP Structural

Components for Buildings. Dr. Kodur has written or co-authored many articles on the fire resistance

of structural members.

Summary ofpresentation:

Dr. Kodur' s presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.4.

2.2.8 Spalling of High-Strength LWA Concrete - Cause and Cure

Presenter: M.P. Gillen, Dupont Engineering, U.S.A.

About the presenter:

Mr. Gillen is a Consultant (Engineer) at DuPont Engineering in the Civil Engineering Systems

group, with responsibility for providing technical support on concrete design, construction, and

repair for DuPont and Conoco facilities. Prior to this position, he was Project Engineer - Concrete

on Conoco's Heidrun Tension Leg Platform project in Norway (1992-1994). His past work

experience includes ten years as engineer in the Portland Cement Association Fire Research Section,

3 years with Rockwell as concrete/geomechanics laboratory manager at DoE's Hanford facility, and

4 years as research engineer for Conoco's Production R&D Division. He is presently a member of

ACI committees on Fire, Corrosion, Nuclear and Hazardous Waste, Offshore Structures (former

Chair), and Lunar Concrete.

Summary ofpresentation:

The Heidrun offshore tension leg platform in Norway is a unique floating platform made with

lightweight concrete. The concrete was designed with a design life of 50 years in the North Sea,

contained 3% to 4% of silica fiime, and had a design compressive strength of 60 MPa. High water

pressure exposure tests, done at SINTEF in Norway, showed that the Heidrun platform concrete has

extremely low permeability. In fact, after 144 days of exposure to high water pressure, only one

8
aggregate diameter of penetration by the water was observed compared with complete saturation of

a 83 MPa normal density concrete after the same exposure. Unfortunately, the unintended effect of

low permeability is high vulnerability to fire damage. Upon exposure to a simulated hydrocarbon

fire, the Heidrun platform concrete disintegrated due to spalling.

To remedy the increased spalling vulnerability of the Heidrun platform concrete, Conoco initiated a project to study the effects of different variables such as moisture content, curing regimes, and

inclusion of steel or polypropylene fibers. The test program consisted of 12 concrete prisms, 300

mm X 300mm x 1500 mm in size. Some specimens were dried at approximately 60 °C for a month

prior to exposure to hydrocarbon fire. One specimen was dried at 105 °C until free moisture was

completely eliminated. Other specimens included either steel or polypropylene fibers at 0.1% to 0.2% by volume. The lengths of polypropylene fibers varied from 12 mm to 20 mm.

The test results indicated the important role of moisture in the spalling phenomenon. Explosive

spalling was observed in specimens pre-dried at 60 °C (moisture was not completely eliminated),

and in moist specimens with steel fibers (steel fibers increased the tensile strength of the concrete

but resulted in spalling of larger pieces of concrete). However, no spalling was observed in the

specimen that was completely predried at 105 °C and in moist specimens that contained

polypropylene fibers. Polypropylene fibers with lengths between 150 mm to 200 mm were found

to be most effective for the Heidrun concrete. The study concluded that:

• The primary culprit for spalling is moisture.

• Stress and restraint has an influence on the spalling behavior.

• Polymeric fiber addition reduces spalling and offers a tremendous financial advantage over fire protection by passive coatings or other means.

2.2.9 Limitations of Current U.S. Standards and Challenges of Proposed Performance-Based

Standards

Presenter: J.A. Milke, Department of Fire Protection Engineering, University of Maryland

About the presenter:

Dr. Milke is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at the

University of Maryland. He has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering and M.S. in Mechanical

Engineering, both from the University of Maryland and B.S. degrees in Physics from Ursinus

College and Fire Protecfion Engineering from the University of Maryland. Recently, his research

activities have included a description of the sensing mechanisms for a smart fire detector, analysis

of water mist fire suppression systems, smoke management and structural fire protection. He is active in several professional societies, including the National Fire Protecfion Association, Society

of Fire Protecfion Engineers, Intemafional Association of Fire Safety Science and American Society

of Civil Engineers. Dr. Milke has numerous publications in the fire protection field, principally in

the areas of structural fire protection and smoke management.

9
Summary ofpresentation:

The text of Prof. Milke's presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.5.

2.2.10 Computational Modeling of Temperature, Pore Pressure, and Moisture Content in

Concrete Exposed to Fire

Presenter: G. Ahmed, Portland Cement Association (PCA)

About the presenter:

Dr. Ahmed is a Fire Research Engineer at Portland Cement Association in Skokie, Illinois. His

primary research activity is in developing heat/mass transfer models for applications to concrete

exposed to elevated temperatures. A detailed biography of Dr. Ahmed is not available at the time

of this writing.

Summary ofpresentation:

The text of Dr. Ahmed's presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.6.

2.2.11 Analysis of Pore Pressure, Thermal Stress, and Fracture of Concrete in Rapidly Heated

Concrete

Presenter: Z.P. Bazant, Department of Civil Engineering, Northwestern University.

About the presenter:

Bom and educated in Prague, Dr. Zdenek P. Bazant became a professor at Norwestem University

in 1973, was named in 1990 to the distinguished W.P. Murphy Chair, and served during 1981-87

as Director (founding) of the Center for Concrete and Geomaterials (a predecessor to the current

Advanced Cement Based Material Center). He has authored numerous journal articles and books on stability of structures (1991), concrete at high temperatures (1996), and creep of concrete (1996).

He served as Editor (in Chief) of the ASCE Journal of Engineering Mechanics (1988-1994) and is Regional Editor ofthe Intemational Joumal of Fracture. He was founding president oflA-FraMCos,

and president of the Society of Engineering Science. He has chaired many technical committees in

ASCE, RILEM, and ACI, and is the recipient of numerous awards. He is a Fellow of the American

Academy of Mechanics, ASME, ASCE, and ACI, and in 1996 was elected to of the National

Academy of Engineering.

Summary ofpresentation:

Dr. Bazant's presentation is presented in Appendix B, Section B.IO.

l.l.Xl Fire Tests on Normal and High-Strength Reinforced Concrete Columns

Presenter: Corina-Maria Aldea, Northwestern University

About the presenter:

Dr. Aldea is a post-doctoral research fellow at Northwestern University, National Science

Foundation Center for Science and Technology of Advanced Cement Based Materials, where she

was a Fulbright visiting research fellow in 1995-1996. She was a senior assistant professor and head

10
of the French Division of the Department of Engineering Sciences of the Technical University of

Civil Engineering in Bucharest, Romania. Her current research areas focus on cement based

materials. Most recently she has been involved in studying transport properties in order to quantify

concrete durability.

Summary ofpresentation:

Dr. Aldea's presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.7.

2.2.13 Measurement and Prediction of Pore Pressure in Cement Mortar Subjected to Elevated

Temperatures

Presenter: Gary Consolazio, Rutgers University.

About the presenter:

Dr. Consolazio is a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rutgers University, and is an active participant in the Center for Advanced Infrastructure

Technology located at Rutgers. His current research areas focus on modeling and measurement of

heat and mass flow through concrete at elevated temperatures and pressures, and on the application

of finite element analysis techniques to vehicle impact simulation. Most recently he has been

involved in the measurement and numerical prediction of pore pressures and temperatures in moist

cement mortar specimens subjected to high temperature radiant heating.

Summary ofpresentation:

The text of Dr. Consolazio's presentation is printed in Appendix B, Section B.8.

11
I

I

i
3. RESEARCH NEEDS IDENTIFIED BY WORKING GROUPS

The working groups were tasked with identifying research needs within the working group topics

that would lead to a better understanding of the fire performance of HSC. Each of the working

groups was free to select its own discussion format. In general, the working groups started with free

discussion to arrive at a consensus on knowledge gaps relevant to the topics of the working groups

and, towards the end ofthe working group sessions, used the identified knowledge gaps to formulate

lists of research needs. The following sections list the research needs that were developed by the

four working groups. Even though some similarities exist between lists, the NIST editors decided

not to consolidate research needs into a single list, since these similarities reflect the importance of

some research needs to more than one working group.

3.1 Working Group A-1: Material Tests

3.1.1 Introduction

This working group addressed research needs related to understanding the effects of short-term

elevated temperatures on the mechanical, thermal, and mass transport properties of HSC. The

working group was composed of the following individuals:

Y. Anderberg (Chair) Fire Safety Design Sweden

L. Bell FiberMesh USA

A. Bilodeau CANMET Canada

N.J. Carino (Recorder) NIST USA

J.R. Clifton NIST USA

M. Gillen DuPont Engineering USA

U-M. Jumppanen VTT Finland

R.E. Moore Univ of Missouri-Rolla USA

T. Sander Univ of Missouri-Rolla USA

First, the group identified those areas in which there is a serious lack of knowledge related to the

materials performance of HSC when exposed to high temperatures. Input from workshop invitees,

that were provided prior to the workshop, were reviewed. Based on that information and the

personal knowledge of working group members, the following were found to be the areas where

there are significant knowledge gaps:

(1) Spalling mechanism and methods to prevent or control spalling

This is by far the most important knowledge gap in the fire performance of HSC. As reviewed in the

NIST state-of-the-art report [Phan 1996], spalling has been observed in some but not all hightemperature tests of HSC. It is generally believed that spalling results from the buildup of internal

pressure due to the transformation of water to vapor. The pressure buildup is believed to result fi-om

13
the extremely low permeabilities of concretes with low water-binder ratios. However, thermal

gradients may also play a role in the development of internal stresses that contribute to the spalling

phenomenon. While progress has been made in modeling heat conduction and mass transport in

concrete subjected to high extemal temperature, additional work is needed to link these calculations

to the buildup of internal stresses and to verify the accuracy of model predictions. When a verified

model has been developed, it can be used in parametric studies to determine the effects of different

conditions on the internal state of stress (or strain) during fire exposure. A useful outcome of the

parametric study would be to identify those conditions that minimize the possibility of spalling

during a fire, including an explanation of why the addition of polymeric fibers has been found to reduce the severity of spalling.

(2) Properties of HSC as a function of temperature

In order to be able to predict the performance of a reinforced concrete structure during a fire, it is necessary to know how the properties of concrete are affected by temperature. These properties

include the "constitutive properties" such as ultimate strength and stress-strain behavior, and other

"material properties," such as thermal and mass transport properties. The latter properties are

essential for developing a material model to predict the buildup of internal stress (or strain) during

heating.

(3) Effects of composition and processing variables on the performance of HSC at elevated

temperature

To produce concrete that is least susceptible to damage during fire, it is necessary to understand how

changes in composition and processing affect performance. Since there are numerous possible

combinations of materials, proportions, and processing conditions (curing methods, maturity at time

of fire exposure, etc.), a model to predict performance for a given set of parameters would be an

efficient means for identifying those conditions that would result in the best performance. Limited

testing could be used to verify model predictions.

(4) International standard test methods

A major problem in comparing data on fire performance from different laboratories is the lack of

common test methods. RILEM Committee 129-MHT on Test Methods for Mechanical Properties

of Concrete at High Temperatures is in the process of developing a set of recommendations that may

provide the basis for future international standards.

In experimental assessments of the performance of concrete exposed to elevated temperature, several

key features ofthe test methods need to be considered in order to interpret and compare results [Phan

1996; Anderberg 1983]. These include:

• temperature distribution in the test specimen during the measurement of material properties,

14
• relationships between temperature and load histories, and

• type of loading.

The nature of the temperature distributions during testing can be characterized by considering two

groups of tests:

• Steady-state test—The specimen is heated slowly to a target temperature; the external

temperature is held constant to allow the intemal specimen temperature to reach a uniform value;

the properties are measured after a uniform intemal temperature is reached.

• Transient test-—The specimen is exposed to an ambient temperature that increases at a relatively

fast rate so that temperature gradients exist in the specimen during the test. During the heating,

the specimen could be subjected to a constant load or a constant deformation (restraint provided).

Steady-state tests are better suited for measuring the effects of temperature on material properties,

and transient tests are better suited for investigating behavior under conditions that may be

encountered during an actual fire. Thus transient tests are usually used for tests of structural

elements.

In addition to the temperature distribution during testing, another important feature of elevated

temperature tests is the relationship between temperature and loading histories. For steady-state tests, three types of tests are commonly used to characterize the effects of temperature on material

properties:

• Unstressed test—The specimen is heated to the target temperature in the absence of stress, and

the specimen is loaded after a steady-state condition has been reached.

• Stressed test—^The specimen is loaded at room temperature to a fraction of its room temperature

strength; the specimen is heated to a target temperature; and, after a steady-state condition is reached, the specimen is tested.

• Residual property test—The specimen is heated to a target temperature and maintained until a steady-state condition is reached, then it is cooled to room temperature, and tested at room

temperature.

These three types of steady-state tests are illustrated in Fig. 3.1, in which the upper graphs are schematics to show the temperature histories and the lower graphs show the loading histories.

Finally, different methods of loading are possible to measure mechanical properties. These include:

• Stress-rate control—The stress is increased at a constant rate.

• Strain-rate control—The strain is increased at a constant rate.

• Constant stress (creep)—Stress is maintained constant and deformation is measured as a function of time.

• Constant strain (relaxation)—Strain is maintained constant and stress is measured as a function

of time.

15
The first two of these are commonly used to develop the stress-strain relationship of the concrete.

However, the most common loading method is using strain (or deformation) control, because of the

instability that occurs in stress-rate controlled tests as ultimate capacity is approached. The latter two

types of loading are used to measure time-dependent response, and these may be of limited

importance considering the relatively short duration of a fire.

(a) Unstressed test

G>Q.E

c

(0

-4—

CO

COM

0)i_ -—

CO

Heating

/

/

Holding Testing

Time t*

Time t*

(b) Stressed test

a.E

c

(0

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in

(/) a>

Heating / Holding Testing

Time t*/

Time t*

(c) Residual property test

0)

13

-4—

(0

1(Ua.E

0)

a—

CO

1

COM

(U

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Heatinii Holding Cooling Testinc

Time t*

Time t*

Figure 1. Schematic temperature

anci loati histories for steady-state

elevateti temperature tests

(5) Methods for evaluating performance of local aggregates

Aggregate properties are known to have a strong influence on the performance of concrete during

a fire. However, there are no standard procedures for the selection of the suitable aggregate for

improved fire performance. Simple tests or selection criteria would be helpful in evaluating the

suitability of a particular aggregate.

16
(6) Guidelines for evaluation of fire-damaged structures

While not restricted to HSC, there is a need for standard practices to permit economical and reliable

evaluation of the extent of damage due to fire. Such information is vital for evaluating the safety of

a structure exposed to a fire and for delineating the extent of damage in order to develop a repair

strategy. The working group felt that this topic could also fall under the domain of the "element

tests" group.

3.1.2 Research Needs

The following research areas were discussed in relation to the above-mentioned knowledge gaps.

Each research area is followed by a brief discussion of the scope of required work.

(1) Develop an understanding of tlie spalling mechanism(s) and establish a predictive

parameter and standard test method(s) to measure it

Discussion: It would be desirable to develop a parameter that could be used to evaluate the

spalling potential of HSC when exposed to fire. In the area of refractory concretes, it has been found

that a parameter that includes permeability, tensile strength, porosity, and moisture content has been

found to be useful in predicting susceptibility to spalling during the de-watering process prior to exposure to refractory temperatures. A combination of experimental and analytical studies will likely

be needed to gain the understanding to develop this parameter.

In order to vahdate the results of analytical predictions of stresses leading to spalling, experimental

data are needed. Such data might include measurement of internal pore pressures and moisture

distributions during heating of a test specimen.

A major component of the research will involve studies of the effects of compositional and

processing factors (curing methods, maturity, self-desiccation) on spalling tendency. In addition the

effects of other factors, such as magnitude of thermal gradients, reinforcement location, geometrical

constraints, size, and presence of stress on spalling tendency should be considered. Also, the effects

of thermal exposure conditions (rate of temperature rise, maximum temperature, direct exposure to flames, and uniformity of exposure conditions) should be examined. The results of this work should

allow understanding of why spalling has not always been observed in tests of HSC.

When the factors that contribute to occurrence of spalling are understood, it should be possible to develop methods to mitigate spalling tendency. Included among potential methods would be the use of "sacrificial" synthetic fibers and "reinforcing" steel fibers. The long-term product would be the

development of recommended guidelines or practices for producing HSC that will resist spalling

when exposed to fire.

17
(2) Measurement of properties of HSC as a function of temperature

Discussion: Knowledge of HSC properties ("intrinsic") at high temperatures forms the

foundation for evaluating the performance of fire-exposed reinforced concrete elements. In order

to permit the comparison of data from different research programs, it will be necessary to establish a suite of standard test methods. In developing these methods, distinctions will need to be made

between transient and steady-state tests. Also, distinctions are needed between properties measured

at high temperatures versus those measured at room-temperature after heating (residual properties).

Guidelines will need to be developed on which types of tests should be used for different purposes.

Factors such as maturity and conditioning prior to testing need to be studied and standardized.

Past studies have focused on the effects of temperature on compressive strength and elastic modulus.

However, the scope of future studies should be expanded to include other mechanical properties such

as tensile strength, time-dependent behavior, and fracture mechanics parameters. Splitting tensile

tests have been found to be useful in studies of refractory concretes and should be applied to HSC.

Methods should be established for determining relationships between mechanical properties and

microstructural changes (porosity, pore structure, nature of interfacial zone, and microcracking). The

effects of specimen shape and size and of previous load histories on measured properties should also

be understood.

In addition, other material characteristics need to be measured as ftinctions of temperature to provide

input data for numerical models. These other characteristics include transport properties

(permeability, diffussivity, etc.), thermal properties (thermal conductivity, heat capacity, etc.),

sorption isotherms, and water release during dehydration.

(3) Methods for evaluating local and manufactured aggregates for optimizing fire resistance

of concrete

Discussion: Practical methods are needed to evaluate different aggregate sources so that those

that can be expected to result in poor performance during fire can be eliminated during the selection

of materials for HSC mixtures to be used in critical structural elements. Characteristics such as coefficient of thermal expansion and physico-chemical reactions leading to volume changes need

to be understood. In addition, methods are needed to identify aggregates with bound water that can

be released during fire exposure and contribute to the development of internal pressure.

(4) Methods for evaluation of fire damage

Discussion: There have been advances in nondestructive testing methods to evaluate concrete.

There should be investigations of the applicability of advanced techniques based on stress-wave

propagation (e.g., acoustic tomography and spectral analysis of surface waves) and microwave

radiation to evaluate the extent of damage after a fire. Other techniques based on the scanning

18
electron microscope (micrographic and chemical analysis) should be developed for more inanalysis of microstnictural damage or changes of samples taken from the affected structure.

19
3.2 Working Group A-2: Element Tests

3.2.1 Introduction

The working group addressed research needs related to the effects of short term, high temperatures on the behavior, load bearing capacity and structural integrity of various structural elements, such

as columns, beams, slabs, wall panels, etc., made of high strength concrete. The working group was

composed of the following individuals:

C.-M. Aldea Northwestern University U.S.A.

L. W. Bell Fibermesh U.S.A.

R. G. Burg (co-Chair) Construction Technology Lab. U.S.A.

U. Diederichs (Chair) IBMB / MPA Braunschweig Germany

D. Duthinh (recorder) NIST U.S.A.

W. L. Gamble Univ. Of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign U.S.A.

G. C. Hoff Mobil Technology U.S.A.

J. J. Jensen SINTEF Norway

U. M. Jumppanen VTT Building Technology Finland

V. Karthigeyan HSB-OSD (Health and Safety) U.K.

V. Kodur National Research Council Canada

T. D. Lin Fire Laboratory Taiwan

First, the group attempted to establish a definition of high strength concrete which, up to now, varies

from country to country. In general, as the concrete compressive strength increases, fire tests are fewer, and less is known about concrete fire performance. Most fire test data are for normal strength

concrete, with compressive strength less than 50 MPa. On the other hand, some codes define HSC

as concrete exceeding a certain compressive strength (40 MPa for ACI, 55 MPa cube strength for

the German Code). Since the water-to-binder ratio' can be used to predict the difference in the

spalling behavior of NSC and HSC under fire (with w/b ~ 0.4 being the transition), it was suggested

that the w/b ratio could serve to define HSC for the purpose of fire testing.

3.2.2 Research Needs

(1) Spalling Mechanisms and Methods to Prevent or Control Spalling

Discussion: Explosive spalling has been observed in tests of elements of reinforced HSC and

also in cylinder or cube tests (material tests). The phenomenon is not completely understood, and

spalling behavior occurs inconsistently, sometimes with two identical specimens heated identically

behaving quite differently. Although spalling is undesirable, it is not necessarily catastrophic. It was

' Water-binder ratio is widely used in Europe, while in North America the term commonly used is water-cementitious material ratio.

20
reported that, in a recent panel test, the cover concrete spalled off, but the concrete inside the

reinforcement was relatively undamaged. When polypropylene fibers were added to the concrete,

their effect was to delay the onset of spalling, which involved larger chunks of concrete when it finally occurred.

Although existing analytical models are not adequate due to the complexity of the phenomenon, it is safe to predict that material tests alone will not suffice in predicting spalling behavior, as the

effects of remforcement and cover depth have shown. Element size and shape are also likely to be

important. Element tests are therefore needed to study spalling mechanisms and methods to prevent

or control spalling in actual structures.

(2) Application of Laboratory Test Results to Actual Structures

Discussion: For NSC, laboratory fire tests have been successfully extrapolated to actual

structures. However, because the fire resistance behavior of HSC is not completely understood and

predictable, this cannot yet be done for HSC. As the specimen size, material properties (compressive

strength, w/h ratio, concrete moisture content) and the reinforcement design change, the behavior

also changes.

Clearly, a behavioral model is needed. Also needed is a number of tests to verify- and calibrate the

model, which should also include scaling laws, i.e., account for size effects in order to translate

reduced scale laboratory tests to full scale prototypes.

(3) Development of Test Protocols

Discussion: There is a need to develop international test protocols for fire testing of HSC

members. Current standards were developed for NSC and may not be appropriate for HSC. For

example, it does not make sense to pre-dry HSC specimen to 75 % relative humidity as is recommended for NSC because this could have a direct effect on the test results.

Guidelines for data collection and reporting should also be established. For example, reinforcement

details are important in understanding spalling behavior, and yet are often unreported. Guidelines on measurement of deflections, visual recording of overall behavior, weighing of spalled pieces, etc. would also be most useful. It was suggested that a standards organization, such as NIST, is ideally

suited for such a task.

(4) Tests of Connections

Discussion: Individual members, cylinders and cubes are fire tested much more often than entire

frames or joints between members, because ofthe size and cost associated with the latter. However,

these tests are necessary for understanding and predicting the behavior of structures under fire. This

is particularly important in the case of connections between columns of HSC and slabs of NSC.

21
(5) Determination of Residual Strength

Discussion: Most structures damaged by fire do not collapse. However, they may have to be

demolished because of uncertainty about their residual strength. This is true of NSC and HSC.

Much can, and should be learned from post-fire evaluations of residual structural capacity. The

effectiveness of repair methods should also be evaluated.

(6) Effects of Fire Extinguishing

Discussion: An example was cited about a building on fire that collapsed when a critical HSC

column was doused with cold water and suffered terminal thermal shock. It is a rare fire laboratory

that allows investigation of the effect of fire extinguishing measures, because of possible damage

to equipment and instrumentation. However, the need is there, to ensure that the remedy is not worse than the disease.

(7) Prioritization of Element Tests

Discussion: HSC is being increasingly used in structural applications. To balance the need for

fire safety and the limited resources and cost involved in research, element tests should be prioritized

in terms of urgency. Since the most widely used HSC elements are columns, they should be high on the priority list. Questions arise as to the loading (centric or eccentric), fire exposure

(symmetrical or asymmetrical), concrete strength, column size and shape, reinforcement design,

presence or absence of fibers in the concrete, etc. Doubts were expressed that a sufficient data base

exists on the the behavior of HSC (unlike NSC) columns under normal service temperatures. HSC,

sometimes with lightweight aggregate, is also increasingly used in precast, prestressed elements and

hollow core slabs. Also, there have been more recorded fires in buildings under construction (due

to welding, cold weather curing of concrete, etc.), than in completed buildings. So, the fire tests of

elements made of young or lightweight, high strength concrete are called for.

It was suggested that NIST, after having reviewed existing data, is in an excellent position to propose

such prioritization. In this context, NIST should also review the capability of existing fire laboratories worldwide and compile a detailed description of known future test programs.

22
3.3 Working Group B: Analytical Studies

3.3.1 Introduction

A comprehensive theoretical understanding of how high temperatures during a fire cause spaUing

of concrete is not yet known. In general, this knowledge gap is accompanied by the lack of

estabhshed practical models that can take into account the material properties of concrete and how

these properties affect fire performance. Computer models that have some of these capabilities need

further development. The charge of this working group was to: identify knowledge gaps for HSC

pertinent to its fire performance; and identify research needs for purposes of filling knowledge gaps

and complementing the recommended analytical work. Transport phenomena (leading to pore

pressure) buildup and thermal stresses are focal points as primary contributing factors of hightemperature induced spalling. Further investigation is needed to determine the relative impact that

each of these has on the spalling condition such that a design solution may be developed to reduce

or eliminate this event. Members comprising the working group included the following:

J.P. Hurst (Chair) Portland Cement Association U.S.A.

E. Garboczi (Recorder) NIST U.S.A.

G. Ahmed Portland Cement Association U.S.A.

Z.P. Bazant Northwestern University U.S.A.

G.R. Consolazio Rutgers University U.S.A.

L. Cooper NIST U.S.A.

N. Martys NIST U.S.A.

F-J. Ulm LCPC France

3.3.2 Research Needs

(1) Transport Phenomena

(a) Coupled heat and mass transfer leading to pore pressure prediction

Discussion: There was a lengthy discussion on whether pore pressure buildup or thermal stresses had a greater impact on the initiation of spalling. After much debate, it remained undetermined, with

both requiring further investigation. One of the compelling arguments for pore pressure as a

significant contributor to spalling included measured results showing that pore pressure does not

immediately dissipate to zero at a crack or gap in the concrete. Instead, pore pressure bridges the

gap by experiencing a slight decrease, and then continues to build up again. Additional support

came from laboratory results accentuatmg the success of reduced, or no spalling when polypropylene

fibers are added to HSC mixtures. Since the introduction of fibers would not have been expected

to relieve thermal stresses, it follows that the relief of pore pressure must have been paramount in

the improved spalling behavior. This behavior needs to be further investigated to better understand

the process of how and why fibers are effective in this capacity. It was agreed that subsequent

23
modeling of HSC for heat and mass transfer should be done in consideration of the cases with and

without polymeric fibers.

(b) Investigation of new numerical methods to handle the saturated-unsaturated interface zone

Discussion: The success in handling numerical modeling difficulties that occur at the sharp

liquid-vapor interface (saturated-unsaturated) zone in concrete when heat is applied varies with

different numerical techniques used. Philosophical differences expressed in the workshop on how

to adequately handle this zone from a numerical standpoint indicated the need for detailed

examination of existing numerical methods such as the ones successfully used in Ahmed's model

[Ahmed, 1995] and, perhaps, their modification or the development of new methods.

