Numerical Study of FRP Reinforced Concrete Slabs at Elevated Temperature

One-way glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) reinforced concrete slabs at elevated temperatures are investigated through numerical modeling. Serviceability and strength requirements of ACI-440.1R are considered for the design of the slabs. Diagrams to determine fire endurance of slabs by employing “strength domain” failure criterion are presented. Comparisons between the existing “temperature domain” method with the more representative “strength domain” method show that the “temperature domain” method is conservative. Additionally, a method to increase the fire endurance of slabs by placing FRP reinforcement in two layers is investigated numerically. The amount of fire endurance gained by placing FRP in two layers increases as the thickness of slab increases

Behaviour of fibre reinforced polymer-strengthened T-beams and slabs in fire

This paper presents experimental and numerical results of intermediate-scale and full-scale fire tests conducted on flexurally strengthened reinforced concrete members. Two full-scale reinforced concrete T-beams and two intermediate-scale slabs were strengthened in flexure with carbon fibre reinforced polymer sheets or plates and insulated with a layer of spray-on material. T-beams and slabs were then exposed to a standard fire. T-beams were loaded to their service load. Deflections and temperatures were measured during the tests. A numerical finite-difference/volume heat transfer model was used to simulate the temperature field inside the section. The validity of the numerical model was verified by comparing the predicted temperatures with those recorded during the fire test. Fire test results show that fire endurances of more than 4 h can be achieved using an appropriate insulation system.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Modeling and mapping dynamic vulnerability to better assess WUI evacuation performance

Wildland-urban interface (WUI) fire incidents are likely to become more severe and will affect more and more people. Given their scale and complexity, WUI incidents require a multidomain approach to assess their impact and the effectiveness of any mitigation efforts. The authors recently produced a specification for a simulation framework that quantifies evacuation performance during WUI incidents including inputs from three core domains: fire development, pedestrian performance and vehicular traffic [26]. This framework could produce new insights by simulating evolving conditions of WUI incidents based on developments and interactions between the core components. Thus, it aims to overcome known limitations of previous approaches (eg, static assessment, single domain approaches, or lack of projection), as well as to provide explanatory insights into the outcomes produced by the simulation. The proposed framework would also advance geo-spatial mapping of WUI incidents. The concept of dynamic vulnerability, (Formula presented.), is at the core of the framework and is enabled by the integrated simulation framework and the emergent conditions predicted. This allows users to construct richer incident narratives from the perspective of specific locations or subpopulations, and also makes fewer simplifying assumptions regarding interactions between the three core domains