Light steel frame and prefabricated panels are widely used in non-loadbearing walls, with direct application to steel framed buildings. Such panels consist of steel sections (studs and tracks) with gypsum plasterboard layers attached to the flanges on the outside and use insulation material in the cavities. The fire resistance is usually provided by one or more layers of panels and by the insulation material. This investigation evaluates the thermal behaviour of the unexposed surface and of the nodal internal layers, using numerical simulations and a simple calculation method, assuming that heat flow is almost one-dimensional. The fire resistance is compared for both models using a cross section of the wall with one and two gypsum layers. The insulation criterion is the only one used for the calculation of the fire resistance, based on the calculation of the average and maximum temperature of the unexposed surface above the initial average temperature. Good approach was achieved by the simple calculation model, when optimum effective width is assumed for the model.
Light steel frame (LSF) (LSF) and prefabricated panels are widely used in loadbearing walls, with direct application to steel framed buildings. These walls are made with steel cold formed sections (studs and tracks) using gypsum plasterboard and other material layers attached to the flanges and sometimes insulation material in the cavities. The fire resistance is usually provided by one or more layer of materials and or by the cavity insulation. This investigation evaluates the fire resistance of the loadbearing walls, from the point of view of insulation (I) and loadbearing capacity (R). Experimental results obtained from partition walls were used into the numerical model to accurately preview the cracking, falling off and the ignition of combustible material. The numerical model was validated under the same fire conditions. The loadbearing capacity is determined using this hybrid model. This model is able to predict an accurate fire resistance for any load level, taking into account the brittle behaviour of gypsum panels and the
Light Steel Frame (LSF) walls are widely used in building structures, used as partition walls and load bearing walls. The LSF is usually protected by layers of homogeneous plates or composite plates, with or without insulation materials in the cavity. This investigation presents the experimental and the simulation results of composite LSF walls in reduced scale and full scale, based on variable load levels (20 to 80%). The numerical model is validated with experimental results, at reduced and full scale, both at room temperature and under fire conditions. This modelling technique can follow the thermal and mechanical degradation of the protection layers of the LSF wall and determine the fire rating for load (R) and insulation (I). The fire resistance (R) decreases with the increase of the load level, being the critical temperature of the steel structure presented by the maximum temperature of the Hot Flange (HF). A new proposal is presented for the critical temperature of the LSF, based on the maximum temperature of the LSF during the fire. The insulation ability is also predicted for different protection materials. Relevant conclusions are presented to increase the insulation ability of LSF walls.
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