(2) Thermal stress analysis with inclusion of fracture mechanics

Discussion: At present, a consensus with regard to what is the principal cause, between thermal

stresses and pore pressure effects, for the spalling of fire-exposed HSC has not been reached.

Analysis of internal stresses in HSC elements, caused either by thermal stresses or pore pressure

buildup, with consideration of other factors such as creep and shrinkage must be made in order to determine the relative importance of thermal stresses and pore pressure, on the tendency for spalling

in fire-exposed HSC. Fracture mechanics principles may be necessary to predict cracking.

(3) Coupling of pore pressure and fracture process

Discussion: Accurately measuring and predicting pore pressure buildup during a fire situation

is not enough. Pore pressures must be quantitatively linked to spalling of concrete. Experimental

data showing that pore pressure does not drop to zero when a crack forms led to a new approach in

analyzing the initiation of spalling. Thus modeling to predict spalling should include the effect of

cracking and interaction between the pore pressure and the crack.

(4) Coordination with other groups regarding material and element testing

Discussion: In order to be able to predict pore pressures and thermal stresses at fire temperatures, and link these to a methodology for determining concrete damage, various material

properties must be known. Measurements that must be made include material strengths at elevated

temperatures, specific heat and thermal conductivity, density, initial moisture content, porosity and

permeability, sorption isotherms, mass loss with temperature along with the effect of heating rate,

validation tests of fracture including size effect, moisture migration measurements, pore pressure

measurements, effect of fibers on porosity and permeability (polypropylene and other polymeric

fibers), fracture properties at high temperature and different amounts of saturation, plasticity of

concrete-filled steel tube columns at elevated temperatures, and data bases for tests of fracture and

other size effects. This list of activities needs to be cross-referenced with those of the other working

groups for inclusion of additional tests.

24
3.4 Working Group C: Codes and Standards

3.4.1 Introduction:

Research needs on fire performance of HSC that are in the domain of codes and standards were

identified by this working group, and are described and discussed in this section. Working group

C: Codes and Standards was composed of the following members:

J.A. Milke (Chair) University of Maryland U.S.A.

L.T. Phan (Recorder) NIST U.S.A.

W. Jones NIST U.S.A.

J. Messersmith Portland Cement Association U.S.A.

V. Karthigeyan HSB-OSD (Health and Safety) U.K.

L.W. Bell Fibermesh U.S.A.

3.4.2 Research Needs:

(1) Standard Test Protocols for Determining Engineering Properties of Fire-Exposed HSC

Discussion: Most current engineering properties data at elevated temperature were obtained by

testing HSC specimens using different heating rates, specimen sizes and shapes, and loading

histories. These differences may result in incompatible test results, especially for HSC since the rate of pore pressure buildup and the moisture escape path affect the performance of the test specimen.

In order to permit the comparison of data from different laboratories, it will be necessary to establish a suite of standard test methods. These test methods will consider the differences between transient

and steady-state tests, and between properties measured at elevated temperatures versus those

measured at room-temperature after heating (residual properties). Guidelines will need to be

developed on which types of tests should be used for different purposes.

(2) Mechanical Properties-Temperature Design Curves for HSC

Discussion: At present, the most used concrete strength and modulus of elasticity-temperature

relationships are those prescribed by the Eurocodes [CEN ENV 1994-1-2] and recommended by

RILEM Committee 44-PHT [CEB Bulletin DTnformation N° 208]. These design curves were based

mostly on experimental data of normal strength concrete and are useful for estimating mechanical

properties of NSC exposed to high temperature. However, these design curves have been shown

to be unconservative when applied to HSC [Phan, 1996]. On the other hand, the Finnish Code [High

Strength Concrete, Supplemental Rules and Fire Design RakMK B4] prescribes a strengthtemperature design curve specifically for HSC with compressive strength in the range of 70 MPa to 100 MPa. This design curve is applicable for both stressed (preload of up to 30% of room

temperature compressvie strength) and unstressed test conditions. A comparison with existing test data shows that, while the Finnish strength-temperature curve is more applicable to HSC than those

prescribed by the Eurocodes, it is still slightly unconservative in the temperature range of 200 °C to

25
400 °C, especially for the case of unstressed test of HSC with lightweight aggregate. Mechanical

properties-temperature design curves, similar to those prescribed by the Finnish and Eurocodes,

should be incorporated into U.S. codes to aid in fire design of HSC structures. These curves might

include modification factors to account for variations such as different aggregate types used in the

United States. Such design curves are also helpful for assessing the residual strength of HSC after a fire. Additional data are required to develop reliable design curves.

(3) Guidelines for Interpretation of HSC Material Tests and Standard Fire Tests

Discussion: Engineering properties of HSC at elevated temperature are obtained by testing HSC

cylinders or prisms. The measured properties are typically related to the temperature measured at the center of the specimens and are dependent on, among other things, heating rate. Whereas the

current standard fire tests, such as ASTM E 1 19 and ASTM E 1529, prescribe procedures for fire testing of structural assemblies by subjecting the assemblies to standard temperature histories. These

standard temperature histories characterize the ambient environment inside the test chamber, but not

necessarily the temperature and the rate of temperature development within the test assemblies.

Thus the results of these two types of tests are not directly comparable. Guidelines should be

developed to permit the comparison of the results of these tests so that the measured engineering

properties, obtained from cylinder or prism tests, can be used to explain the fundamental behavior

of the structural assemblies when tested in accordance with these ASTM standard fire tests.

(4) Guidelines for Selecting Realistic Design Fire Exposures

Discussion: At present, ASTM E 1 19 and E 1529, ISO 834, and JIS A 1304 prescribe fire

testing of structural assemblies using standard temperature histories that are characterized by a

controlled heating rate. These standard fire exposures do not represent likely temperature histories

of real fires. As a result, the fire exposure conditions specified in these standard test methods are not necessarily representative of the conditions that may exist in real fires. With the current

tendency of moving towards performance-based standards, it is necessary to provide guidance for

the selection of realistic design fire exposures which are particularly suitable for the specific HSC

structure being evaluated.

(5) Guidelines for Fire Design of HSC Structural Elements

Discussion: Guidelines for the fire design of HSC structural elements, which allow the

calculation or assessment of the fire resistance period and load carrying capacity of structural

elements, are not available in U.S. codes and standards. Such guidelines are needed for fire design

of HSC structures and should incorporate the different responses due to differences in structural

element types (beam, column, wall, or slab), HSC engineering properties, applied loads, and HSC

spalling characteristics.

26
(6) Design Guidelines to Mitigate Spalling in Fire-Exposed HSC

Discussion: Limited experimental studies have shown that the risk of explosive spalling in fire exposed HSC can be reduced by using appropriate design detailing, such as optimal sizes and

spacing of transverse reinforcement, concrete cover, etc., and additions to the concrete such as steel and polypropylene fibers. The effects ofthese design details and mixture additions should be studied

and results should be incorporated into design guidelines to reduce the risk of explosive spalling in

HSC structures during a fire.

27
4. RELEVANT RESEARCH PROGRAMS WORLDWIDE

4.1 Introduction

Prior to the workshop in February, NIST staff contacted researchers from various laboratories

worldwide to request information on research activities relevant to the subject of performance of

HSC at elevated temperatures. The feedback came from researchers, many of whom were able to attend the workshop, in laboratories of 1 1 countries, including Sweden, Italy, Germany, France,

Canada, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, Australia, and the United States. This chapter

provides general information on these research programs as well as points of contact from whom

additional information on the respective research programs may be obtained. Both recently

completed and on-going projects within each research program are listed.

4.2 Organizations Performing Research and Descriptions of Research Programs

4.2.1 Fire Safety Design (FSD), Lund, Sweden

Program Description

As part of the Swedish national project on High Performance Concrete (HPC), FSD has been

working on Fire Performance of HPC since 1992 and is now finishing the work by developing fire design methods for HPC beams, slabs, and columns. In the project numerous fire tests have been

performed on small HPC specimens and structural elements. The objectives are to investigate, assess, or develop:

• The risk and tendency of spalling of HPC specimens at different heating rates and load levels for

various concrete mixtures.

• The influence of polypropylene fibers on spalling tendency.

• Thermal properties as a function of temperature for the development of analytical expressions.

• Material properties and constitutive laws.

• Analytical simulations of small HPC test specimens.

• Analytical simulations of fire tested HPC columns.

• Fire design methods for HPC beams, slabs, and columns.

Contact Person: Dr. Yngve Anderberg

Fire Safety Design

P.O. Box 2170

S-22002 LUND, Sweden

FAX: 46-46-140030

Tel: 46-46-140020

E-mail : yngve. anderberg@fsd. se

28
4.2.2 Milan University of Technology, Milan, Italy

Program Description:

As part of a joint Research Project financed by the European Communities and a number of

industrial partners and research institutions (the Itahan National Agency for Energy, New

Technologies and Environment - ENEA), a multi-faceted research program is in progress in Milan

to study the fu-e performance of siliceous HSC (f, = 72 MPa to 95 MPa) and special microconcretes

(Reactive Powder Concretes and Compact Reinforced Concretes, f^ = 170MPa to 200 MPa). The

objectives are to (1) measure the complete stress-strain curves, in compression and in tension, of

HSC at room and elevated temperatures (up to 500 °C); and (2) evaluate HSC fracture parameters

(fracture energy, characteristic length, toughness index) as a function of temperature. Both the

material and the structural behavior are investigated, since the thermally-induced softening of

concrete favors stress redistribution in a structure, making the overall structural behavior less

sensitive to high temperature than the material itself The project consists of four phases:

(1) Compression and tension behavior of flint-based HSC: residual properties after a cycle at 105°C,

250°C, 400°C and 500°C (heating and cooling in quasi-steady conditions, with 12 hours at the

maximum temperature), notched (tension) and unnotched (compression) cylinders (f^ = 72 MPa

and 95 MPa).

(2) Deep beams subjected to 3 -point bending and circular slabs subjected to punching (both

reinforced and unreinforced): residual capacity (load-displacement behavior included) after a thermal cycle at 105°C, 250 °C and 400°C (flint-based concrete with f, = 72 MPa).

(3) Fracture behavior of flint based HSC (f^. = 72 MPa and 95 MPa): evaluation of the fracture

energy per unit volume in the case of multiple or distributed cracking (pied prisms, for

evaluating the damage density in tension and the characteristic length) after a cycle at hightemperature (T = 105 °C-400 °C).

(4) Tension behavior of one high-strength calcareous concrete (f^ = 95 MPa) and of two very highstrength fiber-reinforced microconcretes: the stress-strain and stress-crack opening curves will

be determined at high temperature (T = 105 °C-400 °C). Special dumbbell-shaped and notched

specimens have been cast in order to make it possible to extract the measures from the specimens

loaded inside the ftimace; the specimens are provided with special threaded ends that permit their

attachment to the testing machine platens; the tests will be displacement-controlled, as in all previous cases. This phase of the project is being carried out in close collaboration with Prof

Gabriel A. Khoury at the Department of Civil Engineering of Imperial College in London.

Further tests regarding the residual behavior after the thermal cycle will be carried out in Milan,

as well as most of the data processing.

Phases 1 and 2 are completed. Phase 3 is well advanced, and Phase 4 is in the initial stage.

29
Contact Persons : Professors Roberto Felicetti and Pietro G. Gambarova

Politecnico Di Milano

Dipartimento Di Ingegneria Strutturale

Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32

20133 Milano, Italy

Fax: 011-39-2-23994220

Tel: +39-2-2399-4391

4.2.3 Institut fiir Baustoffe, Massivbau und Brandschutz (IBMB), Braunschweig, Germany

Program Description:

• Joint project BRITE EURAM program (HITECO), funded by the European Community to develop ''understanding and industrial applications of high performance concretes in high

temperature environments.''' Industrial and research institute partners include: Bouygues

(France), ENEA (Italy), Aalborg Portland Cement (Denmark), VTT (Finland), Imperial College

(England), PARTEK (Finland), CSIC (Spain), and Padova Ricerche (Italy). Program duration

is three years, from 1996 to 1998. Materials studied include 90 MPa -100 MPa HPC and ultra

high performance concrete (UHPC) with strength of at least 150 MPa. Program deliverables

include: Software, spalling indicators, description of mechanical behavior, and prenormative

recommendations.

• Completed project concerning fire behavior of HSC elements under Compression - Elaboration

of Calculation Bases for the Load Bearing and Deformation Behavior. This project was funded

by the German Industry Research and Development Foundation (AiF) and the Federal Ministry

of Economics. The result is proprietary and reported in German.

• Completed investigations of thermal and mechanical characteristics of HSC exposed to fire (Diploma work by Carsten Schwarz, IBMB/MPA Braunschweig, in German).

Contact Person: Dr. Ulrich Diederichs

Amtliche Materialprufanstalt fiir das Bauwesen

BeethovenstraPe 52

D-3 81 06 Brauschweig, Germany

FAX: 49 531 391 4573

Tel: 49 531 391 5426

30
4.2.4 Portland Cement Association, U.S.A

Program Description:

• The project High-Temperature Properties of High-Performance Concrete was being conducted

by Construction Technology Laboratories (CTL) and was scheduled to be completed by eariy

1997. In this project, 76 mm x 150 mm cylinders, of representative HPC mixtures, 69 MPa to 148 MPa, were to be cast and such parameters as permeability, rate of drying, moisture content,

and strength development were to be measured. These samples were to be subjected to a number

of different high-temperature exposures. Factors such as strength degradation, stiffness changes,

spalling potential, and moisture movement were to be measured on specimens that are restrained

and unrestrained during heating. Measurements were to be taken at elevated temperatures as well as on specimens allowed to return to ambient temperatures. These data will allow for the

development of models of high-temperature material behavior of HPC.

Contact Person: Mr. Ronald G. Burg

Construction Technology Laboratories

5420 Old Orchard Rd

Skokie, Illinois 60077

FAX: 847 965 6541

Tel: 847 965 7500

E-mail: rburg@c-t-l.com

Program Description:

• A Full-scale HSC column fire test program is to be conducted by PCA. The concrete will

include carbonate and siliceous aggregates. Six columns have been tested with at least three

more planned. There is a possibility of a fourth column being tested containing polypropylene

fibers. Test results are scheduled to become available at the end of 1997.

• A project was completed in 1996 on the thermal properties of carbonate aggregate HSC at elevated temperatures. PCA R&D Serial No. 2031 was published to summarize the project. The

report includes results of measurements of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and mass

loss at elevated temperatures.

• PCA Publication RD104T (1994), "Engineering Properties of Commercially Available HighStrength Concretes (Including Three-Year Data)" summarizes the results of a non-fire related

test program.

• Fire endurance of carbonate aggregate HSC slabs: A paper was published in the ACI Materials

Journal (March-April 1988). It compares the fire resistance of HSC slabs with those of normal

strength concretes. The fire resistance is based on the heat transmission criteria in ASTM El 19.

31
Contact Person: Mr. James P. Hurst

Portland Cement Association

5420 Old Orchard Rd.

Skokie, Illinois 60077

FAX: 847 966 9781

Tel: 847 966 6200

E-mail: jim_hurst@portcement.org

4.2.5 Laboratoire Central des Fonts et Chaussees (LCPC), France

Program Description:

• French National Research Project "BHP 2000" ("HPC 2000"), Work-Group 2: "Tenue Au Feu

(Fire Resistance)". Project in progress:

- Comportement des Beton Haute Performance vis-a-vis de L'eclatement - Modelisation

(Spalling Behavior of HPC - Modelling), by C. Casselman and O. Corydon, I.P.S.N. - Proprietes des BHP a Hautes Temperatures - Etude Bibliographique (Properties of HPC at High Temperatures - Literature Survey), by P. Pimienta and A. Leduff, CSTB. - Modelisation du Comportement des BHP vis-vis-vis de L'eclatement - Etudes en Laboratoire

et Determination des Caracteristiques Necessaires au Modele, Rapport D'etape (Modelling

Spalling Behavior of HPC - Experimental Study and Determination of Modelling

Characteristics, Progress Report), by P. Kalifa, CSTB.

• Assessment and repair of damage due to fire in the Channel Tunnel in 1996. Project in progress.

States of the materials before and after the fire are examined.

• Physical mechanisms and modeling of the behavior of concrete at high temperature. Project

being planned.

• European Research Program on Nuclear Fission Safety: "Containment Evaluation Under Severe

Accident."

Contact Person: Dr. Franz-Josef Ulm

Div. Betons et Ciments pour Ouvrages d'Art

Laboratoire Central des Fonts et Chaussees (LCPC)

58, bd Lefebvre

75732 Paris Cedex 15, France

FAX: 33(1)40 43 54 98

Tel: 33(1) 40 43 150

E-mail: ulm@inrets.fr

32
4.2.6 Rutgers University, U.S.A.

Program Description:

An experimental laboratory facility is being set up in the Department of Civil and Environmental

Engineering at Rutgers University for the purpose of measuring pore pressures and temperatures in

moist high- strength concrete exposed to elevated temperatures. This laboratory is scheduled to become operational in the summer of 1997 and will provide experimental data needed to refine

numerical analyses. At present, numerical simulations are being conducted to study several key

aspects of the performance of high-strength concrete in fires.

Contact Person : Professor Gary R. Consolazio

Rutgers University

Dept. Of Civil & Environmental Engineering

P.O. Box 909

Piscataway, NJ 08855

FAX: 908 445 0577

Tel: 908 445 4414

E-mail : grc@civeng. rutgers. edu

4.2.7 University of Missouri-Rolla, U.S.A.

Program Description :

Under the auspices of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), three projects are ongoing at the

University of Missouri-Rolla:

• The simulation of explosive spalling of refractory concrete (calcium aluminate based).

• The measurement of air permeability of refractory concretes using a vacuum decay method.

Permeability changes are being measured as a fiinction of:

a) thermal treatment

b) concrete composition (original mixture)

c) additives including chemicals and polymeric fibers

• "Postmortems" of large specimens exposed to one-sided heating involving measurement of key

properties along the thermal gradient and explaining the relationships between thermal gradient

and texture/property gradients.

AISI quarterly reports are confidential but a recent summary has been published. Comparable work

on refractory concretes is unknown at this time.

33
Contact Person: Professor Robert E. Moore

University of Missouri-Rolla

Ceramic Engineering

278 McNutt Hall

Rolla, MO 65401

FAX: 573 341 6934

Tel: 573 341 6326

E-mail: rmoore@,umr.edu

4.2.8 National Research Council-Canada (NRCC)

Program Description:

• An experimental and analytical project, which aims to develop design guidelines for fire design

of HSC columns for incorporation into the National Building Code of Canada, is being

undertaken by the NRCC in collaboration with industry (PCA, CPCA), research organizations

such as Concrete Canada (a Center of Excellence of the Canadian government) and the National

Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Taiwan. As part of this project, 48 reinforced HSC columns

are being fabricated and tested. These include 20 plain HSC columns and 28 fiber reinforced

HSC columns. Both steel and polypropylene fibers are being considered (8 columns include

steel fibers and 20 columns include polypropylene fibers). The 28-day compressive strength is about 90 MPa. Both silicious and carbonate aggregates concrete are used. The full-scale

columns will be subjected to the standard time-temperature curve given by ASTM El 19.

Variables to be studied include section sizes, shapes (circular and square), spacing of the ties,

load intensities, as well as the end support conditions.

• Fire tests were conducted on HSC-filled steel columns. This project was conducted to quantify

the effect of the type of concrete on the fire resistance of concrete filled steel columns. Three

types of columns were studied: (1) filled with plain concrete; (2) filled with concrete reinforced

with traditional bars; and (3) filled with steel fiber reinforced concrete (1.75% fibers by mass).

Both normal strength (40 MPa) and HSC (80 Mpa to 90 MPa) were used in the experimental as well as numerical studies. Circular and square cross sections were considered. Upon completion

of the tests on the normal strength concrete filled columns and numerical studies, design

guidelines will be incorporated into the Canadian building code.

Contact Person: Dr. Venkatesh Kodur

National Research Council/Canada

Institute for Research in Construction

M-59, Montreal Road

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ,K1 A 0R6

FAX: 613 954 0483

Tel: 613 993 9729

E-mail: venkatesh.kodur@nrc.ca

34
4.2.9 Fire Laboratory of Architecture and Building Research Institute (ABRI), Taiwan

Program Description: A National Research Council-Canada/National Chiao Tung University (NRCC/NCTU) joint test program on fire performance of HPC is being conducted. The current project is for 3 years (1996-

1999). The collaboration calls for the NRCC to provide about 300 HSC cylinders (100 mm by 200

mm, minimum strength of 70 MPa) for high temperature stress-strain tests at the NCTU in Taiwan.

The NCTU is to fabricate 15 full-scale HSC columns and to ship the columns to the NRCC for load

and fire resistance tests in Canada.

The NRCC cylinders are made of siliceous aggregate, siliceous aggregate plus steel fibers, carbonate

aggregate, and carbonate aggregate plus steel fiber. The NCTU columns have square cross sections

(305 mm x 305 mm x 3810 mm) and concrete strength exceeding 70 MPa. The concretes include

siliceous aggregates, carbonate aggregates, steel fibers, glass fibers, and polypropylene fibers in

various combinations.

Contact Person: Dr. T.D. Lin Dr. Sam Chou

4.2.10 City University, London, U.K.

Program Description: A three year national research program on explosive spalling of high strength concrete at fire temperatures using different types of aggregates, curing regimes, strengths and restraint conditions

is being conducted at the City University in London. Fire testing is being carried out in conjunction

with the U.K.'s Building Research Establishment (BRE).

Contact Person: Dr. Patrick J.E. Sullivan

2022 Hollywood Ct. Wilmette, II 60091

FAX: 847 251 8090

Tel: 847 251 8071

Director, Fire Laboratory

Architecture and Building Research Institute

Taiwan

Sullivan & Associates

2 Sandy Lodge Rd.

Rickmansworth Herts, WD3 ILJ

England

FAX: 923897484

Tel: 923773267

E-mail: P.J.E.Sullivan@city.ac. uk

35
4.2.11 SINTEF, Norway

Program Description:

Completed and on-going research activities on fire-exposed HSC by SINTEF include:

• Offshore concrete exposed to hydrocarbon fire (1 985- 1 987)

• Explosion and fire protection (1984-1988)

• High-Strength Concrete. Phase 3: Fire resistance (1986-1993)

• LWA Concrete for floating platforms ( 1 990- 1 992)

• Fire research on high-strength LWA concrete, and RC structures with nonmetallic reinforcement

(in progress)

Contact Person: Dr.Techn. Jens Jacob Jensen

SINTEF Civil and Environmental Engineering

Cement and Concrete

N-7034 Trondheim, Norway

FAX: 47 73 59 71 36

Tel: 47 73 59 45 31

E-mail: jens.jensen@civil.sintef.no

4.2.12 VTT, Finland

Program Description:

Under the auspices of the joint European BRITE EURAM project (HITECO, see also section

4.2.3), Finland is presently (1996-1998) investigating the fire performance of HSC (60 MPa to 100

MPa) and ultra high strength concrete (UHPC, exceeding 150 MPa). Thermal and mechanical

properties, as well as spalling characteristics of small specimens are being studied for material

models development. Fire tests on short columns and other structural members are also plaimed.

Contact Person: Ms. Ulla-Maija Jumppanen

VTT Building Technology, Fire Technology Laboratory

Technical Research Center of Finland

P.O. Box 1803, FIN - 02044 VTT

Finland

FAX: 3589 456 4815

Tel: 3589 456 4792

E-mail: ulla-maijajumppanen@vtt.fi

36
4.2.13 Monash University, Australia

Program Description:

• Experimental study to evaluate a mathematical modelfor the behavior ofreinforced concrete

walls infire. The increasing use of concrete walls as load carrying structural members, mainly

in the form of tiltup and precast walls, is allowing structural engineers to design increasingly

efficient and economical structures for buildings. The fire resistance requirements for structural

adequacy embodied in the Australian concrete structures design code (AS3600-1994) are based

partly on results generated by a computer-based mathematical model and partly from experience.

There have been no experimental studies to substantiate either the mathematical model or the

current design guidelines. Moreover, through discussions with consulting engineers, precast

concrete manufacturers and concrete associations, it is apparent that the design guidelines for

structural adequacy are restrictive. This project aims to experimentally study the performance

of slender, reinforced concrete walls under standard fire conditions. It is anticipated that the

experimental tests will be completed by the end of 1997.

An agreement has been reached with BEP Melbourne Research Laboratories (BHP-MRL) that

will allow researchers to use the BHP-MRL fire testing facilities to perform the experimental

tests. The gas-fired furnace to be used is 5.1 m long, 2.5 m wide and 2 m tall. A total of eight

fire tests are to be conducted in the current testing program.

Each wall thickness (75 mm, 100 mm and 150 mm) will be tested with a central layer of 0.25%

total reinforcement, while the 150 mm wall will be tested with two layers of reinforcement at a

total reinforcement content of 0.25%. Each set of four walls will be tested using 40 MPa

concrete (normal strength) and 1 00 MPa concrete (high strength). A special purpose test-rig has

been constructed that will apply eccentric compression to the horizontally mounted test specimens. Thus lateral load effects are also being studied. The test specimens will be subject

to the IS0834 standard fire environment on one side only, which is representative of a compartment fire within a building. One-way bending action of the test specimens is being

studied.

During the fire tests of loaded specimens, an investigation of several parameters likely to influence spalling of high strength concrete will be conducted. In addition to the loaded test specimens, unloaded spalling test specimens will be fire tested. Reinforcement contents of the

spalling test specimens will be identical to the reinforcement contents of the loaded test specimens. The moisture content of representative samples of concrete will be assessed prior

to testing the specimens. The parameters to be initially studied in the spalling investigation

include:

- total slab thickness: 75 mm, 100 mm and 150 mm

- cover to reinforcement: 25 mm, 38 mm, 50 mm and 75 mm.

- concrete strength: 40 MPa and 1 00 MPa

37
The results ofthe experimental study will be used to develop an appropriate mathematical model

to numerically simulate the structural response of concrete walls in fires. Following extensive

parametric studies, this mathematical model will be used in the development of more rationally

based guidelines for the design of reinforced concrete walls in fire. A second key component of the current research program is a detailed study of heat and mass

transfer characteristics of concrete slabs in fires. It is envisaged to verify experimentally

measured pore pressures and temperatures in heated HSC slabs with those predicted by

computer-based heat and mass transfer models.

Evaluation of the high temperature mechanical properties of high strength concrete. The

conclusions drawn from the recent workshop on the fire performance of high strength concrete

(HSC) suggest that there is insufficient experimental data on fire exposed HSC. Furthermore,

the increased usage of HSC in structural applications must recognize the fundamental behavioral

differences of HSC compared with normal strength concrete.

To address the deficiency of experimental data on fire exposed HSC, a major research effort is being planned at Monash University, Australia. This research program aims to develop a better

understanding of the behavior of fire exposed HSC and to develop suitable constitutive

relationships for calculating the structural strength of fire exposed HSC members. The

Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University will shortly take delivery of a new

electrically powered furnace. The furnace will enable heating rates up to 40 °C/min to be

attained (approaching those of standard temperature-time curves). The configuration of the

furnace will allow researchers to study both cylinders (100 mm diameter by 200 mm long) and

beams (100 mm x 100 mm x 450 mm long). External load is applied via high temperature and

stress resistant advanced structural ceramic rams connected to either a 5000 kN Amsler

compression testing machine or a 500 kN Baldwin testing machine. With this configuration,

three types of high temperature tests can be conducted, i.e., unstressed, stressed or unstressed

residual, thus allowing a complete study of fire exposed HSC at all stages of structural life.

At present, the research program is in its initial stages. A number of tests are planned for late

1997 to assess the capabilities of the furnace. The initial tests planned include:

- unstressed tests on HSC cylinders to establish variations in compressive strength with

temperature.

unstressed residual strength tests on model size reinforced concrete beams to establish the

criteria for bond induced failure or flexure induced failure in fire damaged concrete beams.

Also, suitable design equations to predict the failure load of beams will be developed.

Additional funding is currently being sought through local sources to equip the furnace with high

temperature strain measurement equipment to enable concrete deformation to be recorded during

the tests. Such data are fundamental to the development of suitable constitutive relationships

for fire-exposed HSC.

38
Contact Persons: Dr. Jay G. Sanjayan

Department of Civil Engineering

Monash University

Clayton, Australia

Tel: 61 3 9905 4985

Fax: 61 3 9905 4944

Mr. Damian A. Crozier

Department of Civil Engineering

Monash University

Clayton, Australia

Tel: 61 3 9905 4958

Fax: 61 3 9905 4944

Email: sanjay@eng.monash.edu.au Email: crozier@eng.monash.edu.au

39
5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The editors express sincere appreciation to all workshop participants whose contributions made the

workshop a successful event. Special thanks are extended to the Working Group (WG) Chairs and

Co-chairs, Dr. Y. Anderberg and Mr. M.P. Gillen (WG A-1), Dr. U. Diederichs and Mr. R.G. Burg

(WG A-2), Mr. J.P. Hurst (WG B), and Dr. J.A. Milke (WG C), for their diligence in guiding the

discussions of their respective working groups and for presenting succinct summaries at the plenary

session. Special thanks are also extended to all distinguished researchers who made presentations

at the workshop and who provided these proceedings with technical papers. We thank Dr. V. Kodur

of the National Research Council - Canada for agreeing to serve as the external reviewer of this

document, and all those individuals who contributed to the review and submitted constructive

suggestions. We thank Dr. George C. Hoff, Mr. M.P. Gillen, and Dr. S.K. Ghosh for their assistance

in organizing this workshop. Finally, we thank Dr. Jack E. Snell for his welcoming remarks to open

the workshop.

6. REFERENCES

Anderberg, Y., Editor, 1983, ''Properties of Materials at High Temperatures: Steel,'' Report of

RILEM Committee 44-PHT, Lund Institute of Technology, Report LUTVDG/(TVDB-330B).

Ahmed, G.N., and Hurst, J.P., ""Modeling the Thermal Behavior ofConcrete Slabs Subjected to the

ASTME119 Standard Fire Condition^ Journal ofFire Protection Engineering, 7(4), 1995, pp. 125-

132.

Comite Europeen de Normalisation (CEN), ''Eurocode 4: Design ofComposite Steel and Concrete

Structures. Part 1 -2: General Rules - Structural Fire Design,'' CEN ENV 1994.

Comites Euro-International Du Beton, "Fire Design ofConcrete Structures - in accordance with

CEB/FIP Model Code 90 (Final Draft)", CEB Bulletin DTnformation No. 208, July 1991, Lausanne,

Switzerland.

Concrete Association of Finland, ""High Strength Concrete Supplementary Rules and Fire Design

RakMKB4," 1991.

Phan, L.T., ''Fire Performance of High-Strength Concrete: A Report of the State-of-the-Art,"

NISTIR 5934, National Institute of Standards and Technology, December, 1996, Gaithersburg, MD.

Phan, L.T., and Carino, N.J., "A Review ofMechanical Properties ofHSC at Elevated Temperature''

Paper submitted to ASCE Journal ofMaterials in Civil Engineering, 1997.

40
APPENDIX A. Workshop Agenda/List of Participants/Lists of Working Group Members

41
,1^
A.l Workshop Agenda

Agenda

NIST Workshop on Fire Performance ofHigh-Strength Concrete

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Building and Fire Research Laboratory

Thiursday, February 13, 1997

7:45 am - 8:15 am Registration (NIST, Lecture Room E)

8:15 am - 2:30 am Introduction and Technical Presentations

(NIST, Lecture Room E)

Welcome Dr. Jack Snell, Deputy Director, Building and Fire Research Laboratory,

NIST

Goal of Workshop Dr. Nicholas J. Carino, Leader, Structural Evaluation Group, BFRL, NIST

Presentations Dr. Long T. Phan, BFRL, NIST, Session Chairman

8:30 - 8:50 ''High-Strength Concrete in Germany. Utilization, Research and

Standardization"

U. Diederichs, Technische Universitat Braunschweig, Germany.

8:50 - 9:10 ''Fire Test ofNormal-Weight/High Performance Concrete in Taiwan"

T.D. Lin, Fire Laboratory, ABRI, Taiwan.

9: 10 - 9:30 "Fire Resistance and Residual Strength ofHigh-Strength Concrete Exposed

to Hydrocarbon Fire""

J.J. Jensen, SINTEF, Norway.

9:30 - 9:50 "Spalling Phenomena ofHPC

Y. Anderberg, Sweden.

9:50 - 10:00 'Fire Damage in the Channel Tunnel"

Franz-Josef Ulm, LCPC, France.

10:00 - 10:30 Coffee Break

43
Thursday, F^ibnmry 13, 1997 (Cofttintoed)

10:30 - 10:50 ""Research Activities in Finland on Fire Resistance ofHSC

U.-M. Jumppanen, VTT, Finland

10:50-11:10 '''Studies on the Fire Resistance of HPC at the National Research

Council/Canada"

V. Kodur, NRC/Canada

11:10 - 11:30 ''Spalling ofHigh-Strength LWA Concrete - Cause and Cure'''' M.P. Gillen, Dupont Engineering

11:30- 11:50 ""Limitations of Current U.S. Standards and Challenges for Proposed

Performance-Based Standards''

J. A. Milke, University of Maryland

12:00 pm -1:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm - 1:20 pm ''Computational Modeling of Temperature, Pore Pressure, and Moisture

Content in Concrete Exposed to Fire''

G. Ahmed, PCA

1:20 pm - 1:40 pm "Analysis of Pore Pressure, Thermal Stress, and Fracture of Concrete in

Rapidly Heated Concrete"

Z.P. Bazant, Northwestern University.

1:40 pm - 2:00 pm "Fire Tests on Normal and High-Strength Reinforced Concrete Columns"

C.-M. Aldea, Northwestern University.

2:00 pm - 2:20 pm "Measurement and Prediction ofPore Pressure in Cement Mortar Subjected

to Elevated Temperature"

G. Consolazio, Rutgers University.

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm Coffee Break

3:00 pm - 5:30 pm Concurrent Working Group Meetings

WG: A-1 WG: A-2 WG: B WG: C

Material Tests Element Tests Analytical Studies Codes & Standards

Chair: Y. Anderberg U. Diederichs J.P. Hurst A. Milke

Co-Chair: M.P. Gillen R.G. Burg

Recorder: N.J. Carino D. Duthinh E. Garboczi L.T. Phan

44
Friday, February 14, 1997

8:30 am - 12:00 pm Concurrent Working Group Meeting

WG: A-1

Material Tests

Chair: Y. Anderberg

Co-Chair: M.P. Gillen

Recorder: N.J. Carino

WG: A-2 WG: B WG: C

Element Tests Analytical Studies Codes & Standards

U. Diederichs

R.G. Burg

D. Duthinh

J.P. Hurst

E. Garboczi

J.A. Milke

L.T. Phan

8:30-10:00

10:00-10:15

10:15-12:00

Working Group Discussions

Coffee Break

Working Group Discussions

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Plenary Session (Lecture Room E)

Summary of Working Group Recommendations

Concluding Remarks

45
I

I

I

1
A.2 Workshop Participants

NIST Workshop on Fire Performance of High-Strength Concrete

February 13-14, 1997

List of Participants

Organizing Committee Members

Nicholas J. Carino

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B 158

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301)975-6063

FAX: (301) 869-6275

E-mail: nicholas.carino@nist.gov

S.K. Ghosh

Engineering Services, Codes and Standards

Portland Cement Association

5420 Old Orchard Road

Skokie, Illinois 60077-1083

Phone: (847) 966-6200, ext. 438

FAX: (847) 966-9781

Email: s_ghosh@portcement.org

Michael P. Gillen

Dupont Engineering

P.O. Box 80840

Wilmington, DE 19880-0840

FAX: 302 695 0734

Tel: 302 695 0250

George C. Hoff

Mobil Technology Company

Mobil Exploration & Producing Technical

Center (MEPTEC)

Surface Engineering Department

13777 Midway Road

Dallas, TX 75244

FAX: 972 851 8349

Tel: 214 851 8774

H.S. Lew

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B168

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301) 975-6061

FAX: (301) 869-6275

E-mail: hai.lew@nist.gov

Long T. Phan

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B 158

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301)975-6077

FAX: (301) 869-6275

E-mail: lphan@nist.gov

Participating Members

Gamal N. Ahmed

Portland Cement Association

5420 Old Orchard Rd.

Skokie, Illinois 60077

FAX: 847 966 9781

Tel: 847 966 6200 x329

E-mail: gamal_ahmed@portcement. org

Corina-Maria Aldea

Northwestern University

NSF Center for S&T of ACBM

2145 Sheridan Rd., Room A130

Evanston, II 60208-4400

FAX: 847 467 1078

Tel: 847 467 3630

E-mail: cal569@hecky.acns.nwu.edu

47
Yngve Anderberg

Fire Safety Design

P.O. Box 2170

S-22002 LUND, Sweden

FAX: 46-46-140030

Tel: 46-46-140020

E-mail: yngve.anderberg@fsd.se

Zdenek P. Bazant

Northwestern University

Department of Civil Engineering

Technological Institute

Evanston, Illinois 60208-3109

TEL. 847-491-4025 (secy. 847-491-3351)

FAX: 847-467-1078 (Dept. 847-491-4011)

E-MAIL: z-bazant@nwu. edu

Leonard W. Bell

Fibermesh, Div. Of Synthetic Industries

4019 Industry Drive

Chattanooga, Tennessee 37416

TEL: 423-892-7243

FAX: 423-499-0753

Dale Bentz

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B350

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301) 975-5865

FAX: (301)990-6891

E-mail: dale.bentz@nist.gov

Alain Bilodeau

CANMET

405 Rochester Street

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA OGl

FAX: 613 992 9389

Tel: 613 992 3806

E-mail: alain. bilodeau@cc2smtp. nrcan.gc. ca

Ronald G. Burg

Construction Technology Laboratories

5420 Old Orchard Rd.

Skokie, Illinois 60077

FAX: 847 965 6541

Tel: 847 965 7500

E-mail: rburg@c-t-l.com

James Clifton

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B350

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301)975-6707

FAX: (301)990-6891

E-mail: James, clifton@nist.gov

Gary R. Consolazio

Rutgers University

Dept. Of Civil & Environmental Engineering

P.O. Box 909

Piscataway, NJ 08855

FAX 908 445 0577

Tel: 908 445 4414

E-mail: grc@civeng.rutgers.edu

Leonard Cooper

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Polymer Building, Room A249

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301) 975-6880

E-mail : leonard. cooper@nist. gov

Ulrich Diederichs

Amtliche Materialpriifanstalt fiir das

Bauwesen

BeethovenstraPe 52

D-38106 Brauschweig, Germany

FAX: 49 531 391 4573

Tel: 49 531 391 5426
Dat Duthinh

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B158

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301) 975-4357

FAX: (301) 869-6275

E-mail: dat.duthin@nist.gov

William L. Gamble

University of Illinois

3122 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory

205 North Mathews

Urbana, Illinois 61801

FAX: 217 333 9464

Tel: 217 333 6935

E-mail: w-gamble@uiuc.edu

Edward Garboczi

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B350

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301) 975-6708

FAX: (301) 990-6891

E-mail: edward.garbocz@nist.gov

James P. Hurst

Portland Cement Association

5420 Old Orchard Rd.

Skokie, Illinois 60077

Tel: 847 966 6200

FAX: 847 966 9781

E-mail: jim_hurst@portcement. org

Jens Jacob Jensen

SINTEF Bygg og miljerteknikk

Strindveien 2

N-7034 Trondheim, Norway

Tel: 73-59-45-31

FAX: 47-7-359-7136

E-mail : jens.jensen@civil. sintef.no

I

1

Ulla-Maija Jumppanen

VTT Building Technology

Fire Technology Laboratory

Technical Research Center of Finland

P.O. Box 1803, FIN - 02044 VTT, Finland

Tel: 3589 456 4792

FAX: 3589 456 4815

E-mail : ulla-maija.jumppanen@vtt.fi

Victor Karthigeyan

Health and Safety Executive

No. 2 Rose Court

Southwark Bridge, London SE 1 9HS

United Kingdom

FAX: 44-171-717-6678

Tel: 44-171-717-6773

E-mail: v.karthigeyan@hse.gov. uk

Venkatesh Kodur

National Research Council/Canada

Institute for Research in Construction

M-59, Montreal Road

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ,K1A 0R6

FAX: 613 954 0483

Tel: 613 993 9729

E-mail: venkatesh.kodur@nrc.ca

Francois de Larrard

Laboratoire Central des Fonts et Chaussees

Route de Bouaye/BP 19

44340 Bouguenais

FAX: 33 2 40 84 59 98

E-mail: larrard@lcpc.fiT.D. Lin

Lintek Ltd.

2022 Hollywood Ct. Wilmette, II 60091

FAX: 847 251 8090

Tel: 847 251 8071

49
Nicos Martys

Building & Fire Research Laboratory, NIST

Building 226, Room B350

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899

Tel: (301)975-5915

FAX: (301) 990-6891

E-mail: nicos.marty@nist.gov

Jim Messersmith

Portland Cement Association

1 1479 Trimrose Ln.

Rockville, VA 23146

Tel: 804 749 3584

FAX: 804 749 3584

James A. Milke

University of Maryland at College Park

Department of Fire Protection Engineering

College Park, Maryland 20742

Tel: 301 405 3995

FAX: 301 405 9383

E-mail: milke@eng.umd.edu

Robert E. Moore

University of Missouri-Rolla

Ceramic Engineering

278 McNutt Hall

Rolla, MO 65401

Tel: 573 341 6326

FAX: 573 341 6934

E-mail: rmoore@umr.edu

Todd Sander

University of Missouri-Rolla

Ceramic Engineering

278 McNutt Hall

Rolla, MO 65401

Tel: 573 341 6326

FAX: 573 341 6934

Franz-Josef Ulm

Div. Betons et Ciments pour Ourages d'Art

Laboratoire Central des Fonts et Chaussees

58, bd Lefebvre

75732 Paris Cedex 15, France

Tel: 33(1) 40 43 150

FAX: 33(1)40 43 54 98

E-mail: ulm@inrets.fr

50
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I I t
APPENDIX B. Workshop Papers

53

B.l Concrete Fire Test Programs in Taiwan

T. D. Lin* and Sam Chou**

Introduction

Small-scale fire test programs involving wooden and plastic materials might have started within

universities in Taiwan in the 1960s or earlier, but fire tests of concrete did not begin until late in the

1980s. In 1988, the National Science Council of Taiwan funded National Taiwan Institute of

Technology a sizable fire test program to determine the behavior of concrete slabs in fire and the

mechanical properties of fire-exposed concrete. Subsequently, several concrete fire test programs were carried out, some projects are still in progress.

Here is the reason why concrete, a non-combustible material, suddenly became a hot topic for fire research in this island nation. The healthy economic growth in the last 20 years has led to enormous

volumes of concrete construction. Because of expensive land cost in Taiwan, commercial and

residential buildings of 30, 40, and 50 stories have become attractive commodities in the real estate market in cities, suburbs, and even in rural areas as well.

The densely populated living condition facilitated with large quantities of electric and gas lines

provide high living standards, but at the same time it poses vulnerable fire hazards to occupants and

properties. KTV and MTV entertainment vendors, a recently developed oriental culture, coupled

with the enforcement of building fire insurance have propelled the rise of fire occurrences to an

alarming stage in recent years.

In responding to this social problem, the Ministry of Interior established a fire research laboratory

under the auspices of Architecture and Building Research Institute (ABRI) in 1 989 to coordinate fire research programs and conduct fire safety verification tests on commercial building materials. The

laboratory has also conducted a wide range of in-house fire test programs covering wood, metal,

aluminum, ceramic, glass, plastic, gypsum board, and concrete. Interestingly, concrete fire research

has been considered as one of the top priority programs, because it is virtually the most widely used

construction material in Taiwan.

Fire Research on Normal Weight Concrete

In addition to the in-house research programs, the fire laboratory provides funding to support 10 to

1 5 fire related research projects carried out by universities and research institutes each year. Among

them, about 10 to 15 % were earmarked for fire research related to concrete. The foliowings are few

sample projects supported by the National Science Council and ABRI, during the period of 1991 to 1996:

President, Lintek International, Inc., Illinois

Director, Fire Laboratory, Architecture and Building Research Institute, Taiwan

55
• Experimental studies on thermal properties of normal weight concrete at elevated

temperatures.

• Experimental studies on mechanical properties of normal weight and lightweight concrete

at elevated temperatures

• Development of post-fire investigation methodologies using the Loss-on-Ignition procedure

• Fire tests of normal weight concrete slabs (1 m wide, 4.5 m long, and 100 to 150 mm thick)

• Fire tests of lightweight concrete slabs (1 m wide, 4.5 m long, and 100 to 150 mm thick)

• Fire tests of concrete-filled steel columns without applied loads

Results of these tests have been published in Chinese technical joumals and are available by request.

Fire Research on High Strength and High Performance Concrete

High strength concrete (HSC) and high performance concrete (HPC) have gained substantial

attention worldwide in the last 1 0 years. Without exception, the concrete industry in Taiwan through

the domestic R/D and technology transfer has successfully introduced HSC to its domestic

construction industry. The use of HSC in the construction of the 85 Story T&C Tower in

Kao-Hsiung, the 2nd largest city in Taiwan, is a good example.

Nonetheless, the use of HSC in building construction requires careful studies for it may spall

violently in fire. Unfortunately, only limited studies on the related subject have been carried out so

far and knowledge gaps in this area are wide open. The fire laboratory of ABRI was aware of the

problem and funded a test program to investigate the spalling behavior of HSC/HPC at high

temperatures. The test variables included effects of moisture and chemical admixtures on spalling

and mechanical properties at high temperatures.

At least two hundred 1 00 mm diameter by 200 mm high cylinders made with approximately 70 MPa

HSC were tested in an electric furnace. The concrete cylinders were divided into groups in

accordance with amounts of superplasticizer used to study the effect of the admixture on spalling.

The test results verified the explosive behavior of HSC and revealed that the effect of chemical

admixtures on the spalling is minimal, but the effect of moisture is obviously severe. In addition,

reductions of strength and modulus of elasticity with respect to temperature rise were also studied.

In fact, the behavior of HSC in fire is extremely complicated. Small cylinder tests can only give

quantitative answers, not realistic solutions. Full-scale fire tests of structural elements are definitely

desirable. For this reason, the fire laboratory of ABRI funded the National Chiao Tung University

(NCTU) to collaborate with the fire laboratory of the National Research Council of Canada on a fire test program involving 15 full-sized columns (305 mm x 305 mm x 3810 mm) made with HSC

having strength greater than 70 MPa. Various mixtures incorporating siliceous aggregate, siliceous

aggregate + steel fibers, carbonate aggregate, carbonate aggregate + steel fibers were used to manufacture these column specimens.

56
In return, NCTU will test approximately three hundred 100 mm by 200 mm cylinders made with

HSC having similar compositions as those of the column specimens to determine their stress-strain

relationships at various elevated temperatures.

The collaboration is based on work exchange without monetary transaction between both parties.

The agreement for the joint research program was signed for 3 years (Mid 1996- Mid 1999) and can be extended under a mutual agreement. The obtained test data will be shared by both parties and

published jointly.

Near-Term Programs

The fire laboratory of ABRI considers concrete fire research an important technical contribution to the concrete industry. It has decided to proceed with its second 5-year research program

(1997-2002) in which projects related to concrete and steel are listed below:

1. Fire resistance of HSC/HPC structural elements

2. Fire resistance of normal weight concrete structural elements

3. Fire resistance of steel structural elements

4. Fire resistance of steel/concrete composite structural elements

5. Post fire evaluations

The selection of these subjects is based on the domestic construction needs.

Long Term Programs

The fire laboratory of ABRI anticipates to continue its commitment to concrete fire research.

Depending on budget allocated and domestic needs, future research topics will be selected from the

foliowings areas:

1 . Materialsfor HSC

a) Effects of cements such as ordinary portland cement, alumina cement, and refractory

cement on the fire performance.

b) Effects of aggregates (carbonate, siliceous, and lightweight) on fire endurance.

c) Effects ofchemical admixtures (sulphonated naphthalene, formaldehyde condensates,

sulphonates melamine formaldehyde condensates, modified lignosulphates, and

others) on the fire performance.

d) Effects of mineral admixtures such as fly ash, silica fume, slag cement.

e) Effects of rebars (plain, deformed, epoxy/zinc coated ) and fibers (steel, glass,

carbon, polypropylene) on the fire performance.

2. Physical and Thermal Properties ofHSC

a) Paste: Drying shrinkage often results in micro-cracks in paste. These micro-cracks

extend to form larger cracks attributed to vapor pressure/thermal stresses during fire.

57
b) Aggregate: Volume stability and physiochemical reactivities of different aggregates

at elevated temperatures deserve in-depth studies.

c) Concrete: Thermal expansion, conductivity, specific heat, vapor pressure, and

physiochemical stability affect the fire performance.

3. Mechanical Properties ofHSC

Modulus of elasticity, strengths (compressive, tensile, bond, and shear), and stress-strain

relationships are important variables in predicting the fire resistance of HSC structures.

4. Small-scale and Full-Scale Fire Tests

Preparation of cylinders including high temperature resistant capping, positioning of

unbonded pads, ground/lapped end-surfaces are essential factors for viable test data. Well

thought-out test procedures are extremely important. Full-scale fire tests are very expensive and

require sophisticated test equipment and facilities. A good test plan and a careful execution of the

plan is absolutely necessary. In fiill-scale fire tests, furnace temperatures must be regulated to closely follow the standard time-temperature curve specified. Temperature measurements for the

test specimen must be accurately taken. Selection oftest loads must meet the code requirements and

closely simulate the actual loads in the building during fire.

5. Mathematical models

Finite element and finite difference methods are generally used to develop computational

models to predict the structural behavior of HSC in fire. The development of these models requires

data obtained in items 1 to 3 of this section. General engineering theories and rational design

methods can be applied in these studies. Design details such as bar sizes and spacing, development

length, and concrete covers all have noticeable effects on the fire performance ofreinforced concrete.

6. New Design Concept

Performance-based design is a new concept and may offer a better engineering solution for

fire resistance than the prescriptive design procedure.

7. Interaction andpublic awareness

It is important to provide ACI committee 3 1 8 and major foreign design code committees with

the research results obtained from the envisioned HSC fire test programs. We hope the major

building codes may include provisions related to HSC in the near future.

Conclusion

High strength/high performance concrete has commercial and engineering potentials. It has already

changed concrete construction procedures for non-fire hazardous infrastructures. However, use of

HSC in building construction faces serious safety problems because ofthe building official's concern over the explosive spalling behavior in fire. International collaborative efforts are required to undertake this expensive fire test endeavor. Realizing the importance of HSC fire research, the fire laboratory of ABRI envisions the need to make contributions toward this specific research area.

58
B.2 Fire Resistance and Residual Strength of HSC

Exposed to Hydrocarbon Fire

Jens Jacob Jensen', Tor Arne Hammer', Per Arne Hansen^

'SINTEF Civil and Environment Engineering, Cement and Concrete, Trondheim, Norway

^SINTEF Energy, Norwegian Fire Research Laboratory, Trondheim, Norway

ABSTRACT:

This paper deals with the evaluation of the residual strength of high-strength concrete (HSC)

structural elements exposed to accidental loading as fire. The question is whether a structure retains

enough residual strength for continued unaltered or limited use. The after-accident serviceability,

residual strength, cost of repair and second-order consequences are all of vital importance for

industrial production systems such as the petroleum industry, offshore installations, power plants

and transportation systems. This study discusses in particular the fire resistance and residual strength

of HSC-reinforced beams exposed to hydrocarbon fire. Research needs are also discussed.

1. INTRODUCTION

Concrete structures for special industrial production systems such as the petroleum industry, offshore

installations, power plants and those for transport systems and fortifications, are of particular concern

regarding extreme loadings such as hydrocarbon fires and explosions. Accidental situations such as

fire and explosions are often linked together. Structural damage, degradation of materials, large

permanent deflections and plastic behavior may be accepted to a certain extent by accidental loading.

However, the acceptance criteria have to be defined on the basis of safety requirements with respect

to hazard protection, after-accident serviceability, residual strength, cost of repair and second-order

consequences.

2. RESIDUAL STRENGTH OF HSC BEAMS EXPOSED TO HYDROCARBON FIRE

2.1 Background

The reduction in the compressive concrete strength at high temperatures has been taken into

consideration in most existing design codes; however, regulations are in general based on

experimental evidence obtained by testing low- and medium-strength concretes under normal fire conditions. More rapid reductions of the compressive strength of high-strength concrete than of lowstrength concrete has been observed at relatively low temperatures [9]. The same tendency was

observed in both normal-density and lightweight concretes, in tests in which concrete was exposed

to temperatures between 20 and 600°C [1] See Figure L

59
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Temperature (deg C)

Figure 1 . Relative compressive strength vs target temperature of specimens during testing.

The spalling is highly dependent on moisture content. A significant reduction in spalling can be

obtained by the addition of polypropylene (PP) fibers to the concrete [2]. This has also been

confirmed in structural beam tests [3].

Hydrocarbon fires which are characterized by high temperatures and very rapid temperature rises

may cause serious damage to concrete structures. Loss of strength caused by elevated temperatures

and spalling damage reduce the load bearing capacity of structural elements. The question which

arises after such fires is whether the structure has sufficient residual strength for continued unaltered or limited use.

2.2 Fire Resistance Tests

Fire resistance tests were performed on concrete beams with the dimensions 150 x 200 x 800 mm.

A total of 14 beams (1 1 reinforced and 3 prestressed) of four different concrete types were examined.

[3]. Typical reinforcement was as shown in Figure 2. Three of the beams were protected with

passive fire protection.

The types of concrete used have the following designations: ND95, LWA75, LWAF75, LWAF75P,

LWA50. Where ND=normal density concrete; 95, 75, and 50 refer to the design cube compressive

60
strengths (95, 75, and 50 MPa); LWA=Lighteeight Aggregate concrete, (LWA75: Liapor aggregate,

LWA50: Leca aggregate), F= fiber added in concrete mix (Polypropylene, Fibrin type 1825),

P=Beam protected with passive fire protection (LightCem LC5).

The different types of concrete and the beam numbers were as follows:

ND95: (61^ 62^12^) LWAF75P: (41, A2\^l>')

LWA75: (21,22^) LWA50: (51', 52)

LWAF75: (31, 32', 33^ 352),(30, 34^)*

Legend:

'Beam tested with vertical load

^Beams without shear reinforcement (Longitudinal reinforcement 3-(I)20 mm).

^Prestressed beams. (Dywidag 4)26, center)

"•Longitudinal reinforcement 2(j)32mm

* Reference beams, not exposed to fire

(^8 c/c 100

32

2001

43

J.

Figure 2. Cross section of typical test beam (21,31,32,41,42,51,52)

61
Figure 3. Experimental set-up for testing of residual strength of beams

(a) Nos 30,33,34,52,62 (flexure)

(b) Nos 3 1 ,4 1, and 42 (flexure)

(c) No 43 (shear)

The damage after fire exposure was observed visually. The results may be summarized as follows:

The test results confirmed earlier findings as reported in [5] that severe spalling (exposed

reinforcement) occurred on reinforced and prestressed LWA beams. Reduced spalling (spalling, but no exposed reinforcement) of the ND75 concrete beams and normal strength LWA (LWAC50)

concrete beams was observed. One of the ND concrete beams collapsed during testing. Reduced

or no spalling was observed in the LWAF75 beams. This means that significant improvements in

spalling resistance were attained by adding polypropylene fibers to the LWA concrete mix. No

spalling was observed on the test specimens with passive fire protection (LWAF75P) [4].

2.3 Residual Strength of Fire-Tested Beams

The residual ultimate strength of seven of the fire tested beams was studied by the structural test arrangement as shown in Figure 3 [41]. None of the LWA75 beams was tested for residual strength

because the damage caused by the fire exposure was considered to be too extensive to permit fiirther investigations. Fire testing was conducted on beams 62 (ND95), 31 (LWAW5), 41,42 and 43

(LWAFP75) and 52 (LWA50). In addition the reference beams 30 and 34, which had not been

exposed to fire, were tested.

62
Table I. Failure types and observed and calculated capacities.

Beam

No

Failure

type

Capacities

[KN]

Ratio

ex/th P* ex Pth

31 FC/FT 34.3 66.7 0.51

41 FT/FT 68.7 66.7 1.03

42 FT/FT 67.7 66.7 1.01

43 SH/SH 58.9 53.0 1.11

30* FT/FT 44.1 45.3 0.97

33 FT/FT 13.7 31.6 0.43

34* FT/FT 43.2 31.6 1.37

52 FC/FC 14.2 38.1 0.37

62 FC/FC 24.0 62.7 0.38

* Reference beams

Types of failure:

FC = Flexure compression

FT = Flexure tension

SH = Shear failure

The test results (ex=experimental) are compared with the calculated (th=theoretical) values for

unexposed beams in Table I. The theoretical capacities were calculated according to NS3473 [10],

using a characteristic strength, f^n = 0.56*fc28 + 2.8 MPa. [16].

The results are also presented in Figure 4 in which the residual strength in terms of the moment

capacity of fire exposed reinforced LWAF beams (with fibers) are compared with reference beams

not exposed to fire.

It may be concluded that even if the structural elements show only minor spalling after exposure,

the reduction in concrete strength and thus in the load-bearing capacity may be severe. The beams

with passive fire protection had no visual damage after fire exposure and this is consistent with the

measured residual strength of the beams. The positive effect of using passive fire protection to prevent spalling and to reduce temperature rise is obvious, and should therefore be considered in

design evaluations.

63
Moment [ kNm ]

Figure 4. Comparison of residual strength (moment capacity) of fire-exposed reinforced

and prestressed LWAF beams (with PP fiber). Beams nos 30 and 34 are reference

beams not exposed to fire. Beams nos 41 and 42 have passive fire protection.

3. RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESEARCH NEEDS

3.1 Recommendations

No special recommendations are given for high-strength concrete fire design in Eurocode 2 [14,15].

In the current Norwegian code, NS 3473 [10], special provisions on thermal effects are suggested

if the concrete grades are higher than C55. For such grades, it may be assumed, when more precise

values are not known, that compressive strength falls linearly from its full value at 100° C to 75%

of the full value at 200 °C and is constant for higher temperatures until the reduction is as specified

for normal strength concrete. See also the proposed recommendation in Figure 1. Similar

specifications exist in the Finnish code RakMK B4 [1 1].

Evaluations ofthe fire resistance of HSC structures and ofthe residual strength of structures exposed

to fire can be dealt with by means of design methods (material design, adding polypropylene fibers,

analysis of temperature development, taking the material properties according to temperature

development into account, the use of passive fire protection, structural strength and safety evaluation

according to current design methods).

64
3.2 Research Needs

In spite of the comprehensive investigations carried out, further studies on fire resistance of concrete

structures are needed. Special attention has to be paid to the material properties for analysis and

evaluation of the residual strength of structural elements exposed to accidental loading and fire. The residual strength for continued unaltered or limited use are of importance.

The considerable reduction in compressive strength and E-modulus of HSC at relatively low

temperatures (100-300°C) may also cause decreased residual strength of concrete exposed to elevated temperatures in the same range. Further examinations are needed in order to document

material properties for design purposes and for evaluation of residual strength of structural elements

exposed to fire.

The improvements in spalling resistance by adding polypropylene fibers to the concrete mixture were obvious for LWA concrete. These improvements should be further investigated. By the

investigations reported in [2] one special type of passive fire protection was used. Other types of

passive fire protection, well suited for concrete structures, have to be examined, eventually refined

and/or developed.

The tests performed [2,3]* were carried out under hydrocarbon fire test conditions with temperatures

up to 1 100°C. Recently higher temperature requirements have been set with temperature rises up

to 1300 °C. In order to document the fire resistance of concrete and the effectiveness of passive fire protection for the new temperature requirements, additional tests are recommended for

documentation purposes.

Accidental situations such as fires and explosions are often linked together. The residual strength

of structures damaged by explosion and fire are essential. Accepted methods and criteria for the

evaluation of residual strength of concrete structures damaged by explosions and fire are still lacking. Therefore examinations based on the experience obtained through previous research as [17]

[Explosion and fire protection (1989)] are recommended.

Research needs: Materials:

• Extend the existing knowledge of temperature dependency of the basic, mechanical

properties of HSC (compressive and tensile strength, elastic modulus, stress-strain

relationships, residual strengths and elastic properties). Tests have to be performed with

different types of aggregates (different lightweight aggregates included) and different types

of fibers.

• Optimize concrete mix design in order to prevent spalling (aggregate, additives, fibres).

• Document material properties for analytical approach to the spalling phenomena.

• Update design curves for mechanical properties.

65
Research needs: Structural elements and structures

•n Extension/Revision of existing Codes and Design Standards. HSC has to be included.

• . Examination of the fire resistance of structural elements exposed to extreme temperatures

(temperatures exceeding the ISO 834 HSC curve).

• Examination of the residual strength of HSC structural elements. Design recommendations

for structural evaluation and repair.

• Analytical approach to fire response.

References

[I] Compresive Strength and E-Modulus at Elevated Temperature. SINTEF: STF70 A95023.

[2] Spalling Reduction through Material Design. SINTEF STF70 A95024.

[3] Fire Resistance and Spalling Behavior pfLWA Beams. SINTEF STF25 A95004.

[4] Residual Strength ofFire-Exposed Structural Elements. SINTEF STF70 A95025.

[5] Jensen, J.J.; Danielsen, U.; Hansen, A.A.; and Seglem, S.; Offshore Structures Exposed to Hydrocarbon Fire. First International Conference on Concrete for Hazard Protection,

Edinburgh, September 1987.

[6] Hammer, T.A.; Justnes, H.; Smeplass, S.; A Concrete Technological Approach to Spalling

During Fire. Paper presented at a Nordic mini-seminar, Trondheim 1989. SINTEF Report

STF65 A89036.

[7] Jensen, J.J.; Hammer, T.A.; Opheim, E.; Hansen, P.A.; Fire Resistance of Lightweight

Aggregate Concrete. International Symposium on Structural Lightweight Concrete,

Sandefjord, Norway 1995.

[8] Jensen, J.J. ; Opheim, E. ; Aune, B. ; Residual Strength ofHSC Structural Elements Damaged

by Hydrocarbon Fire or Impact Loading. Fourth International Symposium on Utilization

of High-Strength/High-Performance Concrete, Paris 1996.

[9] Diederichs, U.; Jumppanen, U-M.; Penttala, V.; Behavior ofHigh Strength Concrete at

High Temperatures. Helsinki University of Technology, Department of Structural

Engineering, Report 92. Espoo 1989.

[10] NS 3473, Design ofConcrete Structures. 1989 (in Norwegian).

[II] Concrete Association of Finland, High Strength Concrete. Supplemental Rules and Fire

Design RakMK B4. 1991.

[12] Fire Design of Concrete Structures in Accordance with CEB/FIP Model Code 90 (Final

Draft). CEB Bulletin d'information No. 208. July 1991.

[13] Eurocode 1 : Basis ofDesign and Actions on Structures. Part 2-2: Actions on Structures

Exposed to Fire. 1994.

[14] EuTOCode 2: Design ofConcrete Structures. ENV 1992-1-1.

[15] Eurocode 2: Design of Concrete Structures, pr ENV 1992-1-2 Structural Fire Design

(October 1993).

66
Sorensen, S.I.; Concrete Structures - Design According to NS3473/1989. Tapir, Trondheim,

1989 (in Norwegian).

Haverstad, T.A.; Passive Fire Protection Subjected to Gas Explosion and Fire Loads. NTH

Dr. ing. Thesis 1989.

67

B.3 Spalling Phenomena of HPC and OC

Y. Anderberg, FSD, Sweden

1. Swedish Research Project on HPC

In 1992, the Swedish research project on High Performance Concrete (HPC) started. It was

financed jointly by government and industry. The research on fire performance of HPC is a part

of that project and has been carried out by Fire Safety Design during a period of 5 years. The

scope of work includes investigation concerning:

• tendencies to spall

• thermal properties

• mechanical properties

and developing:

• analytical behavior models

• structural models for mechanical behavior

• structural design models for practical use

2. Background

Fire-exposed HPC has a different tendency and feature of spalling compared with ordinary

concrete (OC). Due to the compact structure of HPC, which makes it more difficult to transport

vapour and moisture, very high vapour-pressure may occur close to the surface. This means that

there is a greater risk that HPC spalls compared with ordinary concrete (OC).

In OC, the vapour can be transported much more easily to the surface and, likewise, the moisture

towards the inner part. However the moisture concentration can at last be too large and explosive

spalling of 20-40 mm concrete cover can occur.

Consequently it is of great importance to find different ways of decreasing the risk and tendency

of spalling for HPC. One measure is to choose a concrete mix with various additives to improve

the permeability and the pore structure. Another step is to ensure a sufficiently small relative

humidity of the HPC in case of fire by allowing a continous hydration and self desiccation

process to take place where the free water is transferred to chemically bound water with a volume

decrease of 25%. Because spalling tendency is such an important property of HPC under fire the

phenomenon must be understood properly.

69
2. Spalling as Phenomenon

When surface spalling of fire-exposed concrete structures occurs, smaller or greater parts

disappear and the reinforcement cover might be gone, which leads to direct heating of the

reinforcement and a rapid decrease of load-bearing capacity. Sometimes the spalling can be very

comprehensive and cause an immediate failure of the structure. The spalling can be explosive or can be a calmer process.

The tendency for surface spalling is increased by:

• High moisture content

• Dense concrete (HPC)

• Compressive stress from external load and prestress

• Rapid temperature rise • Considerable unsymmetrical temperature distribution

• Cross-section with thin sections

• High reinforcement concentration

Increase of air in OC is positive as far as spalling is concerned, but for HPC this is of no interest

because it influences the strength negatively.

Three primary mechanisms can be identified which separately or in combination can cause

surface spalling

• Vapour pressure

• Thermal stresses

• Structural transformation of aggregate

In most cases the vapour pressure is the most important primary mechanism. This is valid

especially when the spalling is vast and occurs explosively. The third mechanism is limited to coarse aggregate only.

By heating moist concrete above the boiling point the free water of the material transforms into

vapour as the temperature increases. If the material has small diffusivity, the transport of vapour

is hindered and an over-pressure is attained. The size of this over-pressure is governed by the

balance between the transportation and production of vapour. Spalling takes place if the vapour

pressure - possibly in combination with thermal and statical stresses - causes tensile failure in the

material.

By heating concrete, a simultaneous process of heat and moisture transport is initiated. The

moisture is transported both in vapour and water phase. In the following, a qualitative

70
description of the process is presented. The description is based on a pure one-dimensional case

for HPC and OC, i.e., a concrete wall exposed uniformly to fire from one side.

The water is vapourized at the hot surface first, when the temperature reaches 100 °C. As the

temperature rises, the vapour zone moves towards the inner part. In Fig 1 the situation is illustrated after a certain time for HPC as well as OC. Nearest the hot surface there is a dry zone,

whose thickness increases faster for OC than for HPC. After that follows a narrow zone which is thinner for HPC where vapourization takes place, and inside is a zone where the moiture exists as

free water. The vapour, which is created in the vapour zone is transported towards the hot

surface but also in the opposite direction where it is cooled down and condenses to water. This

means an increased moisture content just inside the vapour zone. The transport of vapour is mainly driven by over-pressure which is maximum at the front of vapourization.

As the vapour front moves inwards, the distance to the hot surface increases, and a higher

pressure is needed to lead the vapour away. At the same time the moisture content increases in

the domain inside the vapour zone, which causes less vapour transport towards the cold side.

Therefore the vapour pressure tends to increase at the vapour front as it moves inwards.

However, the intensity of the heat flow decreases with increasing distance to the hot surface,

which gives less vapour production. Furthermore, it can be assumed that the hydrodynamic

resistance of the outer dry zone does not increase in proportion to its thickness. The temperature

rises rapidly in this zone and the gas diffusivity of concrete increases strongly with the

temperature. When the distance to the cold surface decreases, the water flow is facilitated in that

direction.

When the vapour zone moves to a certain distance from the hot surface, a maximum vapour

pressure is created, and at greater distances the pressure decreases again. This critical distance is much less for HPC, about 5-10 mm than for OC, about 20-40 mm. Whether the vapour pressure

developed is sufficient to cause spalling depends not only on the amount of moisture, but also on

rate of heating, permeability, porosity and pore distribution.

It has been observed from fire tests that spalling of HPC is characterized by a layer of about 5 mm of concrete falling off and after that a new vapour front buildup, which can create a new

spalling of 5 mm, and in the end the total spalling can reach considerable depths.

This summary description is only valid for heated, moist concrete in idealized conditions. In

practise these conditions can change. Creation of cracks in concrete will facilitate the vapour and

moisture transport and reduce the tendency of spalling.

If the concrete wall is exposed to fire on both sides, the inner part of the section will contain

fiirther free water if the difftisivity is large enough (OC). This may cause a total collapse of OC.

This phenomenon is not probable for HPC.

71
a) OC b) HPC

Fig 1 . Schematic illustration of temperature- and moisture conditions at one-dimensional

heating of moist OC and HPC

A: Dry concrete, B: Vapour zone, C: Moist concrete.

T: Temperature, P: Vapour pressure, u: Moisture content

4. Influence of Thermal Stresses on Spalling

Heating of concrete is characterized by a steep thermal gradient when exposed to fire due to low

conductivity and high heat capacity. This produces thermal stresses, which generally are two- or

three- dimensional. Consequently tensile stressses arise which can reach the tensile strength.

These tensile stresses can sometimes alone or in superposition with pore pressure in one

direction, cause spalling. In Fig 2 two different examples are shown where the thermal stresses alone may cause spalling. When the thermal compressive stresses in the hot outer layer are developed and meet each other in a comer, tensile stresses appear. If this tensile stress reaches

the tensile strength, the triangular comer piece can spall off as indicated in Fig 2. The same

problem occurs for a heated convex surface where radial tensile stresses develop.

72
Temperature

a) b)

Fig 2. Thermal stresses at a

a) comer

b) convex surface

5. Conclusions

If HPC, without any additives Hke polypropylene fibers and with a water binder ratio (w/b) less

than about 0.28, is exposed to the standard fire exposure, ISO 834, it is characterized by a successive spalling of 5 - 10 mm thickness, and the longer the fire duration, the deeper the

concrete spalls. Therefore the total spalling may lead to a disaster. External loading increases the

risk of spalling. If the heating rate is less, the risk of spalling decreases. At the heating rate of 5 °C/min, the spalling tendency is very small.

The relative humidity (RH) as function of time decreases much faster for HPC than for OC.

After 3 months of curing, the RH of HPC can be as low as 60%. Due to the continous hydration

of the cement, the self desiccation effect seems to be advantageous.

In the Swedish investigation on HPC, it is found that the risk of spalling is low if w/b is greater

than 0.32 and the RH is less than 75-80 %. At lower w/b values, polypropylene fibers (or

similar) must always be added, but the relative humidity must, nevertheless, not exceed 80 %.

The results are limited to one type of concrete mixture with granite aggregate. The limited

number of tests means that the conclusion is not generally applicable to different kinds of HPC.

Current code requirements of minimal thickness of concrete slabs and walls made of OC are not

valid for HPC.

73

B.4 STUDIES ON THE FIRE RESISTANCE OF HIGH-STRENGTH

CONCRETE AT THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA

V.K.R. Kodur

National Fire Laboratory

Institute for Research in Construction

National Research Council of Canada

ABSTRACT

High-strength concrete has been utilized in many high-rise buildings and its major

application is in columns. With the increased use of high-strength concrete in columns, concern

has developed regarding its behaviour in fire, in particular, the occurrence of spalling at elevated

temperatures. Studies are in progress at the National Research Council of Canada to develop fire resistance design guidelines for high-strength concrete for incorporation in codes and standards.

The studies are focussed on conducting fall scale fire tests on structural members, establishing

material properties at high temperatures, and in developing numerical models to evaluate the

performance of HSC structural members. An overview of the current research studies on highstrength concrete columns is outlined in this paper.

Keywords: high-strength concrete, fire resistance design, high temperature behaviour, concretefilled steel columns, reinforced columns, spalling, material properties

1. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the construction industry has shown significant interest in the use of highstrength concrete (HSC). This is due to the improvements in structural performance, such as high-strength and durability, that it can provide compared with traditional concrete. In Canada,

high-strength concrete is being used in many applications such as bridges, offshore structures and

infrastructure projects. In recent years, its use has been extended to high rise buildings as well.

One of the major uses of HSC in buildings is in columns.

In Canada, the specifications for fire resistance requirements for structural members are contained in the Nafional Building Code of Canada (NBCC) (1). Concrete structures in Canada

are to be designed in accordance with the CSA A23.3-M94 standard (2). The most recent edition

of this standard contains detailed specifications on the design of HSC structural members,

however, there are no guidelines on the fire resistance design of HSC structural members either

in CSA A23.3-M94 or in the NBCC.

The resuhs of fire tests in a number of laboratories (3, 4) have shown that there are welldefined differences between the properties of HSC and normal strength concrete at high

75
temperatures. Further, concern has developed regarding the occurrence of explosive spalling

when HSC is subjected to rapid heating, as in the case of a fire (3, 5).

Studies are in progress at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to develop fire

resistance design guidelines for the use of high-strength concrete for possible incorporation in

codes and standards. The main objective of this research, being undertaken in partnership with

industry, is to study the behaviour of HSC at elevated temperatures and to develop solutions to minimize spalling and to enhance its fire resistance. In this paper, an overview of the current

research program being undertaken at NRC is outlined.

2. FIRE RESISTANCE OF HIGH-STRENGTH CONCRETE

In buildings, HSC structural members are to be designed to satisfy the requirements of

serviceability and safety limit states. One of the major safety requirements in building design is the provision of appropriate fire safety measures for structural members. The basis for this

requirement can be attributed to the fact that, when other measures for containing the fire fail,

structural integrity is the last line of defence.

The fire safety measures for structural members are measured by means of fire resistance.

Fire resistance is defined as the ability of a structural element to maintain its load-bearing

function under fire conditions. It is the time during which a structural member exhibits

resistance with respect to structural integrity, stability and temperature transmission. Fire

resistance of a structural member is dependent on the geometry, the materials used in

construction, the load intensity and the fire characteristics.

In the case of HSC, the spalling of concrete under fire conditions is one of the major

concerns due to the low water-cement ratio in HSC. The spalling of concrete exposed to fire has

been observed in concrete structural members under laboratory and real fire conditions (5, 6).

Spalling, which results in the loss of concrete during a fire, has the effect of exposing deeper

layers of concrete to fire temperatures, thereby increasing the rate of transmission of heat to the

inner layers of the structure, including to the reinforcement.

Spalling is theorized to be caused by the build up of pore pressure during heating (3, 7).

HSC is believed to be more susceptible to this pressure build up because of its low permeability

compared to normal strength concrete. The extremely high water vapour pressure, generated

during exposure to fire, cannot escape due to the high density of high-strength concrete and this

pressure often reaches the saturation vapour pressure. At 300°C, the pressure reaches about 8

MPa. Such internal pressures are too high to be resisted by the HSC mix having a tensile

strength of about 5 MPa (5).

Data from various studies (3, 4, 5) show that spalling of HSC is affected by the following

factors:

76
• original compressive strength

• moisture content of concrete

• concrete density

• heating rate

• specimen dimensions and shapes

• loading conditions

Preliminary studies indicated that the addition of polymeric fibre reinforcement to concrete reduces spalling (3, 6, 8). Experimental studies on high-strength reinforced concrete

columns showed deep spalling and rupture after fire tests, however, only slight or no spalling

was observ'ed in fire tests on the same HSC columns reinforced with polypropylene fibres (6).

The occurrence of spalling, as well as the extent of spalling, varied from one study to the other

thus presenting a confusing picture on the behaviour of HSC at elevated temperatures (5).

3. STUDIES AT NRC

Studies are in progress at NRC to develop fire resistance design guidelines for HSC for

possible incorporation in codes and standards. The main objective of this research, being

undertaken together with the Portland Cement Association, Canadian Portland Cement

Association, Concrete Canada, and National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), Taiwan, is to study

the behaviour of HSC at elevated temperatures and to develop solutions to minimize spalling.

Both experimental and theoretical studies are being carried out to study the behaviour of HSC

structural elements and to establish the material properties of HSC at elevated temperatures.

3.1 Element Tests

The experimental studies are focussed on two types of structural elements; namely HSCfilled steel columns and HSC columns.

3.1.1 HSC-Filled Steel Columns

Steel hollow structural section (HSS) columns are very efficient structurally in resisting

compression loads and are widely used in the construction of framed structures in industrial

buildings. HSS columns, on their own, have a fire resistance of 20 to 30 minutes and need to be

provided with additional measures to obtain the required fire resistance, as specified in building

codes.

HSS columns are often filled with concrete in order to achieve increased load-bearing

capacity. Concrete filling of HSS sections increases fire resistance. In order to quantify the fire resistance from concrete filling, studies were undertaken on three types of concrete-filled HSS

columns; namely plain concrete, reinforced concrete and steel fibre-reinforced concrete. Both

normal strength concrete (NSC) and HSC were considered. Detailed results on NSC-filled HSS

77
columns are given in Reference (9) while the results of HSC-fiUed columns are discussed in

Reference (4). In this paper, only the comparative performance of HSC-filled and NSC-filled

HSS columns are discussed by considering four HSS columns; namely, two columns filled with

NSC (NSCl and NSC2), a column filled with HSC (HSCl) and a column filled with fibrereinforced high-strength concrete (HFCl).

Figure 1 shows elevation and cross-sectional details for the four HSS columns used in the

experimental studies. All columns were 3810 mm long and were of circular cross section. The

28-day compressive strength of concrete for NSC was approximately 40 Mpa, while for HSC it was approximately 90 MPa.

The comparative performance of NSC- and HSC-filled HSS columns under fire conditions is illustrated in Figure 2. The variation of the axial deformation with time is compared for the NSC- and HSC-filling (Columns NSC2 and HSCl). These two columns had

similar characteristics and were subjected to similar load levels (4). As expected, the columns

expanded in the initial stages, and most of the load was supported by the steel section, then

contracted leading to failure. In the range where the steel section was carrying the load, the

behaviour of the two columns was similar.

At increased temperatures, the steel section gradually yielded because of decreasing

strength, and the column contracted. At this stage, the infilled concrete started to take over the

load and carried a progressively increasing portion of the load with increasing temperature. The

strength of the concrete also decreased with time and, ultimately, when the column could no

longer support the load, failure occurred. In this region, the behaviour was dependent on the type

of concrete filling. The failure of the HSC-filled HSS column occurs by sudden contraction,

while the failure of the NSC-filled HSS column occurs by gradual contraction. In these tests, the

time to reach failure is defined as fire resistance. For the NSC-filled HSS column, the fire resistance was approximately 150 minutes while, for the HSC-filled HSS column, it was only

approximately 45 minutes.

The comparative performance of HSS columns filled with NSC (NSCl) and HFC

(HFCl) under fire conditions is shown in Figure 3. The variation of the axial deformation with

time is compared for the two columns. These two columns had similar characteristics and were

subjected to similar load levels (4). The deformation behaviour of the fiber-reinforced highstrength concrete-filled steel column, HFCl, was similar, during the early stages of the test, to that of the normal strength concrete-filled steel Column NSCl. After approximately 40 minutes.

Column HFCl performed better than Column NSCl since the presence of steel fibres enhanced

ductility. While the lower load intensity on Column HFCl contributed to an increased fire resistance to some extent, much of the contribution is from the presence of steel fibres and the

high-strength concrete.

This can be attributed to the superior mechanical properties of steel fibre-reinforced

concrete. There is very little information on the properties of steel fibre-reinforced high-strength

78
concrete, however, studies on steel fibre-reinforced normal strength concrete (8, 9) have shown

that the compressive strength increases with temperature up to about 400°C.

3.1.2 Reinforced Concrete Columns

As part of an experimental study, forty-eight full-scale reinforced concrete columns are being tested by exposing the columns to fire under structural loads. These columns are made

with two types of HSC, namely plain-HSC and fibre-reinforced-HSC. Both polypropylene and

steel fibres are being considered in the study. Twenty columns with plain-HSC, eight columns

with steel fibre-reinforced-HSC and twenty columns with polypropylene fibre-reinforced-HSC

are being fabricated.

All columns are 3810 mm long and are of either square or rectangular cross section. Two

sizes of square columns, 306 mm and 406 mm, are being considered in the study. The

rectangular columns are 306 x 456 mm and 203 x 916 mm. The test variables are column section

dimensions, tie spacing, load intensity, end conditions, concrete strength, aggregate type and

reinforcement. Figure 4 shows elevation and cross-sectional details for a typical column

considered in the study. Further details on the columns are given by Kodur (8).

The construction of the columns with plain-HSC and with steel fibre-reinforced-HSC is complete. The polypropylene fibre-reinforced concrete columns are expected to be constructed

shortly. Two types of coarse aggregate, namely, siliceous aggregate and carbonate aggregate, are being used in the concrete mix to study the influence of aggregate on the fire performance of

HSC. The compressive strengths of the concretes are in the range of 80-90 MPa.

The tests will be carried out by exposing the HSC columns to heat in a furnace specially

built for testing loaded columns. The test furnace, shown in Figure 5, is designed to produce

conditions such as temperature, structural loads and heat transfer, to which a member might be

exposed during a fire. It consists of a steel framework with the furnace chamber inside it. The

furnace facility includes a hydraulic loading system with a capacity of 1 ,000 t.

The columns will be tested under the maximum allowable load according to North

American Building Codes for concrete structures (2, 10). Most of the HSC columns will be

subjected to constant concentric loads during testing. However, some columns will be tested

under eccentric loads to study the influence of eccentricity on the performance of colunms at high temperatures.

During the test, the column will be exposed, under a load, to heating controlled in such a way that the average temperature in the furnace follows, as closely as possible, the ASTM El 19-

88 (11) standard temperature-time curve. The furnace, concrete and steel temperatures, as well

as the axial deformations and rotations, will be recorded until failure of the column.

79
3.2 Material Properties

Results from the fire tests will be used to develop computer models for predicting the

behaviour of HSC colunms exposed to fire. For use in these computer programs, the thermal,

mechanical and deformation properties of HSC at elevated temperatures are needed. To establish

these properties, a study is being carried out as part of a joint research project involving NRC and

NCTU.

The thermal properties that are being studied are thermal conductivity, specific heat and

the mass loss of the concretes. The mechanical properties that are being investigated are the

compressive strength, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and ultimate strain. The

deformation properties being studied are the thermal expansion and creep.

HSC, with and without fibres, is being considered in this study. Experimental studies on

thermal and deformation properties are being carried out at NRC while tests on mechanical

properties are being carried out at NCTU. Two types of concrete specimens will be investigated

in the study. The first one is plain concrete and the second one is steel fibre-reinforced concrete.

Both concrete types will be made with siliceous and carbonate aggregates. The 28-day

compressive strength of concrete will be about 90 MPa.

The data obtained from the studies will be used to develop thermal and mechanical

relationships, as a function of temperature, for HSC. These relationships can be used as input in

computer programs to determine the behaviour of HSC structural members at high temperatures

(12).

3.3 Numerical Studies

The development of computer programs for predicting the fire behaviour of HSC

columns is currently in progress at NRC (13). The steps, associated with the development of the

models, involve the calculation of the fire temperatures, the cross-sectional temperatures, and the

evaluation of the deformations and strength of an HSC column. The effect of spalling will be

accounted for through pore pressure computations. The validity of the computer programs will

be established by comparing the predictions from the computer programs to test data.

The computer programs will then be used to carry out detailed parametric studies of the

influences of the various parameters, such as concrete strength and load intensity on the fire

resistance of HSC columns. Data from the parametric studies will be used to develop design

guidelines to overcome the problem of spalling in HSC columns and for predicting the fire

resistance of HSC columns.

4. SUMMARY

An overview of the current research program on high-strength concrete columns is outlined in this paper. Based on the studies completed so far, it was found that:

80
• The behaviour of HSC-filled steel columns at high temperatures is significantly different

from that of NSC-filled HSS columns.

• The fire resistance rating of HSC-filled HSS columns can be significantly improved by

adding steel fibre reinforcement to concrete.

The studies, currently in progress at NRC, will generate data on the fire resistance of

HSC columns and contribute to identifying the conditions under which these columns can be

safely used.

5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research described in this paper is the result of partnerships between the National

Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Steel Construction Council, Portland Cement

Association, Canadian Portland Cement Association, Concrete Canada and the National Chiao

Tung University in Taiwan.

6. REFERENCES

1. National Building Code of Canada 1995, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON.

2. Canadian Standards Association 1994. Code for the design of concrete structures for

buildings, CAN3-A23.3-M94, Rexdale, ON.

3. Diederichs, U., Jumppanen, U.-M. and Schneider, U. 1995. High temperature properties

and spalling behaviour of high-strength concrete, Proceedings of Fourth Weimar

Workshop on High Performance Concrete, HAB Weimar, Germany, pp. 219-235.

4. Kodur, V.K.R. 1997. Behaviour of high performance concrete-filled steel columns

exposed to fire, 25th CSCE Aimual Conference, Sherbrooke, QC (in press).

5. Phan, L.T. 1996. Fire performance of high-strength concrete: A report of the state-of-theart, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.

6. Matsumoto, Y., et al. 1994. A study on spalling resistance of LMF fibre-reinforced highstrength concrete. Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.

7. Kodur, V.R. and Lie, T.T. 1997. Fire resistance of fibre-reinforced concrete. Fibre

Reinforced Concrete: Present and the Future, Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, pp. 1- 46.

8. Kodur, V.R. 1997. Fibre-reinforced concrete for enhancing the structural fire resistance of

columns, Accepted for publication: ACI Spring Convention, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.

9. Kodur, V.K.R. and Lie, T.T. 1995. Fire performance of concrete-filled hollow steel columns,

Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, 7(3), pp. 89-98.

10. ACI Committee 318. 1995. Building code requirements for reinforced concrete, ACI 318-

95 and Commentary-ACI 318R-95, American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, MI.

11. American Society for Testing and Materials 1990. Standard Methods of Fire Endurance

Tests of Building Construction and Materials, ASTM El 19-88, West Conshohocken, PA.

81
12. Lie, T.T. and Kodur, V.K.R. 1996. Thermal and mechanical properties of steel fibrereinforced concrete at elevated temperatures, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering,

23 (4). 13. Kodur, V.K.R., and Lie, T.T. 1996. A computer program to calculate the fire resistance of

rectangular reinforced concrete columns. Third Canadian Conference on Computing in

Civil and Building Engineering, Ottawa, ON, pp. 1 1-20.

82
219.1 mm 219.7 mm 273.1 mm 273.1 mm

E

E

o

COCO

.* *

(a) Column NSC1 (b) Column HFC1 (c) Column NSC2 (d) Column HSC1

Figure 1 Elevation and Cross Section of Columns

83
30 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 20

10 ~/ A —

Column NSC2

Column HSC1

0 ^~ —

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50 1 11 1 1 1 1

1 1 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Time (min)

Figure 2. Axial deformations of Columns NSC2 and HSC1 as a

function of exposure time

30 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 20 NSC1

10

HFC1

0

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

Time (min)

Figure 3. Axial deformations of Columns NSC1 and HFC1 as a

function of exposure time.

84
a 305 mm

305 mm

533 x 533 x 25 mm

:51 mm

305 mm

457 mm

305 mm

864 x 533 x 38 mm

f 38 mm

305 mm

Column No. 1 Coiumn No. 2

C C 3 3

914 mm

203 mm

T

1016 x 533 x 25 mm

.J:

51 mm

203 mm

Column No. 3

Figure 4 RC Columns Layout

85

B.5 Limitation of Current U.S. Standards and Challenges of

Proposed Performance-Based Standards

James A. Milke

Department of Fire Protection Engineering

University of Maryland

Background

There is widespread interest in developing performance-based standards in the U.S. for building

applications. Such standards will differ from the current system of standards by explicitly

identifying fire safety goals and objectives which will be achieved by a particular design. Statements

of goals and objectives will be presented in terms which are amenable to evaluation via quantitative

methods. Performance measures will need to be identified along with acceptance criteria for each

of the measures to determine the acceptability of a design.

Development of a performance-based standard for fire resistance will require a reformulation of the

traditional process of evaluating fire resistance. Explicit statements of goals and objectives are needed. In addition, the appropriateness of the standard test method, related measurements and

acceptance criteria needs to be assessed.

Fire resistance refers to the ability of a building assembly to withstand the effects of fire. The goals

for fire resistant assemblies are to accomplish one or both of the following:

• restrict the spread of fire beyond the compartment of fire involvement

• support a load, despite exposure to a fire

Failure of a barrier to restrict fire spread may be caused by excessive heat transmission to the

unexposed side of the barrier. Heat transmission limits are established to prevent the ignition of

combustibles in contact with the unexposed side of the assembly [Schwartz and Lie, 1985].

Typically, heat transmission limits are expressed as a maximum increase in temperature on the

unexposed side [ASTM, 1995]'.

Failure of a barrier to restrict fire spread may also be caused by a breach of the barrier as a result

of bum-through, development of large cracks or failure to maintain its structural integrity. A breach

' The standard test method is documented in ASTM El 19. NFPA 251 and UL 263. For simplicity,

the standard test method will be referred to as ASTM E 119 throughout this paper.

87
in the barrier may alter the ventilation characteristics of the fire compartment or provide additional

paths for smoke and fire spread fi-om the fire compartment.

Structural failure or collapse is relevant for load-bearing members. Failure of a loadbearing member

may result in a local collapse or wide-spread structural failure if load transfer to adjoining members

is unsuccessful. To a limited extent, structural failure of non-load-bearing assemblies is of interest,

because the assembly still must be able to sustain its own dead weight and maintain integrity to

restrict fire spread.

Another possible goal receiving increased attention is the post-fire integrity of building assemblies.

This interest reflects concerns for scenarios where the structure is able to withstand the impact of

the fire exposure during the incident, but requires substantial repair prior to returning to use.

Possible objectives related to the three goals include the following:

A barrier needs to limit the heat transmission to the unexposed side such that ignition of ordinary

combustibles in contact with the barrier is prevented. A structural member needs to have sufficient

load-carrying ability to sustain applied loads, despite the increase in temperature and possible

imposition of temperature gradients within the member. A structural member needs to have

sufficient residual load-carrying ability so that the member will be reusable after the fire without

repair.

Considering the noted goals and objectives, the following performance measures can be proposed

to assess the fire resistance of construction assemblies:

Thermal temperature on unexposed side

• temperature of steel structural components

Structural load or moment capacity (as a function of temperature)

• stability

• deflection

Post-fire usability

• residual load or moment capacity

Currently, fire resistance analyses are typically conducted via a standard test [ASTM, 1995]. The

test is used only as a comparative measure and is not intended to provide data for predicting the

response of an assembly exposed to actual fire conditions. The endpoints for the test include the

two thermal performance measures and the ability to sustain the applied load, comparable to the first two structural performance measures. Post-fire serviceability is not addressed by the standard test.

Because the test intends to be comparative in nature, application of the results fi-om the standard fire resistance test is constrained until the following aspects are addressed. Given that performance88
based design will consider a variety of design fires, the relevance of the heating conditions

associated with the standard test to those of selected design fires needs to be demonstrated. Loading

conditions associated with a particular project may be different than those used in the standard test. Whereas the loading conditions associated with the standard test intend to provide the greatest

applied stress to the component, tests of flexural elements are only designed to develop the

maximum normal stress in the element and not the maximum shear. Samples are large-scale

samples, though not full scale, without any attempt to provide structural end conditions to replicate

full-scale behavior. Finally, the objectivity of the endpoint criterion "sustaining the applied load" can be improved by adding deflection criteria.

Development of an Engineering Practice Standard

In lieu of conducting very specialized fire resistance tests to address the specific aspects of a

particular design, engineering practice standards can be developed which document calculation

methods to determine the response of structural assemblies to a fire exposure. This is a current area of activity within the American Society of Civil Engineers and Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

Analysis of the response of fire-exposed structural assemblies requires consideration of the

following four aspects:

• fire exposure

• material properties at elevated temperatures

• thermal response of the structure

• structural response of the heated assembly.

The relationship ofthese four aspects in a performance-based approach for evaluating fire resistance

is reflected in Figure 1. As indicated, one aspect provides input to one or two other aspects.

However, m reality, the aspects are actually inter-related, suggesting that the arrows in the diagram

should point in both directions in many cases. For example, the thermal response of a wall

assembly affects the temperature of the exposing smoke by altering the energy exchange between

the smoke and the enclosure. In addition, if the wall assembly collapses, additional ventilation will

be provided to alter the course of the fire. A description of the fire exposure is used to characterize the radiative and convective heating

conditions associated with a particular fire scenario. The heating conditions are described in terms

of parameters such as the temperature history of the gases or smoke layer within the compartment,

radiation characteristics of the smoke layer and flames, and duration of the exposure. Results from

the fire exposure analysis are used as input for the thermal response analysis.

Both the thermal and structural response analyses are influenced by the material properties at elevated temperature. Thermophysical and mechanical material properties are temperature

dependent. Thermophysical properties used in the thermal response analysis include the thermal

conductivity, specific heat, density, porosity and permeability. The mechanical properties of

89
interest include the elastic moduli, strengths, coefficient of thermal expansion and creep parameters.

In addition, heat absorption or generation due to changes in material composition or physical phase

occurring at elevated temperature also need to be considered.

Thermal response is analyzed for two reasons: heat transmission to the unexposed side of the

assembly and impact on structural integrity of load-carrying members. The temperature on the

unexposed side of an assembly can be determined from a heat transfer analysis. Temperature on

the unexposed side of the assembly is limited in order to prevent ignition of combustibles or injury

to occupants in contact with the unexposed side of the assembly. In addition, results from a thermal

response analysis are important in providing input for the analysis of structural response, accounting

for thermal strains, creep strains and the dependence of material properties on temperature.

Generally, the thermal response of a construction assembly is evaluated via a conduction heat

transfer analysis. Boundary conditions are stipulated for any fire exposed surfaces based on the

characteristics of the fire exposure and for any unexposed surfaces based on environment

conditions. Where cavities are provided within the assembly, the convection and radiation across the cavity needs to be considered. For materials containing moisture, moisture migration and

evaporation will affect the heat transfer within the assembly and should be considered in the

analysis.

Evaluation of structural response addresses the impact of degraded materials, reductions in material

property values and thermally-induced stresses on the integrity of load-carrying members. Examples

of structural response analyses include moment-bearing capacity analyses for beams and slabs,

stability analyses for slender columns and deflection analyses for beams and slabs. In addition to the analysis of structural response on the integrity of a particular load carrying member, the effect

of the response of the fire-exposed member on adjoining structural members also needs to be

evaluated.

In 1985, an SFPE task force concluded that analytical methods were available to determine the fire resistance of a wide variety of assemblies comprised of concrete, steel and wood [Milke, 1985].

This conclusion was repeated by Pettersson in 1986. Summaries of calculation methods to conduct

performance-based analyses of the fire resistance of many different assemblies have been published

recently [Lie, 1992][Milke, 1995][Fleischmann, 1995] [White, 1995] [Hosser, et al., 1994].

Existing analytical methods range from parametric expressions to numerical calculations.

Typically, parametric expressions are limited to comparisons of the fire resistance of one . assembly

to another. Numerical calculations range from the application of graphical analyses and empirical

correlations to finite element computer models to conduct heat transfer or structural analyses,

accounting for unique property values, loading conditions and fire exposure attributes.

Integrated analysis methods involving the fire behavior, material effects, thermal response and

structural response have been documented. One of the earliest versions of such an analytical

approach was developed by Pettersson, Magnusson, and Thor for steel members [1976].

90
Subsequently, many other documents have been compiled, such as: ECCS [1983], ECCS [1985],

CIB [1986], Eurocodes standards for each ofthe major structural materials and a recent design guide

for steel members [Schleich, 1993]. All of these documents address the response of a building

assembly to an imcontrolled, fully-developed fire.

Ofparticular interest in the integrated design guides are the following:

1 . establishment of material properties as a function of temperature

2. safet}' factors to add conservatism in the areas of applied loads/moments, fire severity and

duration.

3 . establishment of charring rates for wood

4. establishment of heat transfer parameters describing fire exposure

All ofthese calculation methods require input data pertaining to the four aspects illustrated in Figure

1. In particular, heating conditions associated with the fire exposure need to be described. Heating

conditions are described in terms of the heat flux as a function of time. Heat flux may be described

explicitly or implicitly via the provision of temperature, convection coefficient and radiation

parameters associated with the exposure. Heat flux or temperature is routinely provided in fire growth models [Walton, 1995] [Babrauskas, 1979]. Convection and radiation parameters are generally assumed and rarely determined.

Material properties as a function of temperature are required for the thermal and structural response

analyses. For the thermal response analysis, the following properties are among those needed:

thermophysical properties

thermal conductivity, specific heat, density

chemical changes

decomposition, pyrolysis

physical changes

phase change, moisture migration, spalling, swelling/shrinkage

For the structural response analyses, the following mechanical properties are among those needed:

mechanical properties

yield strength/ultimate strength, modulus of elasticity, shear modulus, Poisson's ratio, coefficient of

thermal expansion, creep parameters.

In each case, test procedures need to be agreed upon to yield consistent property values. For

example, the strengths and moduU are functions ofthe heating and loading rate and sequence of heat

and load imposition [Phan, 1996]. A task group within the Fire Tests Committee of the National

Fire Protection Association is currently involved in listing standard test methods to determine the

91
thermophysical and mechanical properties at elevated temperature.

Conclusion

Engineering practice standards to determine fire resistance are being developed to support the

development of performance based codes. However, one of the principal constraints on the ability

of calculation methods to predict fire resistance is the shortage of material property data at elevated

temperature and the lack of widely-accepted methods to determine such properties.

References

ASTM, 1995, "Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials,"

ASTM El 19, Philadelphia, American Society of Testing and Materials.

Babrauskas, V., 1979, "C0MPF2-A Program for Calculating Post-Flashover Fire Temperatures,"

National Bureau of Standards, A^^^ TN991, Washington, DC.

CIB, 1986, "Design Guide Structural Fire Safety, Workshop CIB W14," Fire Safety!, 10, 2.

ECCS, 1983, Technical Committee 3, European Recommendations for the Fire Safety of Steel

Structures, European Convention for Constructional Steelwork, Amsterdam, Elsevier.

ECCS, 1985, Technical Committee 3, Design Manual on Ihe European Recommendations for the

Fire Safety of Steel Structures, European Convention for Constructional Steelwork, Brussels,

Elsevier.

Fleischmann, C, 1995, "Analytical Methods for Determining Fire Resistance of Concrete

Members," SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 2nd edition, P.J. DiNenno (Ed.),

Quincy, NFPA, 4-202 - 4-2 1 6.

Hosser, D., Dom, T., and Richter, E., 1994, "Evaluation of Simplified Calculation Methods for

Structural Fire Design," Fire Safety J., 22, 249-304.

Lie, T. T., ed., 1992, Structural Fire Protection, NY, American Society of Civil Engineers.

Milke, J. A., 1985, "Overview of Existing Analytical Methods for the Determination of Fire

Resistance," Fire Technology, 21, 1, 59-65.

Milke, J. A., 1995, "Analytical Methods for Determining Fire Resistance of Steel Members," SFPE

Handbook ofFire Protection Engineering, 2nd edition, P.J. DiNenno (Ed.), Quincy, NFPA.

Milke, J.A., 1996, "Development of a Performance-Based Fire Protection Standard on

Construction," American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington, DC, unpublished.

92
Pettersson, O., 1986, "Structural Fire Behavior," Proceedings of First International Symposium of

Fire Safety Science.

Pettersson, O., Magnusson, S-E., and Thor, J., 1976, Fire Engineering Design ofSteel Structures,

Publication 50, Stockholm, Swedish Institute of Steel Construction.

Phan, L.T., 1996, "Fire Performance of High-Strength Concrete: A Report of the State-of-theArt,"

NISTTR 5934, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.

Schleich, J.B., 1993, Internatio~7al Fire Engineering Designfor Steel Structures: State ofthe Art,

Brussels, International Iron and Steel Institute.

Schwartz, K.J. and T.T. Lie, 1985, "Investigating the Unexposed Surface Temperature Criteria of

Standard ASTM El 19," Fire Technology, 21,3, 169-180.

Walton, W.D., 1995, "Zone Computer Fire Models for Enclosures," SFPE Handbook of Fire

Protection Engineering, 2nd Edition, P.J. DiNenno (Ed.), Quincy, NFPA, 3-148 - 3-151.

White, R.H., 1995, "Analytical Methods for Determining Fire Resistance of Timber Members,"

SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection E~-7g7neering, 2nd edition, P.J. DiNenno (Ed.)7 Quincy,

NFPA.

Structural Response

Figure 1. Procedure for Performance-Based Assessment of Fire Resistance

93

B.6 An Analytical Approach for Investigating the Causes of

Spalling of High-Strength Concrete at Elevated Temperatures

Gamal N. Ahmed and James P. Hurst

Portland Cement Association

5420 Old Orchard Road,

Skokie, IL 60077-1083

Background

Explosive spalling of high-strength concrete (HSC) elements and cylinder specimens has

occurred unpredictably and on an inconsistent basis during laboratory fire tests. Differences in

the structural fire performance of specimens constructed of HSC versus normal-strength concrete

(NSC) have been attributed to differences in the mechanical properties of the two types of

concretes at elevated temperatures. Because of these differences, structural design provisions for

NSC may not be applicable to HSC for use in structures required to be fire resistance rated. The

inconclusive nature of fire tests involving HSC columns suggests that additional research is needed, not only to gain a better understanding of the cause or causes of spalling, but to obtain a

clearer picture of the fire performance of HSC structural members in general.

Purpose

This paper will primarily focus on the issue of spalling. The objectives are as follows: to present an overview of the performance inconsistencies of HSC at elevated temperature based on

laboratory fire tests of HSC columns; to propose an analytical approach for investigating the cause or causes of spalling; and to recommend work that is needed in support of the analytical

study.

Behavior of high strength concrete exposed to fire

Results from research projects sponsored by the Portland Cement Association (PCA) and

others involving fire tests of HSC have shown that the material performs significantly differently

imder fire exposure than does NSC. Table 1 provides column specifications and other pertinent

information for 3 carbonate aggregate, 406 mm x 406 mm HSC columns that were tested at the

National Research Council of Canada test facility. Fig. 1 shows the temperature history results

from the 3 fire tests. Thermocouple measurements were taken at distances normal to the surface

and along the centerline of each column.

95
Table 1. Concrete Mixtures for HSC column fire test specimens

Column designation Column HS-1 Column HS-2 Column HS-4

Test date 11-4-94 7-3-96 6-19-96

Cement type I, lb 800 820 653

(kg) (362.8) (371.8) (296.1)

Coarse agg., SSD*, lb 1800 1800 1563

(kg) (816.3) (816.3) (708.8)

Aggregate type carbonate carbonate carbonate

Water cement ratio 0.338 0.320 0.395

Water cementitious 0.287 0.291 0.359

material ratio

% Silica fume:cement 5.00 9.76 9.95

% Fly ashxement 12.50 0.0 0.0

Cylinder strength, ksi 14.5 18.35 12.7

(MPa) (100.0) (126.5) (87.6)

SSD is saturated surface dry condition.

Although the columns were all made with the same aggregate and cast at the same time,

Column HS-1 was tested 19-20 months earlier than HS-2 and HS-4. Of the three columns, the

shorter drying period of HS- 1, and thus, its higher initial moisture content, typically would have

been expected to produce the lowest data readings for temperature history. This is clearly not the

case, however, as Fig. 1 shows just the opposite is true. Aside from the influence of drying

time, all three columns contained the same aggregate type, and therefore, should have had

similar thermal conductivity properties. Since thermal conductivity has the most dominant

influence on temperature profile, it would be expected that the data from the 3 column tests should reflect close agreement in temperature histories. Again, this was not the case. These

expectations would have held true had the columns been produced with normal strength concrete.

The inconsistencies in fire performance of these HSC specimens from the anticipated behavior

make the results of such testing inconclusive at best.

Fig. 2 compares the PCA heat and mass transfer model predictions of temperature history

against the data from HS-1. Column HS-1 was selected for validation purposes because it was

the only column specimen tested in an unloaded condition. One can see from the figure that the

agreement between model results and test data is good.

In an attempt to force the model predictions into agreement with the lower temperature

histories of the other two columns, computer runs were performed using artificially low and

unrealistic thermal conductivity relationships as input data. These efforts, however, proved

unsuccessful, as it was impossible to bring the curves down to the levels indicated by the test data. The fact that the experimental temperature curves are not consistent with physical laws

96
indicates a problem for which there is no explanation at present. Again, these types of

inconsistencies support the need for additional research.

1000

g 600

16"x16 " High strength concrete column

(carbonate aggregate)

Test data for HS # 1 Test data for HS # 2

Test data for HS # 4

T

I

I I

I

I 1

I

1 1 11 1

1

1 1 1

1 1

1

1 r 0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240

Time, min

Figure 1 . Temperature history data for columns HS #1,2, and 4 subjected to ASTM

E 119 fire.

Potential causes of spalling

Over the years, several explanations have been offered regarding the primary cause of

concrete spalling at elevated temperature. Spalling has been attributed to thermal stresses due to temperature gradient, as well as thermal expansion of unlike materials such as concrete and

reinforcing steel. Excessive loading or inadequate reinforcement has also been suggested as the source of spalling. In other theories, pore pressure buildup has been said to have the greatest

influence. In fact, the spalling phenomenon is likely to be caused by the cumulative effect of all of these factors. With respect to which one plays the dominant role, the authors' beliefs are

97
aligned with those of the pore pressure perspective. This perspective is based on the following

discussion.

1000

800 -

Oo

<D

'i— <U

1_

13

-I—'

Q.

E

(D

600

400

200

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240

Time, min

Figure 2. Comparison of the predicted temperature history of column HS # 1 against ASTM

E 119 fire test data.

Researchers who have suggested thermal stresses as the primary cause of spalling,

generally dismiss the effects of pore pressure as negligible. If thermal stresses were truly the

governing factor, however, then NSC of a given aggregate type would likely be susceptible to the

same type of spalling problems as its HSC counterpart due to similarities in their thermal

conductivities. Contrarily, this behavior has not been evident from field experience, and the

issue of spalling associated with structural members constructed of normal strength concrete has

not warranted cause for concern.

98
Others have felt that the spalUng of high-strength concrete at elevated temperature is more of a structural problem than a fire problem. If this were true, then concretes used in

unloaded applications, such as refractory concretes for furnace liners, would not be expected to have spalling problems. This, of course, is not the case, as spalling is very much a concern for

concretes exposed to high-temperature environments. In practice, the standard method that is used to eliminate spalling is to pre-condition the concretes through a specialized drying process.

Removing the moisture reduces the possibility of pore pressure build up.

Furthermore, it is widely known that the addition of polypropylene fibers has been

successful in reducing the spalling problem in HSC member subjected to fire. Again, if spalling were primarily the result of loading conditions or thermal effects, there is no reasonable

explanation as to why this technique would have succeeded. Melting and/or shrinkage of fibers

at elevated temperature increases concrete permeability, which is shown to have a strong

influence on pore pressure buildup (see Fig. 8). The fact that the addition of fibers has proven

successful in alleviating spalling is a solid testament that pore pressure plays a significant role in

the occurrence of spalling. To date, this assertion is primarily qualitative. The section that

follows offers a methodology that will lead to a quantitative resolution of this.

Proposed approach for investigating the cause of spalling

The question of degree of influence of the factors that may contribute to spalling can only

be answered through a robust analytical procedure involving parametric studies and a stress analysis. The proposed approach for the stress analysis (for a member subjected to a standard

fire test) is to determine the total stress at a given depth due to thermal gradient, thermal

expansion, load, pore pressure, etc., and compare it with the heat-reduced strength of the material

at a desired time.

Possibly, the most reasonable and efficient way of achieving this is to merge an

appropriate thermal model with a compatible structural analysis model. The heat and mass

transfer model discussed in this paper serves well in this capacity because of its relatively unique

capability of predicting pore pressure, which is identified as a critical factor in the spalling

process. In addition, the model provides temperature history results that are necessary for

determining the change in the material's temperature-dependent mechanical properties.

Parametric studies of parameters affecting pore pressure can also be done with the model, and

some examples of these are presented later in this paper.

Synopsis of the model

As a precursor to the parametric examples, a brief synopsis of the model is given with

respect to some of its characteristics, assumptions, and considerations. An explanation of the

coupling relationship between temperature, moisture content, and pore pressure histories and

distributions is also presented. Detailed information about the model is provided in Refs. 1 , 2,

and 3.

99
Model characteristics

Some of the primary characteristics of the model can be summarized as follows:

• heat and mass transport phenomena are coupled

• conservation of mass, momentum, and energy equations coupled to constitutive relations of

the material drive the model

• the model works with any specified heat source

• the model handles various geometries for one- and two-dimensional heat and mass transfer

• model output includes moisture content, pore pressure, and temperature distributions and

histories

Model assumptions and considerations

Some of the main model assumptions and considerations are summarized as follows:

• local equilibrium moisture content is related to the relative vapor pressure and temperature

using sorption isotherms

• physical and thermal properties of concrete are fiinctions of temperature, pore pressure, and

moisture content • conductive and radiative heat, and mass and heat transfer by convection and diffusion are considered

• evaporation/condensation and dehydration phenomena and their effect on the material pore

size are considered

• convective heat and mass transfer are driven by pore pressure gradients • diffusive transport is driven by mass concentration gradients • conductive heat transfer is driven by temperature gradients

Coupling relationship

One of the most important attributes of the model is the coupling relationship previously

mentioned. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 show the model's predictions of temperature, moisture content, and

pore pressure distributions, respectively, for 406 mm x 406 mm carbonate aggregate HSC

column, and are used to illustrate this relationship. The depths indicated in the figures represent

distances along the diagonal of the cross section.

100
1200

16"x16" High strength concrete column

0.00 3.59 7.18 10.77 14.36 17.95 21.54 25.13 28.72

Distance from exposed surface along column diagonal, cm

Figure 3. Model-predicted temperature distribution at various times of HSC column subjected to ASTME 119 fire.

Before getting into the coupling discussion, a brief description of the heat and mass

transport phenomena is provided. When a depth of concrete becomes sufficiently hot, the

evaporation of the free moisture and chemically bound water takes place. As the water

evaporates, pore pressure builds up driving some of the gaseous mixture of air and water vapor

toward the column surface. The rest is driven into cooler zones toward the center of the column

where it condenses and accumulates as liquid. This accumulation can often exceed the initial moisture content, as seen in Fig. 4. Continued application of heat in the presence of moisture

continues to build pore pressure, which in turn, repeats the process of moisture transport

followed by moisture condensation and accumulation. This interdependent cycle is repeated

until either all of the moisture is gone or the heat source is removed.

101
In Fig. 3 at 20 minutes, the evaporation process is occurring at a depth of about 72 mm

from the fire-exposed surface (where the concrete temperature is at or above 100 °C). In Fig. 4

at this depth and time, the moisture content of the concrete is almost at its initial value because

virtually no dehydration of the chemically bound water has yet occurred. It follows from the

relatively low temperature at this depth that the pore pressure would also be low under these

conditions, and this is confirmed in Fig. 5.

0.18

0.00 3.59 7.18 10.77 14.36 17.95 21.54 25.13 28.72

Distance from fire exposed surface along column diagonal, cm

I. Figure 4. Model-predicted moisture content distribution at various times of HSC column

subjected to ASTM E 1 19 fire.

From Fig. 4 at 20 minutes, the concrete reaches its maximum moisture content at a depth of 54

mm and becomes dry at 36 mm. This portion of the curve (from maximum moisture content to

102
zero) represents the evaporation front or zone experiencing the highest rate of evaporation. In

cross referencing this to Fig. 3, the slope of the temperature curve at 54 mm is moderate,

reflecting the moisture's ability to absorb heat as it evaporates. Closer to the surface, where the

available moisture has diminished (Fig. 4), the amount of heat that can be absorbed also becomes

less. This is reflected by a corresponding increase in steepness of the temperature rise curve in

Fig. 3. At 36 mm, where the drying front is located, there is no available moisture to further

retard the rate of temperature rise. This is confirmed in Fig. 3 by the sharp increase in

temperature rise that is seen in the region bounded by the drying front and the fire-exposed

surface of the column.

31

0.00 3.59 7.18 10.77 14.36 17.95 21.54 25.13 28.72

Distance from exposed surface along column diagonal, cm

Figure 5. Model-predicted pore pressure distribution at various times of HSC column subjected

to ASTME 119fire.

103
In looking at Fig. 5, the peak pore pressure at 20 minutes occurs at a depth somewhere

along the evaporation front. In general, as the pore pressure builds, the evaporation front moves

toward the center of the column. The pore pressure and moisture content peak at different depths

for a given time. At a given time, the pore pressure reaches its maximum value closer to the

surface as it continues to force the moisture deeper within the column. At the depth of maximum

moisture content, the pore pressure has dropped from its peak value due to lower temperatures

that are insufficient to sustain its buildup.

With respect to the temperature associated with the point of maximum pore pressure at 20

minutes. Fig. 3 shows this to be at or near the temperature just prior to where the curve

experiences its sharpest change in temperature rise. This is logical, since it corresponds to a

region of high evaporation, preceding the elimination of moisture and resulting in the rapid

temperature rise.

In cooler zones where no moisture has accumulated, for example, at 20 minutes and

depths beyond 90 mm (Fig. 4), corresponding to a temperature of about 50 °C (Fig. 3), the pore

pressure is essentially atmospheric. This is reasonable in consideration of almost ambient

conditions, and once again, confirms the coupled or dependent relationship of the pore pressure,

moisture content, and temperature.

From a physical standpoint, fairly drastic changes are occurring within the column at the

20-minute mark between the depths of 36-72 mm. Since this is a common range of thickness in

which spalling occurs, it is no coincidence that spalling has been observed in fire tests of HSC

within the 20-30 minute time frame. As an aside, the pore pressure will reach its maximum

value at the center of the column (287 mm) if the application of heat continues long enough.

This trend is evident in Fig. 5 by the curve representing 240 minutes.

Parametric studies

In order to gain a better understanding of the parameters that affect pore pressure buildup

and therefore, spalling potential, the model can be used to perform parametric studies. This is significant, in that a desired behavioral response may be able to be controlled or produced at the

mix design stage if the phenomenon in question is sufficiently understood. Figs. 6-8 provide

model output from parametric investigations that have been done for a 406 mm x 406 mm

carbonate aggregate HSC column. For Fig. 6, the depths are measured along the column

centerline normal to the surface. In Figs. 7 and 8, depths represent distances along the diagonal

of the column.

Fig. 6 shows model predictions of the effect of initial moisture content on temperature

history compared with the data for Column HS-1. The curves indicate that increases in initial moisture content result in lower temperature histories. This is reasonable since higher moisture

levels are capable of absorbing more heat.

104
1000

0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240

Time, min

Figure 6. Model-prediction of effect of initial moisture content on temperature history of column

HS # 1 compared with E 1 1 9 fire test data.

Fig. 7 illustrates the effect of initial moisture content on the pore pressure distribution.

The figure indicates an increase in pore pressure as the initial moisture content is increased.

Fig. 8 shows the effect of initial permeability on the pore pressure distribution and clearly

indicates the sensitivity of pore pressure to permeability. As previously mentioned, the ability of

polypropylene fibers to increase the permeability of concrete is why they have proven to be

effective in reducing the spalling of HSC exposed to fire.

105
21

16 -

£

m

m

1 11

03Q.

o

1

Time =60.0 min

- - = 0.03 g/cm^ - = 0.06 g/cm^

0.10 g/cm^

0.00 3.59 7.18 10.77 14.36 17.95 21.54 25.13 28.72

Distance from exposed surface along column diagonal, cm

Figure 7. Model-prediction of effect of initial moisture content on pore pressure distribution of

406 mm x 406 mm carbonate aggregate HSC column subjected to E 1 19 fire.
41

0.00 3.59 7.18 10.77 14.36 17.95 21.54 25.13 28.72

Distance from exposed surface along column diagonal, cm

Figure 8. Model-prediction of effect of initial permeability on pore pressure distribution of 406

mm X 406 mm carbonate aggregate HSC column subjected to E 119 fire.

Additional parametric studies are necessary to study the affect of various parameters on HSC fire behavior. These can include the investigation of moisture migration, pore pressure

build up, and eventually include the spalling potential and fire performance of HSC. These types

of studies are also beneficial in advance of formulating fire test programs for purposes of

identifying and eliminating tests that are not expected to yield useful results.

107
Recommendations in support of the modeling effort

An overall approach for investigating the spalling of HSC under fire conditions has been

described. The goal is to develop a computer model that can determine the cause of spalling for

purposes of developing a design solution that will eliminate the spalling potential. In order for

such an effort to succeed, the following is recommended.

1. Tests involving thermal conductivity, sorption isotherms, permeability, porosity, initial moisture content and others must be performed for high-strength concretes for use as input

data.

2. Validation data from full-scale element tests and bench-scale cylinder tests are needed to validate temperature, moisture migration, and pore pressure model predictions.

3. Decisions must be made regarding the merging of a thermal model with a structural analysis

model, or whether it is better to start with a thermal model and expand it to include a stress analysis part.

References

1. Gamal N. Ahmed and James P. Hurst, Modeling the Thermal Behavior of Concrete Slabs

Subjected to the ASTM E 119 Standard Fire Condition, Journal of Fire Protection

Engineering, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 125-132, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Boston, MA,

1995.

2. Ali K. Abdel-Rahman and Gamal N. Ahmed, Computational Heat and Mass Transport in

Concrete Walls Exposed to Fire, International Journal of Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A,

Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 373-395, 1996.

3. Gamal N. Ahmed and James P. Hurst, Coupled Heat and Mass Transport Phenomena in

Siliceous Aggregate Concrete Slabs Subjected to Fire, accepted for publication in

International Journal of Fire and Materials, 1997.

108
B.7 FIRE TEST ON NORMAL AND fflGH-STRENGTH REINFORCED

CONCRETE COLUMNS

Corina-Maria Aldea*, Jean-Marc Franssen, and Jean-Claude Dotreppe^

*NSF Center for Advanced Cement-Based Materials

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, U.SA.

^Service "Fonts et Charpentes"

University of Liege, 4000 Liege, Belgium

ABSTRACT

The occurrence of spalling is a major factor in determining the fire resistance of concrete

constructions. This paper presents an experimental investigation of fire spalling of normal and

high strength concrete in order to provide recommendations for fire safety of constructions. Six

short reinforced concrete columns in compression were studied under standard fire conditions.

Parameters considered were: reinforcement, by number and diameter of steel rebars, and type of

concrete (normal strength concrete and high strength concrete). Test results showed comparable

behavior and no spalling of normal strength concrete columns and spalling with a considerable

reduction in fire resistance of high-strength concrete.

INTRODUCTION

Although reinforced concrete elements generally exhibit satisfactory behavior at high

temperatures, especially when subjected to fire, sudden spalling of external concrete layers is sometimes observed and, consequently, the longitudinal reinforcement may be exposed directly

to fire. In such cases failure occurs prematurely and sometimes fire resistance is reduced to half

of the original value. The occurrence of spalling is a major factor in determining the fire resistance of concrete constructions (1). Many references in the literature refer to this

phenomenon (2,3).

Among the factors that have been identified as influencing spalling of concrete structures subjected to fire, some are related to material properties, such as porosity, tensile strength,

thermal elongations, moisture content or thermal properties. Other factors, although directly

influenced by the material properties, are related to the structure, the stress distribution

depending on the loading and support system, and the presence of steel rebars. Analytical study

of spalling should involve consideration of coupled thermal, mechanical and hydraulic

phenomena.

A recent experimental program of full-scale tests made on 21 loaded concrete columns (4)

showed that Eurocode 2 recommendations (5) are not safe, even when applied to normal strength

concrete. Although the rules mentioned in Eurocode 2 suggest that no spalling should occur.

109
some significant spalling did happen during the tests. It was also found that spalling was much

more likely to occur in columns with longitudinal rebars of large diameters than in columns with

smaller bars. As the first experimental program was not particularly dedicated to spalling, a new

experimental program was set up to analyze this question for normal and high-strength concrete

columns.

STUDY OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

Study objective was to quantify some of the parameters influencing fire spalling of normal and

high-strength concrete in order to provide recommendations for fire safe constructions.

Experiments were performed and numerical simulation was planned in order to compare

experimental and numerical results. Six short reinforced concrete columns of the same

dimensions submitted to compression were studied under fire conditions. The following

parameters were considered: reinforcement, by number and diameter of steel rebars; and type of

concrete (normal strength concrete C20 and C50, and high strength concrete C90).

The goal of this research work was first to compare the structural behavior of normal and highstrength concrete under fire conditions. Another purpose was to examine a structural effect

noticed in the previous experimental study (4), i.e., the influence of the diameter of the rebars on

spalling of concrete

EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

Test series and mix proportions

Concrete columns were tested at the University of Liege, in Belgium. Six short columns with

identical : square 290 x 290 mm cross sections, 2.10 m long were tested in one of the fiimaces of

the Fire Test Laboratory, University of Liege. The length of the columns was limited by the

height of the existing furnace. Test series included columns made of three different mix

compositions (Table 1): normal strength concrete C30 and C50, and high strength concrete C90,

and 2 different longitudinal reinforcement types, 8 O 12 and 4 O 25 (Figure 1). Concrete cover was 3 cm. Stirrups with 8 mm diameter were placed 200 mm apart along the columns, except at the ends, where 100 mm spacing was used along the remaining 300 mm (Figure 2). Another

three columns, one for each of the mix compositions, were cast in order to determine material

characteristics only (Figure 3, section type 1). Compressive strength and tensile strength were

determined on 112.5 x 246 mm, 28-day old cores drilled firom the concrete columns without

reinforcement

.

Compression and Fire Tests

Each column was simply supported at the ends. The fiimace was provided with an external frame

specially designed to apply compressive and tensile stresses. Specimens were loaded by means of

2 double-acting (compressive and tensile) hydraulic jacks.

110
Thirty two thermocouples were placed in each column before casting of concrete in order to measure temperature evolution. The thermocouples were symmetrically placed at significant

locations in the cross sections, such as: in the comers of the concrete section next to stirrups, on

both sides of the longitudinal reinforcements, in the concrete core, and on the longitudinal axis.

Thermocouples were placed in 4 different sections along the column: in 2 sections containing

stirrups, 9 thermocouples per section, and in 2 sections without stirrups, 7 thermocouples per

section (Figures 4 and 5).

Test procedure

The columns were tested in compression and under standard fire conditions. A compressive force

representing 50% of the column design load (6,7) was applied first (Table 2). Heating was

applied in the gas furnace according to the standard ISO 834 curve (8). The change in length of

the columns and temperatures in the 32 thermocouples were recorded every minute during the

tests. The column condition was examined basically every 30 minutes during the fire tests, or more frequently when spalling was noticed. This was based on previous research and

observations suggesting that spalling usually occurs within a time frame between 30 and 60

minutes after the beginning of heating.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

Comparable behavior of normal strength concrete columns was observed in the experimental

program. Both C20 and C50 columns showed a few longitudinal cracks near the edges (Figure

8), with progressive crushing of concrete and buckling of the steel rebars (Figures 7 to 9). Fire

resistance proved comparable (Table 3 and Figure 6). High-strength concrete columns showed

early spalling at the comers, premature heating of the steel rebars in the reduced section,

buckling of the steel rebars just before a sudden failure by crushing of the concrete core (Figure

10). Consequently, a considerable reduction in fire resistance was noticed.

COMMENTS AND CONCLUSIONS

1 . Spalling of normal strength concrete columns under fire action was not noticed.

2. High strength concrete columns showed spalling phenomena after 8 minutes (C90, 8 {[) 12

mm) and 11-12 minutes (C90 4 (j) 25 mm). In both cases, comer spalling was observed.

This type of spalling also referred to as sloughing-off is a consequence of concrete losing

its tensile strength at elevated temperatures, and has proved to be particularly significant

in determining the fire resistance of columns (1). These experimental results confirm the

fact that high strength concrete is more susceptible to spalling than normal strength

concrete.

Ill
3. Longitudinal cracks along the main reinforcement were noticed for normal strength

concrete after one hour of fire test and developed until the end of the test corresponding to crushing.

4. Tests showed that the material behavior has a more significant influence on failure than

the structural behavior.

5. Experimental results proved that additional experimental research together with

numerical modeling need to be carried out in order to better understand, the spalling

phenomena.

FUTURE RESEARCH

1 . Other parameters will be considered: the shape of the cross section and the load level.

- circular cross sectional columns of same length (2.10 m), 300 rmn diameter and 2 types

of longitudinal reinforcement (6 (|) 12 mm and 6 ^20 mm) will be tested.

- compressive load level will be 50% of the design load, as previously considered, and

70% of the design load, corresponding to a more important variable loading.

2. Attention will be focused on a better understanding of the spalling phenomena and of the

most significant parameters to influence it and also on the development of a numerical

model, considering coupling between thermal, mechanical and transport phenomena, to be

included in the SAFIR computer code.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research project has been carried out at the Universite de Liege, Service des Fonts et Charpentes. The financial and material support of the National Fund for Scientific Research

(FNRS) Belgium and NATO (grant CRG 960621) through grants to the Universite de Liege,

Service des Fonts et Charpentes is greatly appreciated.

REFERENCES

1. Connolly, R.J., Purkiss, J. A., Morris, W.A., The Spalling of Concrete in Fires, First

European Symposium on Fire Safety Science, Ziirich, 1995.

2.. Collet, Y., L'Eclatement du Materiau Beton au cours d'un Incendie - Apergu de la

Litterature. Group de Travail; Comportement du Materiau Beton en Fonction de la

Temperature, CTIC, Bruxelles, May 1976.

3. CUR. Spatten van Grindbeton en Lichtbeton bij Brand, Rapport No. 98, Uitgave

Betonvereniging, Zoetermeer, 1980.

112
4. Dotreppe, J.C., Baus, R., Franssen, J.M., Bruls, A., Dimensionnement des Colonnes en Beton Arme en Considerant le Probleme de la Resistance au Feu, Rapport Final I, Convention F.R.F.C., Service des Fonts et Charpentes, University of Liege, 1993.

5. Eurocode 2 - 1.2. Design of Concrete Structures. Part 10. Structural Fire Design., CEN

November 1995.

6. Application of High Performance Concrete, Report of the CEB-FIP Working Group on High Strength/High Performance Concrete, CEB Bulletin on Infromation No. 222,

November 1994.

7. Belgian Code NBN B15-103, 1977.

8. ISO. Fire Resistance Tests - Elements of Building Construction. International Standard

834, 1975.

Table 1. Mix Compositions

Concrete

Normal Strength Concrete

High Strength

Concrete

C20 C50 C90

Mix Ingredients kg % kg % kg %

Cement 280 1 410 1 47 1

Sand 800 2.86 750 1.83 780 1.66

Aggregate 1100 3.93 1050 2.56 1030 2.19

Water 185 0.66 175 0.43 145 0.31

Superplasicizer 10 0.024 12 0.026

Silica Fume 94 0.2

Note: river sand (Meuse), MS 0/5 mm

limestone aggregate, MSA 7/14 mm

cement P40 (C20), P50 (C50 and C90)

superplasticizerRHEOBUILD 2000PF

columns were cast at PARTEK-ERGON

113
Table 2. Compressive Loading

Test Series

50% Design Load (tf)

8 c}) 12 4 c|) 25

NSC

C20 46.46 63.71

C50 96.40 113.01

HSC C90 165.29 181.03

Table 3. Fire resistance

Concrete

Fire Resistance (hours and minutes)

8 (}) 12 4(|)25

C20 3 hours 54 minutes 3 hours 13 minutes

C50 2 hours 32 minutes 3 hours 29 minutes

C90

1 hour 46 minutes

first spallina after 8 minutes

1 hour 29 minutes

first spalline after 12 minutes

114
8(1) 12 4(j)25

Figure 1. Concrete cross sections (29 cm x 29 cm); longitudinal reinforcement 8 (j) 12

and 4 (j) 25 mm. Concrete cover 3 cm

115
Section Al

Section A3

Section A4

Section A2

10

20

20

20

20'

20

20

10

210

410 4-

Section type 2 and 3. Position of thermocouples. Column used for fire test. Note:

Al and A2 sections with stirrups, A3 and A4 sections without stirrups

116
40

40

I

40

40

40 210

Figure 3. Section type 1 . No thermocouples. Column used for material characteristic

determination only. No fire test performed

117
Section Al

Section A2

Position of thermocouples in the cross section. Sections with stirrups, 9

thermocouples per cross section

118
Section A3

Figure 5. Position of thermocouples in the cross section. Sections without stirrups, 7

thermocouples per cross section

119
5

I_ongltucdlnal reinforcement

WMW/m 8x 12

C20 C50 C90

Concrete Columns

Figure 6. Fire resistance of concrete columns during tests

120
C20, 8x12 (b)C20,4x25

Figure 7. Concrete columns after the test. Crushing of concrete

and buckling of steel rebars

121
Figure 8. Concrete column during the test: C50, 8 x 12, t=lh 30 min.

Longitudinal cracks

122
(a) C50, 8x12 (b)C50,4x25

Figure 9. Concrete columns after the test. Crushing of concrete and

buckling of steel rebars

123
(a) C90,8xl2 (b)C90,4x2:)

Figure 10. Concrete columns after the test. Buckling of the steel

rebars and crushing of the concrete core

124
B.8 Measurement and Prediction of Pore Pressure in

Cement Mortar Subjected to Elevated Temperature

Gary R. Consolazio ^

Michael C. McVay ^

JeffW. Rish III ^

ABSTRACT

When a partially saturated porous medium is subjected to a high temperature heating source, pore pressures large enough to initiate explosive spalling may be developed within the pore

spaces of the material. The level to which these pore pressures ultimately rise depends on the

saturation and permeability of the medium as well as the rate at which heat flows into the material. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies involving the measurement and prediction

of pore pressures and moisture flow in concrete are presented. The results of isothermal flow

tests are presented in order to evaluate the accuracy of Darcy's law and the influence of Klinkenberg's effect in gas flows. Pore pressure data are presented for experimental tests in which satu- rated cement mortar specimens were subjected to high temperature radiant heating conditions. A

numerical modeling technique is then presented and is used to numerically simulate the experimental tests. Close agreement is shown between the pore pressures and temperatures recorded

experimentally and those predicted through simulation.

INTRODUCTION

Evaluation of airfield pavement degradation and fire safety evaluation of concrete struc- tures are examples of situations that involve moist porous media (e.g. concrete) subjected to se- vere thermal loadings. The presence of moisture in heated porous media gives rise to internal

pore pressures that, in combination with differential thermal stresses, can cause explosive spalling of the material. Spalling of this type can cause rapid degradation of concrete airfield pavements as well as presenting fire safety considerations for concrete structures subjected to fires. In

addition, some experimental studies (Sanjayan and Stocks 1993) have suggested that, due to its lower permeability, high-strength concrete may be more prone to explosive spalling than nor- mal-strength concrete.

Internal pore pressure buildup for porous media subjected to thermal loading is more se- vere for materials that have lower permeability. However, there is conflicting experimental data on this issue (Jahren 1989). Therefore, gaining an understanding of moist porous media subjected

to fires and formulating a model to predict its behavior under such circumstances is highly desirable.

^ Assistant Professor, Rutgers University, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, P.O.

Box 909, Piscataway, NJ, 08855 (grc@civeng.rutgers.edu).

Professor, University of Florida, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 345 Weil Hall, Gainesville, FL,

32611 (mcm@ce.ufl.edu).

Research Engineer, WL/FIVCO, Tyndall AFB, FL 32403. Currently Mechanical Engineer,

Coastal Systems Station, Dahlgren Division, Panama City, FL 32407.

125
ISOTHERMAL FLOW STUDY

The primary impetus for the work presented herein originated from problems involving

spalling of concrete airfield surfaces. Concrete surfaces located where they are subjected to streams of hot jet exhaust often sustain significant surface spalling. To study the influence of

pore pressure on spalling, the United States Air Force initiated steady state and transient testing

of cement mortar.

To model both the mass and heat migration through cement, coupled partial differential

equations concerning the conservation of mass, momentum and energy must be solved. In the case of the momentum of the fluid, Darcy's (1856) expression is used, whereas for gas, Darcy or Klinkenberg's (1941) equation is employed. The former is linear with pressure gradient and the

latter is nonlinear.

In this portion of the work, the primary concern was quantifying the error of Darcy's ex- pression over Klinkenberg's equation for gas flow in cement under elevated temperatures. The

effort involved eighteen isothermal steady state flow tests with pressures varying fi-om 5 to 20

atmospheres for which flow and pressure across the specimens were monitored. Both superheated steam and nitrogen gas were employed.

For the isothermal transient tests, both nitrogen and superheated steam were passed

through specimens while monitoring flow rates. Results of the testing (McVay and Rish 1995)

revealed that the flow of gases and vapors at the pressures expected (1350-3500 kPa) resulted in

slip flow, not laminar flow, thus requiring a modification to Darcy's law. Using Klinkenberg's

modification, a theoretical expression for pressure under stead-state conditions was developed

that compares favorably to experimental data. It was found that Klinkenberg's expression was

capable of predicting all the flow and pressure results within a few percent, whereas Darcy's ex- pression was in error by 15% to 25% for both pressure and flow results.

MOISTURE CLOG SPALLING

Spalling of moist concrete and other moist porous materials subjected to high temperature

heat sources can be attributed primarily to two mechanisms—^thermal gradients and pore pressures. Steep thermal gradients in a solid material—whether a porous solid or not—can cause significant differential thermal stresses to be developed. If these thermal stresses are sufficiently

large, spalling may occur. In moist porous materials, i.e. porous materials that are at least partially saturated, build up of pore pressures during heating can also have a very substantial influ- ence on the likelihood of spalling. As liquid pore water vaporizes and migrates through the porous solid skeleton of the material, pore pressures can become large enough to cause spalling. In

most cases of heat induced spalling, a combination of these two mechanisms is in effect.

Moisture clog spalling (Hamarthy 1965, Smith 1978) is the name given to the process by

which large pore pressures can be produced when a moist porous medium is heated. The pres- ence of entrapped moisture in a porous media exposed to high temperature can be either beneficial or detrimental, with one of the primary deciding factors being the rate of heating, the permeability of the material, and the moisture level. Porous materials such as concrete and cement

mortar contain free liquid water, adsorbed (bound) water, vaporized water, and air in their pore

spaces. The quantity of such pore water is a function of many factors including the initial water/cement (w/c) ratio at time of casting, the age of the material, and environmental conditions.

The rate of heating will be a function of the temperature of the heat source and the nature of the

heat transfer (i.e., conduction, convection, radiation) from the source to the porous medium.

126
During severe thermal loading, heat flow into the material will result in an increase in the

temperature of the solid skeleton and the pore water. When the pore water reaches a high enough

temperature—which is dependent on, among other things, the pore pressure—it will begin to vaporize. A portion of the heat flow into the material will be consumed by this pore water vaporization process (Selih et al. 1994). As such, the presence of pore water is beneficial because it slows the rate at which the temperature of the solid skeleton rises. However, when the pore water

vaporizes, an increase in pore pressure will result. As the pore pressures increases, a pressure

gradient will form between the zone of vaporization and lower pressure regions deeper inside the

concrete and at the exterior surface of the material. This is illustrated through numerical simulation later in this paper. Also, as the pore water temperature increases, thermal expansion of the

liquid phase will occur (Kodres 1996) which can also increase the pore pressure. As the vapor

migrates along the pressure gradient, it will either escape to the atmosphere, or move inward in

the material reaching a lower temperature region and condensing. Such vapor migration will re- lieve the buildup of pore pressure at the zone of vaporization but will also increase the saturation

level.

The portion of the vapor that migrates deeper into the concrete will condense because the

temperature in this region will generally be cooler than that at the vaporization region. As the

migrated vapor condenses, it will add to the liquid pore water already present in the pore spaces

of the cooler region. As the vaporize-migrate-condense cycle continues, accumulation of pore

water will build up in the cooler regions until finally a completely saturated layer is formed.

Once this layer forms, vaporized pore water is severely impeded from migrating inward in the

concrete due to the saturated front. Instead it is forced to migrate through the dry region to escape

into the atmosphere. If the permeability of the material is sufficiently low or the rate of heating

sufficiently high, vaporized water will not be able to escape fast enough to keep internal pore

pressures from rising inside the material. Spalling will occur when the tensile strength of the

concrete is exceeded by the combination of pore pressure and thermal stresses. The complete

process is illustrated in Figure 1

.

The "moisture clog spalling" concept presented above has been substantiated in various

forms by other researchers (Sahota and Pagni 1979, Kodres 1996). A fundamental aspect of this

scenario is that the rate of heating, the saturation level, and the permeability of the material can

determine whether or not spalling occurs. If the rate of heating or the saturation level are sufficiently low or the material permeability is sufficiently large, vaporized pore water will be able to escape under a smaller pressure gradient. Alternatively, if rate of heating and the saturation level are high or the concrete permeability is small, then the rate at which vapor is produced at the

saturated front can exceed the rate at which it escapes to the atmosphere and very large pore

pressures can result. EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM

The experimental program consisted of subjecting two nearly saturated cement mortar

specimens to a high temperature radiant heating source and measuring the transient pore pres- sures and temperatures from the resulting thermally driven flow. To obtain repeatable results, as well as to remove the influence of aggregate type and size, the tests were performed on cement

mortar as opposed to concrete. Two mortar specimens were cast in steel circular molds and consolidated through vibration. They were then allowed to hydrate (cure) for two days in the molds

after which they were placed in a water bath so that they could reach a nearly saturated state. Tests on identically prepared cement mortar samples revealed a porosity (volume of voids to total volume) of 17.5% and a permeability of approximately 8.324E-17 m^.

127
The two specimens were instrumented by installing thermocouples and pore pressure

transducers in the positions shown in Figure 2. The thermocouples were installed by drilling

holes from the bottom of the specimen up to the desired vertical elevation, inserting the thermocouples, and then cementing them into the drilled holes. Since high temperatures and pressures were anticipated for the experiment, special sealed, thermally compensated pore pressure trans- ducers (PPTs) were used to measure pore pressure. The PPTs were installed in such a way that

they could be recovered for reuse after the experiment was completed. First, a metal lag bolt was

hollowed out by drilling a hole lengthwise through the bolt. A PPT was then epoxied into the

hollow portion of the bolt such that the transducer was at the tip of the bolt. A larger diameter

hole was then drilled into the mortar specimen and the lag bolt was cemented into the drilled

hole.

A portable cylindrical oven of approximately the same diameter as the specimens served

as the radiant heat source. The sides of the oven walls consisted of heating elements embedded in

ceramic material while the top (cap) of the oven consisted of insulation. A thermocouple was

placed inside the oven near the top surface to monitor the transient air temperature in the oven.

Just prior to testing, the temperature of the oven was raised to approximately 925C.

Testing consisted of heating the oven to the testing temperature, then lifting it up and

placing it adjacent to the top of the specimen. In this manner, each specimen "saw" the heat as being applied in a rapid fashion rather than experiencing a gradual increase in temperature during oven warm-up. Rapid heating is consistent with the type of thermal loading experienced by concrete runways subjected to jet exhaust. Two test runs were performed—one on each cement

mortar specimen. In each case, the test was allowed to continue until it was determined that the

PPTs would soon experience damage. At that point (around 500 seconds into the tests), the oven was removed from the specimen. In each test, spalling of the mortar surface was observed prior

to removal of the oven. Temperature and pore pressures inside the specimens continued to be re- corded after the heat source was removed so that the cool down behavior of the material could be

observed as well.

Transient temperatures for the two test runs are shown in Figure 3. In each case, the point

at which the oven was removed is evident from the shape of the temperature curves for the thermocouples nearest the specimen surface (i.e., at 1.5 mm for test-1 and at 3.5 mm for test-2). A

sharp decline in temperature near the surface and a more gradual decline in temperature deeper

inside the specimen can be observed after removal of the oven.

One can see from the figure that there is a sharp temperature gradient in each specimen.

For example, by looking at the temperatures near the surface (at 1.5 mm and 3.5 mm) and those

deeper in the specimens (at 19 mm) one observes that as time increases (up to the oven cutoff

time), there is a considerable temperature difference. This temperature difference occurs over

only a distance of 17.5 mm for test-1 (19 mm-1.5 mm=17.5 mm) and 15.5 mm for test-2 (19

mm-3.5 mm=15.5 mm).

Pore pressures for the two tests are shown in Figure 4. As was anticipated, significant

pressures—on the order of 3100 kPa—were developed in each case. Thus, the concept of pore

pressure buildup as a contributor to the initiation of spalling was confirmed experimentally. The

unique, and somewhat curious shape of the pore pressure curves, i.e. the double pressure peaks

and the dip in between them, is due to a peculiarity of the PPT installation. After the tests were

completed, the PPTs were removed and the depth of the drilled shaft measured careftilly. By

subtracting the known length of the bolt, it was found that in each case there was a small cavity—approximately 1 to 2 mm in size—just above the locations at which the PPTs had been installed.

128
The cavities had been formed when the lag bolts were cemented into the holes in the

specimen. Later, during numerical simulation of the experiments, it was determined that the

presence of the cavities was the cause of the dip in the pore pressure plots. Without a cavity, the

plots rise to a peak value and then subsequently decrease without a later increase. With a cavity, a dip in the pore pressure plot is encountered followed by a subsequent rise back to the previous

peak pressure. The difference in the clock time at which the second peak occurred during test-1 and test-2 is attributed to the differing sizes of the cavities present in each case. NUMERICAL SIMULATION PROCEDURES

After concluding the experimental program, the next goal in the present study was to develop a numeric simulation tool capable of predicting the pore pressure buildup in heated moist

porous media. Development of such a simulation model is desirable because it can be used to perform parametric studies numerically instead of experimentally. Since numeric simulation is simpler to setup and less costly than experimental testing, it's usefulness is clear. Data predicted

by the numeric models can be used either in designing ftirther experimental studies, or as a predictive tool to be used for design and evaluation purposes.

In this study, the TOUGH code (Pruess 1987) developed by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories at the University of California was used as the basis for the numerical modeling. TOUGH,

an acronym for "transport of unsaturated groundwater and heat" is a numerical model for simulating the coupled transport of water, vapor, air and heat through porous media. It has the ability to simulate thermally driven flow and, although it was developed primarily for use in geothermal

problems, the authors have successfully modified it for use in modeling moist cement mortar and

concrete subjected to high temperatures.

Radiation Boundary Condition Modeling

The boundary modeling approach adopted in this work (Consolazio, McVay, Rish 1996)

consists of converting the radiant boundary condition into an "effective" conductive boundary

condition. In this approach, illustrated in Figure 5(b), the radiation boundary condition is represented using "effective" conductive properties. The oven (i.e. the heat source) is modeled using

superelements of prescribed temperature while the specimen is modeled using "normal" size

elements having the properties of cement mortar. The properties and interface distances of the oven superelements are then given "effective" values. When these effective values are used

within the fi-amework of a conduction heat analysis (e.g. in TOUGH), the resulting heat fluxes

are the same as would occur in a true radiant heat analysis. Thus, both the radiant boundary condition and the modeling of heat and moisture transport through the specimen can be analyzed

using a conduction analysis framework.

Note that in this method of modeling the boundary condition, the oven superelements and

the specimen elements are in "contact" in the sense that there are connections between them, in- terface areas, etc. It is across these fictitious "contact" areas that conductive heat transport occurs. The fact that these elements are in contact in the numerical model, however, in no way

violates the fact that they are not connected in the actual physical (experimental) setup. The contacts are simply a construct of the numerical modeling method and nothing more.

The interface distance is the distances between the centroid of an element and the interface between it and an ad- jacent element.

129
In creating the model, the parameters k2 and d2 shown in Figure 5(b) are not variables.

They are the conductivity and center-to-interface distance for an element in the cement mortar

model (i.e. the specimen). The conductivity k2 is the conductivity of cement mortar and the distance d2 is established based on the spatial discretization (i.e. "meshing") of the specimen. Thus

k2 and d2 are fixed. However, we can choose either ki or d] arbitrarily and solve for the re- maining variable to construct our "effective" boundary condition. In the present case, we choose

to set dj=d2 and solve for the "effective" conductivity kj oi the oven superelements.

To find the effective conductivity kj, let us denote the conductivity of the interface between two elements as the interface conductivity. For two elements in contact and having different conductivities we desire to determine a value of conductivity at the interface between the

elements. A particularly good choice of interpolation scheme suitable for this purpose is to make

A:, the harmonic mean of A;; and k2 (Patankar 1980). In this case

V ki k2J

(1)

where

f.- di+d2 (2)

Then, by equating the energy flux across the interface due to radiant heating and conductive

heating (Figure 6), we can solve for an effective conductivity of the boundary superelement

(Consolazio, McVay, Rish 1996). Doing so, we find that if we denote

then kj can be shown to be

^1 ^21 ^21 ^2

k2dih, (4)

k^ =

ko - dn hr

which is the "effective" conductivity of the oven superelement. Note that kj is a. function of both

Tj and T2 since is a fiinction of and T2. Therefore, we have an effective conductivity that

is temperature dependent (as it should be for radiant heat transfer). In implementing this modeling scheme in TOUGH, the effective conductivities are updated at each iteration during the

analysis, always taking into account the most current temperatures of the connected elements.

Calculation ofRadiation Viewing Factors

Since radiant heat transfer occurs across space between two surfaces that are not in contact, the relative positions and orientations of the surfaces in space must be taken into account.

This is accomplished by computing view factors between the surfaces and using the factors in the

heat flux equations. In modeling the experimental setup of this paper, view factors corresponding

to radiant heat originating from the oven surface and striking the specimen surface had to be

130
computed. These view factors were then used in modehng the radiation boundary condition by

inserting them into Equation (3) during the TOUGH analysis.

To compute the view factors for this case, a numerical procedure was developed. The

procedure consisted of discretizing the inner surface of the oven and the top surface of the

specimen into a large number of elements. For efficiency, only one quarter of the specimen was

modeled since it was known that the view factors would be axisymmetric over its surface. The

following expressions were then derived which yield the view factor between two composite sur- faces—i.e., surfaces comprised of smaller flat surface patches (see Figure 7).

m

7 = 1

(5)

cos(0 i ) cos(9j

)

nr

(6)

In these expressions, F^-^ is the (total) view factor from composite surface A to composite sur- face B, Aqi is the area of the i-th patch in composite surface A, A}jj is the area of the j-th patch in

composite surface B, and F^^-bj is the patch-to-patch view factor.

Using the expressions given above, several numerical "runs" were made using increasing

levels of refinement in the surface discretization. The most refined model consisted of discretizing the oven surface with 1 60 patches in the vertical direction and 640 patches in the circumferential direction for a total of 102,400 patches. The surface of the specimen was discretized using

a total of 300 elements (finer discretizations were also tried (for lower levels of oven discretization) but resulted in little change in the computed view factors). The resulting view factors computed using this procedure, and converted to view factors per unit area, are shown in Figure 8. COMPARISON OF SIMULATION DATA AND EXPERIMENTAL DATA

Using the numerical simulation procedures described in the previous section, several numerical models were constructed and analyzed to try to predict the pore pressure and temperature

results obtained from the experimental program. The models constructed included 1 -d, 2-d, and

limited 3-d models. Radiation view factors were computed as described earlier. In addition, the

voids which were found to be present near the PPTs in the experimental program were modeled

in some cases. Recall fi-om earlier discussion that it was found that these voids were responsible

for the "dips" in the experimental pore pressure plots.

Table 1 lists the key physical quantities that were used in the modeling. Note that the

temperature of the oven was not constant throughout the simulation. It was noted during the ex- perimental tests that the temperature in the oven dropped to approximately one-half of its initial value during the early portion of the test. This was attributed to the release of steam from surface

of the specimen. The piecewise linear temperature profile used in the simulations (see Table 1)

was an attempt to approximate this effect. It was found that the exact shape of the temperature

131
profile had little effect on the analysis results and even less effect on the peak pore pressures predicted.

Table 1 . Key Physical Quantities Used in the Numerical Simulations

Cement Mortar

Density = 2100 kg/m3

Porosity = 17.5%

Permeability = 8.324E-17 m2

Specific heat = 92 1 . 12 J/kg C

Conductivity = 2.3 W/m C

Emmisivity = 0.88

Oven

Peak temperature = 925 C

Low temperature = a460 C

Emmisivity = 0.92

Oven Temperature Profile

Exp-1 Exp-2 Oven

Time Time temperature

(sec) (sec) (C)

0.0 0.0 463

100.0 100.0 740

200.0 200.0 925

550.0 450.0 925

555.0 455.0 25

1000.0 1000.0 25

2-d Simulation

In the 2-d simulation model, one-half of the specimen cross section was discretized using

a variable density mesh (see Figure 9(a)). This model accounted for the following components.

• Cement mortar specimen

• Void at tip of pore pressure transducer

• Lag bolt

• Epoxy inside lag bolt

Only half of the specimen was modeled due to axisymmetry of all the components and axisymmetry of the thermal loading. Zero-flux (no flux of heat or mass) boundary conditions were used

along the vertical boundaries of the model. Along the top boundary, the radiant boundary condition of the oven was modeled. The bottom boundary was modeled using very permeable su- perelements. Since these were superelements, the base material also acted as a heat sink. (The

precise manner in which the base was modeled was found to have little effect on the results obtained due to the relatively short time frame that was of interest).

132
Pore pressure data and temperature data predicted by the 2-d simulation models are compared with the experimentally determined data in Figures 10 and 11. The pore pressures plotted

are those occurring at a depth of approximately 19 mm from the top face of the specimen (i.e., at a position just below the void). Temperatures are plotted for the thermocouples nearest the sur- face (1.5 mm and 3.5 mm) and those at the level of the PPT (19 mm). One can see that there is very favorable agreement for pore pressure and favorable agreement for temperatures. Most notably, the peak pore pressures predicted by the numerical simulation very closely match the actual peak pore pressures measured experimentally.

The differences in the location of the pore pressure dips for the experimental and simulated cases are attributed to the fact that the only an approximate geometry of the void was modeled. Since the dip is a product only of the specific instrumentation setup and not a phenomenon

that would normally occur in a non-instrumented specimen, the difference in the location of the

dip is not of great concern. What is significant is the fact the initial peak for the experimental and

simulated curves match favorably in magnitude and location (time) and that the subsequent peaks

match in magnitude. Also plotted in Figure 10 is the simulation pore pressure curve for the case

in which the void is omitted. It is clear from this plot that the pore pressure dip is an artifact of

the void, since in this simulation no subsequent pressure rise is observed.

Good agreement between experimental and simulated temperature data is indicated by the curves in Figure 1 1 . Transient temperatures predicted at 1 9 mm are seen to match quite closely

with experimental data indicating proper modeling of conductive heat transfer through the

specimen. At locations nearer to the surface (1.5 mm and 3.5 mm) the simulated data diverge

more significantly from the experimental data. Simulation results indicated that, for points near

the surface, the peak temperature reached varies considerably with change in depth. Therefore,

small errors in the assumed location of the thermocouples could account, at least in part, for the

difference between experimental and simulated temperatures.

3-d Simulation

The 3-d model developed to simulate the experiments consisted of a one-quarter "pie

slice" (shown in Figure 9(b)). Only the inner 4mm core of the specimen was able to be modeled

due to size limitations present in TOUGH . The void, lag bolt, and epoxy were not modeled so

that the pore pressures inside a non-instrumented specimen could be determined. In Figures 12

and 13, the pore pressure and temperature data obtained from the 3-d models are plotted through

the entire depth of the specimen as time progresses. From Figure 12 one can clearly identify the

interface between the fully desaturated zone and the fully saturated zones—pore pressure is seen

to maximize at the boundary between these two zones. Pore pressures vary non-linearly from the

peak value near the interface to atmospheric pressure at the top and bottom surfaces. As time

progresses, the desaturated zone penetrates farther into the specimen. One can also clearly see the

development of a very steep temperature gradient through the specimen. This suggests that not

only pore pressures, but also differential thermal stresses, may play a significant role in causing

spalling.

The size limitations in TOUGH are related to the equation solver, not the ability to store model data. Complete 3-d

models will be constructed in the near future using the newer T0UGH2 which contains conjugate gradient equation solvers appropriate for the solution of large 3-d models. Modifications for radiation boundary condition modeling and Klinkenberg's equation are currently being made to T0UGH2.

133
CONCLUSION

Experimental tests in which saturated cement mortar specimens were exposed to a high

temperature (92 5 C) radiant heating source have been presented. The mortar specimens were instrumented with thermocouples and pore pressure transducers so that the transient response of

the specimen to thermal loading could be measured. It has been shown that very significant pore

pressures—on the order of 3.1 MPa—can develop under such conditions and can be a major

contributing factor to the initiation of explosive spalling.

A numerical simulation procedure has been developed and used to predict the experimental data. Radiation boundary conditions in the numerical simulation model are handled by

converting radiant heat transport to "effective" conductive heat transport. Results from various

simulations compare favorably with the experimentally measured data, especially with respect to predicting peak pore pressures. This suggests that the numerical modeling procedures developed

herein may be used in predicting the conditions under which spalling is likely to occur. Furthermore, it means that parametric studies may be performed using numerical models to determine

the effect of key material parameters (e.g., permeability, porosity, saturation level) on the buildup

of pore pressure and the initiation of spalling.

Pore pressure buildup has been clearly shown to be a major factor in the occurrence of

spalling but differential thermal stresses will also have an significant influence. Coupled pore

pressure and differential thermal stress analyses are needed to quantify the relative importance of

pore pressure buildup and thermal stress. REFERENCES

Consolazio, G.R., McVay, M.C., Rish, J.W. Ill (1996), Measurement and Prediction of Pore

Pressures in Saturated Cement Mortar Subjected to Radiant Heating, submitted for publication in the ACI Materials Journal.

Darcy, H., Les Fontaines Publiques de la Ville de Dijon, Dalmont, Paris, France, 1856.

Hamarthy, T.A. (1965), Effect of Moisture on the Fire Endurance of Building Elements, ASTM

Publication STP 385, American Society of Testing and Materials.

Holman, J.P. (1990), Heat Transfer, Seventh Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Jahren, P.A. (1989), Fire Resistance of High Strength/Dense Concrete With Particular Reference

to the Use of Condensed Silica Fume, ACI Publication SP 114-50, Fly Ash, Silica Fume,

Slag, and Natural Pozzolans in Concrete, American Concrete Institute.

Klinkenberg, L.J. (1941), The Permeability of Porous Media to Liquids and Gases, American

Petroleum Institute Drilling Production and Practices, pg. 200-213.

Kodres, C.A. (1996), Moisture-Induced Pressures in Concrete Airfield Pavements, Journal of

Materials in Civil Engineering, Vol.8, No.l, pp.4 1-50.

McVay, M.C., Rish, J.W. Ill (1995), Flow of Nitrogen and Superheated Steam Through Cement

Mortar, Journal ofThermophysics and Heat Transfer, Vol. 9, No.4, pp. 790-792.

Patankar, Suhas V. (1980), Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow (Series in Computational

Methods in Mechanics and Thermal Sciences), Taylor and Francis Publishers.

134
Pruess, K. (1987), TOUGH User's Guide, Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, Document LBL-20700.

Sahota, M.S., Pagni, P.J. (1979), Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Media Subject to Fires, In- ternational Journal ofHeat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 22, pp. 1069-1081.

Sanjayan, G., Stocks, L.J. (1993), Spalling of High-Strength Silica Fume Concrete in Fire, ACI

Materials Journal, Vol. 90, No. 2, March-April 1993, pp. 170-173.

Selih, J., Sousa, A.C.M., Bremner, T.W. (1994), Moisture and Heat Flow in Concrete Walls Exposed to FiiQ, ASCE Journal ofEngineering Mechanics, Vol. 120, No. 10, October 1994.

Smith, P. (1978), Chapter 25: Resistance to High Temperatures, in Significance of Tests and

Properties of Concrete and Concrete-Making Materials, Publication STP 169B, American Society of Testing and Materials, 1978.

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14«
B.9 Mechanical Properties of Siliceous HSC Subjected to High-Temperature

Cycles

R. Felicetti and P.G. Gambarova

Department of Structural Engineering, Milan University of Technology, Milan, Italy

Highly-stressed structural members rely more and more on high-strength concretes and ~ in certain

specific cases ~ on very high-strength microconcretes, which are quite sensitive to severe thermal

loading (high temperature), particularly when highly-siliceous aggregates are used. As part of a joint

Research Project financed by the European Communities, a number of industrial partners and

research institutions (like the Italian National Agency for Energy, New Technologies and

Environment - ENEA), a many-faceted research program in the domain of siliceous high-strength

concretes (f^ = 72-95 MPa) and special microconcretes (Reactive Powder Concretes and Compact

Reinforced Concretes, = 170-200 MPa) is in progress in Milan. The objectives of the project

regard the measurement of the complete stress-strain curves in compression and in tension both at room temperature and after or during a cycle at high temperature (T = 105-500°C), and the

evaluation of a few fracture parameters (fracture energy, characteristic length, toughness index), as a function of the temperature of the thermal cycle. Both the material and the structural behavior are investigated, since the thermally-induced softer behavior of the concrete favors stress redistribution

in a structure, making the overall structural behavior less sensitive to high temperature than the

material itself.

The research project in progress at Milan University of Technology consists of 4 different phases:

• Compression and tension strength of flint-based, high-strength concretes: residual properties

are measured after a cycle at 105, 250, 400 and 500°C (heating and cooling in quasi-steady

conditions, with 12 hours at the maximum temperature) [1, 2], Figs. 1 and 2; notched (tension)

and unnotched (compression) cylinders (f^ = 72 and 95 MPa) are used.

• Deep beams subjected to 3 -point bending and circular slabs subjected to punching (both

reinforced and unreinforced): residual capacity is measured (load-displacement behavior

included) after a thermal cycle at 105, 250 and 400°C (flint-based concrete with f^ = 72 MPa);

deep beams and circular slabs are typical structural elements in plane stresses and subjected to shear and bending [2, 3], Figs. 3 and 4.

• Tension behavior of flint based high-strength concretes (f^ = 72 and 95 MPa): evaluation of the

fracture energy per unit volume in the case of multiple or distributed cracking (PIED prisms,

for evaluating the damage density in tension [4], Fig. 5, and the characteristic length), after a

cycle at high-temperature (T = 105-400°C). The unnotched specimens are loaded by means of

steel or aluminium rods, which are glued to the lateral surface.

149
Tension behavior of one high-strength calcareous concrete (f^ = 95 MPa) and of two very highstrength fiber-reinforced microconcretes (RPC and CRC): the stress-strain and stress-crack

opening curves will be measured at high temperature (T = 105-400°C). Special dumbbellshaped and notched specimens (Fig. 6) have been cast in order to make it possible to extract the measures from the specimens loaded inside the furnace. The specimens are provided with

special threaded ends, which permit their attachment to the press platens. The tests will be

displacement-controlled, as in all previous cases. This phase of the project is being carried out

in close collaboration with Prof. Gabriel A. Khoury of London, taking advantage of the test

facilities for high temperatures which are available at the Department of Civil Engineering at the Imperial College. Further tests regarding the residual behavior after the thermal cycle will

be carried out in Milan, as well as most of the data processing.

Phases 1 and 2 are completed, while Phase 3 is well advanced and Phase 4 is in the initial stage, but

all the measurements should be available and processed by October 31, 1997.

The results of phases 1 and 2 show clearly that the residual mechanical properties ofhighly siliceous

concretes are dramatically affected by a long exposure to high temperature, both in compression and

in tension, while the structural behavior is less affected, since the material becomes softer and the

sensitivity to high temperature of the reinforcement, if any, is quite limited (T< 500 °C).

As for distributed damage with multiple cracking (Phase 3), the softening branch of the stress-strain

response is definitely less steep than with crack localization, and tends to flatten-off after exposure

to very high temperature. At the same time the characteristic length tends to increase with the

temperature.

[1] Felicetti R. and Gambarova P.G. (1996),"0« the residual mechanical properties ofsiliceous

high-strength concretes subjected to a high temperature cycle". Special Volume on the

Occasion of Professor Mehlhom's Retirement, Kassel University, Kassel (Germany), in press.

[2] Felicetti R., Gambarova P.G., Rosati G., Corsi F. and Giannuzzi G., (1996) "Residual

Mechanical Properties ofHigh Strength Concretes Subjected to High Temperature Cycles",

Fourth International Symposium on Utilization of High Strength/High Performance Concrete,

Paris, Vol. 2, pp. 579-588.

[3] Felicetti R. and Gambarova P.G., "HSC deep beams and slabs damaged by high temperatures",

ASCE - 1996 Annual Convention, Washington D.C., November 10-14, 1996, pp. 583-592.

[4] Di Prisco, M. and Mazars, J. (1996), ''Crush-crack: a non-local damage modelfor concrete^

Mechanics of Cohesive-Frictional Materials and Structures, Vol. 1, pp. 321-347.

150
100

250 OQ 500

Figure 1

unreinforced deep beams

moiF6 grid

Figure 2

151
LVDT

Figure 3

1 1 U

80j U- 500 mm

0 500 e (^m/m) 1000

Figure 5

152
Figure 6

153
I

j
B.IO Analysis of Pore Pressure, Thermal Stress

and Fracture in Rapidly Heated Concrete

Zdenek P. Bcizant

W. P. Miixphy Professor Civil Engineering and Materials Science

Northwestern University, Evanston, Dlinois 60208, USA.

Abstract. A brief review of the problem of calculating the evolution of the distributions of pore pressure and thermal stresses in rapidly heated concrete is presented. The difficulties caused by order-of-magnitude

jumps in permeability as a function of temperature and in water content as a function of pore pressure

are discussed in some detail and the conditions for the movement of the interface between the saturated concrete and unsaturated concrete are established. Some aspects of the numerical difficulties caused by

the jumps are elucidated. A weak point in explaining the explosive spalling of rapidly heated high-strength concrete by pore pressures is pointed out and clarified. It is argued that the main driving force of the

explosive thermal spalling must be the release of the stored energy due to the thermal stresses, which

requires fracture mechanics. Finally, a simplified analysis of the pore pressure distribution, based on the

calculation of the movement of the fronts of drying and wetting, is outlined and some other relevant

literature is briefly reviewed.

1 Introduction

The problem of brittle failure of rapidly heated concrete, which has recently surfaced in experimental

studies of high strength concrete columns and other structural members, was investigated during the

1970's and early 1980's in relation to the safety of nuclear reactor containments and pressure vessels,

especially those for liquid metal cooled breeder reactors [1-4]. The results of that research have direct

relevance to the present problem, including that of explosive brittle failure and the build-up of pore

pressure in concrete exposed to high temperature. The purpose of this brief paper summarizing the

workshop presentation is to review some pertinent results of the studies of this problem at Northwestern

University and Argonne National Laboratory during 1975-1982.

2 Finite element analysis of pore pressure

One important factor m brittle failure of concrete at high temperature, including the high strength

concrete, is obviously the pressure p of water vapor in the capillary pores of concrete. The evolution

of pore pressure distributions p(x,#) as a function of spatial coordinate x and time t is governed by

the following three equations that must be satisfied in every point of the body: _ . _drvi + (1)

J - —a grad p (2)

dp = k dw (3)

Here J — mass flux of water (dimension kg/s m^), w = specific water content (kg of evaporable water

per of concrete), T — temperature, a = permeability, measured in seconds (a = a/g where g =

gravity acceleration and a = permeability with the dimension of velocity, m/s); k = dp/dw = inverse

slope of the desorption isotherm w = w{p), and wj, — evaporable water released by the dehydration

of hydrated cement caused by heating. Eq, 1 expresses the local mass balance at each point of

the continuum; wj, (where the superior dot denotes the time rate) is a distributed source term, an

important term which has a great influence on the calculation of pore pressures.

155
In writing Eq. 1 governing the mass transfer of water, all the four phases of water, that is. water

vapor, liquid capillary water, free adsorbed water, and hindered adsorbed water, are treated as one. This means that a thermodynamic equilibrium between these four phases is assumed to exist within

each capillary pore and the adjacent micropores at all the times, i.e., thermodynamic disequilibrium

exists only macroscopicaUy, on the scale of the continuum approximating concrete as a whole.

There are other models in which the vapor phase and liquid phase are treated separately, but a more

complicated approach appears unnecessary, for two reasons: (1) If the vapor phase and liquid phase

are treated separately, then the adsorbed water ought to be treated separately, too. (2) Separation

of the phases implies that water molecules in the vaporized phase and in the liquid phase can travel

freely and independently of each other over finite distances macroscopicaUy through concrete. But

the latter impUcation is unreasonable because there is nothing to prevent the water molecules in the

vaporized and liquid states as well as the adsorbed state to readily exchange their Gibbs' free energy

(chemical potential), and, even more importantly, because the water molecules in the vaporized state cannot pass through pores of sub capillary dimensions, which are known to block the passages through

concrete. The reason is that the mean free path of a water molecule in the vaporized state is about

80mxl0~^m at room temperature, and much more at high temperature, while the width of the necks on the passages through concrete is about 10~^m or less. When the mean free path of water molecules

is larger than the opening, the passage of a molecule through such opening is virtually impossible.

Some authors (e.g., Luikov) express the flux as a separate function of the gradient of pressure

and the gradient of temperature, or use the gradient of water concentration w (distinguishing Pick's

flux, Dufour flux and Soret flux in the coupled heat and mass transfer equations). However, fitting of

extensive test data during the 1970's has shown that little can be gained by considering the temperature

gradient as a separate driving force of diffusion.. It only complicates the formulation. The pore

pressure p depends on both w and T and thus Eq. 1 implies the dependence of J on both grad w and

grad T. Eq. 1 is of course nothing but the classical Darcy law for the permeation of a fluid through

a porous medium.

An interesting phenomenon apparent in Fig. 1 (top left), which was deduced by indirect reasoning

rather than direct measurements, is that the slope of the desorption isotherm in the saturation region

p > Ps{T) (the saturation vapor pressure) is apparently far higher than what one would calculate for

liquid water fuUy filling a perfectly rigid container (as determined, e.g., from the ASTM Steam Tables)

[9]. The explanation is that the micropores (gel pores of molecule dimensions) that are inaccessible

to evaporable water at less than the saturation pressure become accessible to evaporable water at higher pressures, which is not an illogical hypothesis to make. If the isotherm in the over saturation

region were assumed to have the same slope as calculated for liquid water completely filling a perfectly

rigid container, the pressures calculated would be orders of magnitude higher than those observed in

experiments, and aU the concrete would have to explode when heated to high temperature.

The typical diagrams of permeability as a function of temperature and of the sorption and desorption isotherms at room temperature and high temperatures are shown in Fig. 1 (top right). From

these diagrams, two difficulties become immediately apparent:

1) The permeabiUty of concrete to evaporable water as a function of temperature exhibits an almost

sudden upward jump of more than 2 orders of magnitude (about 200 times), a phenomenon that was

discovered at Northwestern University in 1979 [5] and became in a milder, less conspicuous form also

apparent from the experiments of England and coworkers [6]. The microscopic physical reason for this

phenomenon has not been clarified experimentally, but a plausible hypothesis, advanced in [5] (see

also [1]) is that, at high temperature, the surfaces of the pores become more smooth (less rough), and

in particular the necks of gel-pore dimensions (only a few water molecules in thickness, containing

hindered adsorbed water) become widened, without any significant change of porosity overall, thus

opening continuous passages of capillary dimensions for the flow of water; see the illustration in Fig.

1 (inserted box on top right)).

2) The desorption isotherms in Fig. 1 (top left) at high temperature exhibit a sharp jump, by a

factor of at least 50 x, as the point of saturation of vapor, that is the pressure ps{T), is crossed.

The foregoing two phenomena, that is, the jump of permeability and the jump of water content on desorption isotherm, create considerable difiiculties in numerical modeling.

During the years of collaborative research between Northwestern University and Argonne National

156
Laboratory in nuclear safety reactor problems, many typical problems of pore pressure evolution were

analyzed by finite elements on the basis of Eqs. (l)-(3). Some typical results obtained are shown in

Fig. 1 (bottom). Many further results and a comparison with some test data, calculation procedure,

input parameters, etc., are giuen in [1, 5, 7, 8] and in further extensive literature quoted in [1]. In these studies, the heating was generally not as rapid as in fire because nuclear reactor structures were

considered to be always protected by thick thermal insulation.

An interesting point is that the calculated pressures were considerably smaller than initially ex- pected, and never exceeded about 10 bars (1 MPa, or 144 Psi). Likewise, experimental measurements

of pore pressure in heated concrete never indicated pressures in excess of the aforementioned value.

The reason is no doubt twofold: (1) the enormous increase in permeability upon exceeding 100°C,

and (2) the aforementioned phenomenon of the inflation of pore space when the pressure exceeds the

saturation vapor pressure, Ps(T).

3 Explosive thermal spalling

The explosive thermal spalling, which was first observed by Harmathy in normal concrete exposed to

fire, has recently been identified as a major problem for high strength concrete. The explosive thermal

spaUing is a brittle failure which can conceivably be caused by the following two phenomena:

1. Development of a high pore pressure caused by oversaturation of the region of concrete at the

front of heating (called the "moisture clog" by Harmathy); and

2. brittle fracture, particularly the sudden unstable release of the potential energy of thermal

stresses stored in the structure.

The relative importance of these two phenomena, however, is debatable. On careful scrutiny it appears that the second mechanism, that is, the fracture mechanics aspect, is the major one. The

first mechanism, that is, the development of high pore pressure due to moisture clog can play only

the triggering role. However, it is also clear that the first mechanism, the pore pressure, must have at

lea^st some eflFect because recent experiments have confirmed that the explosive thermal spaUing occurs only m wet concrete in which over saturation by water can develop.

The problem is schematically illustrated in Fig. 2 (top left). Assume that a high pressure develops

at a certain distance below the heated surface and creates a crack, as shown. However, as soon as the crack starts opening, the volume available to the water vapor and liquid in the crack is suddenly

increased by several orders of magnitude. This means that the water is suddenly forced to expand

enormously. Because additional water cannot flow into the crack from the surrounding concrete suddenly, the pore pressure must immediately drop to nearly zero, as soon as the crack starts opening up.

Only after the passage of some time, which is certainly far longer than the fraction of a second during

which an the explosive spalling occurs, additional water can flow from the pores of the surrounding

concrete into the crack.

From this consideration, it appears that the pore pressure can only serve to trigger a crack but

cannot drive the explosion, cannot force the crack to open widely. That must be caused by another

supply of energy, which is of course available in the form of the potential energy of the thermal stresses. In this context, it is not surprising at aU that the high strength concrete appears to be much more

prone to explosive spalling than the normal strength concrete. The high strength concrete is known

to be far more brittle. The size efi^ect method of the measurement of fracture energy revealed [11] that an increase of the strength of concrete from 5,000 to 14,000 psi was accompanied by no increase in the

fracture energy, Gj, and a decrease of the fracture process zone size, Cf. Thus it appears imperative to analyze the explosive thermal failure of high strength concrete on the

basis of fracture mechanics. This of course further implies that the explosive thermal spalling should

exhibit a pronounced size eflFect, which is observed in aU brittle failures of concrete. Experiments

checking the size eflFect in the explosive thermal spalling ought to be conducted.

157
4 Propagation of saturation interface

The jumps in permeability as a function of temperature and in the desorption isotherm (apparent in Fig. 1 top right) can cause major difficulties in finite element modeling. The time step required for

numerical stability on each side of the interface is of a different order of magnitude. Furthermore, the

roughness of the interface in finite element modeling does not make it possible to accurately capture

the transfer of water.

There are two ways to overcome the problem:

1. To spread the jump of the curves in Fig. 1 (top right) over a sufficient width, replacing the jump

of w with a gradual transition (e.g., introducing a linear change of it; as a function of relative

humidity h = p/ps in the range from 0.8 to 1.05), and, for the permeability, a linear transition

from temperature 70° C to 120°C.

2. To model the movement of a sharp interface between the regions of saturated and unsaturated

pores, or the regions of high and low permeability.

Consider the interface curve f{x,y,t) — 0, in two spatial coordinates x,y. During time dt, the

interface moves as shown in Fig. 2 (top right), and a smaU element ds of the interface curve moves

through the cross hatched rectangular region shown. The flux into this element is Jn\, and the water

flux out of the element is Jn,2 . The area swept by the element is ds dt where Vn = velocity of the

interface in the direction of the normal. Mass balance during time dt requires that the mass increase

of the element

(Jul - Jn2)ds dt = {w2 - wi)ds{vndt) (4)

in which J^i — Jn2 = [J] = jump in flux across the interface, and W2 — wi = [w] = jump in specific

water content across the interface. It follows that the velocity of the interface in the direction normal

to the interface curve is

[Jn] _ [a grad p]

For an accurate solution, the interface and its velocity according to Eq. (2) should be directly simulated

in a computer program.

Due to the self-desiccation of concrete prior to rapid heating, the pores of concrete are never

saturated even if there is no drying. The amount of water that needs to be added to the pores in order

to achieve fuU saturation [p = p^) is significant, and a long time is required for the diffusion through

concrete to supply that water.

An example has been given in the calculation of the spread of pore pressure p > Ps into a dam

from a reservoir [12]. In that numerical example, it was found that, if there were no self-desiccation,

i.e., p = Ps a.s an initial condition, the hydraulic pressure from the reservoir would spread through

the whole thickness of a concrete dam (about 80 m) in 56 days. However, taking into account the

self-desiccation of concrete, it is found that the hydraulic pressure p > Ps wiU spread from the reservoir across the dam thickness in 156 years. This difference is enormous.

So the problem is entirely dominated by the filling of the pores at the moving interface between

hydraulic over pressure and the unsaturated concrete. The difFusivity of concrete has negligible influ- ence. The rate of movement of the interface depends only on the permeability of concrete, a. The

distribution of pressure between the interface and the boundaries is governed essentially by.the Laplace

differential equation, which does not contain time, that is, by the equation

div (a grad p) — 0 (6)

where p — p(x, y, t) and permeability a depends on T{x, y, t), and also possibly on p. Within a region

in which the permeability is uniform, this differential equation is Sj'^p = 0. Differentiating the equation of the interface curve, f{x,y,t) — 0, we have f^j;! -\- f^yjj -\- f^t = 0,

where x = v^^-, y — Vy with and Vy being the components of the velocity vector of the interface

points. It foUows that f,t — —f,xVx — f.y'^y or

158
dl

dt dx

dp'

dx dy [ w]

dp'

dy.

The right-hand side represents the jump conditions based on the velocities in the x and y directions,

considered separately. This means that instead of a smooth interface curve, one may consider a zig-zag

interface curve following the inter element boundaries, as shown in Fig. (top right), and the fluxes can be taken separately in the directions shown by the arrows across the element boundaries. This offers one possibility for numerical simulation of the movement of the saturation interface.

5 Simple one-dimensional analysis of pressure with moving saturation interface

Consider a wall uniformly heated on its surface, such that the surface temperature T is equal to a prescribed environmental temperature Te{t). Rapid heating will desiccate a layer up to depth

X = Xd{t). Below it, there will be a layer of saturated concrete up to depth x = x^^.^t). Further below

it, there will be unsaturated concrete, either self-desiccated mass concrete or concrete that has lost water due to previous drying. Consider that the heating front reaches up to depth Xh{t), which is also

the front of pressure increase (Fig. 2 bottom).

For approximate analysis, one may assume the profiles of temperature, pore pressure and water

content to be as shown in Fig. 2 (bottom). The profiles of Tp in the first two layers are assumed to be linear, with the interfaces moving, and in the third layer parabolic, with a horizontal tangent at the front. The slope of the temperature profile in the third layer is continuous with the slope of the

temperature profile in the second layer, as sketched. The profile of the water content is piece-wise

constant, as shown. With the notations defined by the figures, the equations for the fluxes are

Jd = -diPdit), ai = a/xd

Jw = -ci2[pujit) - Pd{t)], a2 = a/(xu, - Xd) (8)

and the jump conditions for the interface velocities are Jw Jd Jd Ju

Xd = -

Ws - Wi Ws

Jq Jix; Ju

Wo - Ws Wo - Ws

(9)

At the front of drying and at the front of saturation, the pore pressures must be equal to the saturation

vapor pressures corresponding to the local temperatures, i.e.,

Pd = f[Td{t)]

Pw = f[TUt)] (10)

where ps = f(T) = function defining the saturation vapor pressure corresponding to temperature T

(according to ASTM Steam Tables [9]). Furthermore, the specific water content at saturation, Ws

must be specified as a function of temperature T i.e., Ws=9{T) (11)

The flux of water in the third layer of unsaturated concrete may be assumed Jq = 0. The dilferential

equation governing heat transport may be written as [1]: pCf = C^J • gradT -|- - div q (12)

159
in which the first term on the right hand side represents the heat convection, the second term represents a distributed source of heat due to the latent heat of the phase transition of water, and the last term

repesents the heat conduction; C.Cyj = specific heats of dry concrete and of pore water (per unit mass and per degree C); po^p = specific mass of concrete without or with water; Ca = latent heat of

adsorption or condensation of water; and Cg — latent of heat of evaporation of water; and q — heat

flux, determined by heat conductivity 6,

q = -6 grad T (13)

Neglecting the effect of the latent heat of evaporation, the conditions of the heat balance in the wet

layer (second layer) and the dry layer (the first layer) may be written as

{pC + WsCy,)

{Tyj-Td) . ( Td-Tb\ ( T^-Td

(x^ Xd^ Xd

(14)

pC + {Td - Tb)

= C^Jd{Td -Tb)-^qb - ( -b

Xd

Td-n

Xd

CeJd (15)

in which the temperatures at the boundaries of the layer are averaged to obtain the mean temperature

in the layer, the coordinates of the boundary are averaged to obtain the mean velocity of the layer,

and the first terms represent heat supply due to convection. The surface temperature Tb may be

assumed approximately equal to the prescribed environmental temperature Te{t).

The jump conditions at the moving interface yield the interface velocities:

Xd

g[(Td + T^)/2] {a2[fiT^)-f{Td)]-arfiTd)}

X —

02

g[{Td^T^)l2]

Eqs. (14) and (15), provide the conditions:

[f{Td) - f{TJ]

(16)

(17)

pC + C^g

Td^T^ + sXd -\' Xy^

[x^ - Xd) - [Id - J-w) 7.

-C^Td - T^) a2 {f{Td) - f{T^)} + —{Tb - Td) + ^(T^ - Td) (18)

pC

Tb + Td

Xd + {Td - Tb)

Xd = -C^aif{Td){Td - Tb) + bTd-Tb

Xd

(19)

Eqs. (16) -(19) represent a system of four nonlinear ordinary differential equations for four unknowns

Xd{t), x.uj{d), Td{t), and Tu,{t). These equations may be integrated in time by a standard library

computer program for a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. In this manner, the

maximum pore pressure that can develop in the waJl, occurring at interface Xd, can be approximately

calculated.

Fracture analysis of the brittle explosive failure requires knowledge of the fracture energy dependence on temperature. Some information in this regard has been reported in [13]. Furthermore,

calculation of the energy stored by thermal stresses necessitates a good model for creep and thermal

shrinkage of concrete at high temperature. Many studies have been devoted to this effect; see e.g., [15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 27, 28]. Further relevant information on the calculation of pore pressure and other

aspects can be found in [21, 22, 23, 29, 24, 25, 26].

160
6 Conclusions

1. Calculations of pore pressure in rapidly heated concrete must take into account the jumps in permeability as a function of temperature and in water content as a function of pore pressure.

The most realistic numerical simulation of these jumps requires following the movement of the

interface curve over which the jumps occur.

2. The pore pressure may be realistically expected to serve only as a trigger of the explosive thermal

spaUing of high strength concrete. Whether the explosive failure actually occurs depends mainly on the amount of energy stored due to thermal stresses, whose release needs to be analyzed

according to fracture mechanics.

3. A simplified analysis of the pore pressures may be based on the calculation of the movement of

the interfaces between the dried hot zone, the wet heated zone, and the heated not yet saturated

frontal zone.

7 References

1. Bazant, Z.P. and Kaplan, M.F. (1996). Concrete at High Temperatures: Material Properties and

Mathematical Models (monograph and reference volume). Longman (Addison-Wesley), London

1996 (412 + xii pp.).

2. Bazant, Z.P. (1984). "Design and analysis of concrete reactor vessels: New developments, problems

and trends.'' Nuclear Engng. and Design, 80, 1811-202.

3. Seidensticker, R. W., Marchertas, A. H., and Bazant, Z.P. (1980). "Increasing primary containment

capabilities of liquid-metal fast breeder reactor plants by the use of prestressed concrete." Nuclear

Technology, 51, 443-451.

4. Bazant, Z.P., Chern, J.-C, Seidensticker, R. W., and Marchertas, A. H. (1981). "Design of

prestressed concrete pressure vessel for use in primary and secondary containment of MLFBR

Plants. Proc. 6th Int. Conf. on Struct. Mech. in Reactor Technology, held in Paris, Paper H2/2.

5. Bazant, Z.P., and Thonguthai, W. (1978). "'Pore pressure and drying of concrete at high temperature." Proc. ASCE, J. of the Engng. Mech. Div., 104, 1058-1080.

6. England, G.L., and Sharp, T.J. (1971) "Migration of moisture and pore pressure in heated concrete. Proceedings, First International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, Paper

H2/4, Berlin, Germany.

7. Bazant, Z.P., and Thonguthai, W. (1979). "'Pore pressure in heated concrete walls — theoretical

prediction." Mag. of Concrete Research, 31, 67-76.

8. Bazant, Z.P., Chern, J. C, and Thonguthai, W. (1980). "Finite element program for moisture and

heat transfer in heated concrete." Nuclear Engng. & Design, 68, 61-70.

9. ASTM Steam Tables 1967 (1967). Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Steam, 2nd ed.,

American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York.

10. Harmathy, T.Z. (1965) Effect of moisture on the fire endurance of building materials Moisture

in Materials in Relation to Fire Tests. ASTM Special Technical Publication No. 385, ASTM,

Philadelphia, pp. 74-95.

11. Gettu, R., Bazant, Z.P., and Karr, M. E. (1990). "Fracture properties and brittleness of highstrength concrete", A CI Materials Journal 87 (Nov.-Dec), 608-618.

12. Bazant, Z.P. (1975). "Pore pressure, uplift, and failure analysis of dams." Proc, Symp. on

Criteria and Assumptions for Numerical Analysis of Dams, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Univ. of

Wales, Swansea, and Brit. Nat. Committee on Large Dams, held in Swansea, 781 808.

13. Bazant, Z.P., and Prat, P. C. (1988). "Effect of temperature and humidity on fracture energy of

couciete.'' ACI Materials Jour. 84 (July), 262-271.

14. Luikov, A.V. (1966). Heat and Mass Transfer in Capillary-Porous Bodies, Pergamon Press,

Oxford.

15. Bazant, Z.P., and Chern, J.C. (1987), Stress-induced thermal and shrinkage strains in concree. J. of Engng. Mechanics, ASCE, 113(10), 1493-1511.

161
16. Bazant, Z.P., and Prasannan. S. (1989) "Solidification theory for concrete creep: I. Formulation".

./. Engng. Mech. ASCE, 115(8): 1691-1703.

17. Bazant, Z.P., and Prasannan. S. (1989) "Solidification theory for concrete creep: II. Verification

and appUcation", J. Engng. Mech. (ASCE, 115(8): 1704-25.

18. Bazant, Z.P., and Prasannan, S, (1986) "High temperature triaxial-torsional creep tests of concrete

at various hygral conditions. Nuclear Engng & Design, 94, 137-51.

19. Bazant, Z.P., (1976a). "Review of literature on high temperature behavior of concrete." Report

ORNL-TM-514S, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Contract W-7405-eng. 26), Tenn., Jan., pp.

71-142.

20. Harmathy, T.Z., (1970), Thermal properties of concrete at elevated temepratures. ASTM Journal

of Materials, 5(1) March, 47-74.

21. Bazant, Z.P., Chern, H.C. and Thonguthai, W. (1981) TEMP0R2 — User's Manual (Axisymmetric finite element program for calculating pore pressure, mositure content and temeprature in

concrete at temperatures from 0°C to 800°C), program available from NISEE Computer Applications, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Davis Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.

22. England, G.L. and Ross, A.D. (1972). "Shrinkage, moisture and pore pressures in heated concreted." In International Seminar on Concrete for Nuclear Reactors, ACI Special Publication No.

34, Vol. 2 American Concrete Insstitute, Detroit, pp. 883-907.

23. England, G.L., and Skipper, M.E. (1973). "On the prediction of moisture movement in heated

concrete up to 550°C." In T.A. Jaeger (ed.), 2nd International Conference on Structural Mechanics

in Reactor Technology (2nd SMiRT) BAM, Berlin. Vol. 3, Paper H6/2. Commission of the

Europrean Community, Brussels.

24. Zhukov, V.V., and Shevchenko, V.I. (1974). "Investigation of causes of possible spaUing and

failure of heat-resistant concretes at drying, first heating and cooling." in Zharostoikii Beton

(Heat-Resistant Concrete), K.D. Nekrasov (ed.) Stroiizdat, Moscow, USSR, pp. 32-45.

25. Sullivan P.J., Khoury, G.A. and Grainger, B.N. (1981). "Strain behavior under uniajcial compression of three concretes during first heating to 600°C." 6th Int. Conf. on SMiRT. Vol. G-H, Paper

H 1/3. Paris.

26. Thelandersson, S. (1971). "Effect of high temepratures on tensile strength of concrete," Division

of Structural, Mechanical and Concete Construction, Lund Institute of Technology.

27. Schneider, U., and Herbst, H.J. (1987). "Transport process in thick concrete structures at high

temperature." Transactions of the 9th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in

Reactor Technology held in Lausanne, ed. by F.H. Witmann, Z.P. Bazant and T. Zimmermann,

Balkema-Rotterdam, 167-172.

28. Marechal, J.C. (1969). "Fluage du beton en fonction de la temperature," Materials and Structures

(RILEM, Paris) 2 (1969) 111-115 and 3 (1970) 395-406.

. 29. Marechal, J.C. (1972a). "Creep of concrete as a function of temperature." In International

Seminar on Concrete for Nuclear Reactors. ACI Special Publication No. 34, Vol. 1, American

Concrete Institute, Detroit, pp. 547-64.

30. Harmathy, T.Z. (1965). "Effect of moisture on the fire endurance of building materials," No. 385,

ASTM, Philadelphia, pp. 74-95.

162
Depth z (mm) p^p,^ ^ ^^^^

FigTixe 1: Top: Desorption isotherms at various temperatures (left) and permeability dependence on

temperature (right), as established in [5]. Bottom: Two-dimensional finite element analysis of the

temperature distributions and pore pressure caused by a rapid heating of a hot spot on a concrete

waU, at various times [7, 21].

163
Figure 2: Top Left: Possible mechanism of explosive thermal spaUing. Top Right: Moving interface

between saturated and nonsatnrated concrete, and its representation by a zig-zag interelement boundary. Bottom: Profiles of temperature T, pressure p and specific water content w in a rapidly heated

wall, with moving interfaces and fronts.

164 •£XV.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFTICE: 1997 ^3-235/82655

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