A streamlined framework for calculating the response of steel-supported bridges to open-air tanker truck fires

Quiel, Spencer E.; Yokoyama, Takayuki; Bregman, Lynne; Mueller, Kevin A.; Marjanishvili, Shalva

doi:10.1016/j.firesaf.2015.03.004

Cited by 57 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This study complements previous works (see e.g. Wright et al [6], Payá-Zaforteza and Garlock [21], Aziz et al [24], Quiel et al [25],Gong and Agrawal [26]) and paves the way for easier identification of critical bridges with respect to fire risks, as well as for the wider application of numerical models to improve bridge fire response and bridge resilience.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Analysis of the influence of geometric, modeling and environmental parameters on the fire response of steel bridges subjected to realistic fire scenarios

Peris-Sayol

Payá-Zaforteza

Alós-Moya

et al. 2015

Computers & Structures

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of the influence of geometric, modeling and environmental parameters on the fire response of steel bridges subjected to realistic fire scenarios. Computers and Structures 2015,158:333-345. DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruc.2015 Analysis of the influence of geometric, modeling and environmental parameters on the fire response of steel bridges subjected to realistic fire scenarios AbstractThis paper studies bridge fires by using numerical models to analyze the response of a typical girder bridge to tanker truck fires. It explains the influence of fire position, bridge configuration (vertical clearance, number of spans) and wind speed on the bridge response. Results show that the most damage is caused by tanker fires close to the abutments in single span bridges with minimum vertical clearance and under windless conditions. The paper provides new insights into modeling techniques and proves that bridge response can be predicted by FE models of the most exposed girder, which saves significant modeling and analysis times.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Analysis of the influence of geometric, modeling and environmental parameters on the fire response of steel bridges subjected to realistic fire scenarios

Peris-Sayol

Payá-Zaforteza

Alós-Moya

et al. 2015

Computers & Structures

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“…Payá-Zaforteza and Garlock 2012), simplified methodologies based on the calculation of radiation heat fluxes (Quiel et al 2015) or Computational Fluid Dynamics techniques (Alós-Moya et al 2014, Peris-Sayol et al 2014, Wright et al 2013, Gong and Agraval 2014. In most of these studies the analysis focuses on fires caused by overturned tanker trucks below the bridge deck (Wright et al 2013;Alós-Moya et al 2014, Peris-Sayol et al 2014, although Wright et al 2013 and Gong and Agraval 2014 compared the effects of fires in different vehicles, including buses, heavy goods vehicles and tankers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detailed Analysis of the Causes of Bridge Fires and Their Associated Damage Levels

Peris-Sayol

Payá-Zaforteza

Balasch-Parisi

et al. 2017

J. Perform. Constr. Facil.

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Although bridge fires pose a real threat, the topic is not covered in current design codes. This paper analyses information related to 154 cases of bridge fires, proposes classifying the damage levels suffered by a bridge during a fire, and establishes the main factors involved in bridge fire damage, which include: type of vehicle involved in the fire and its position, vertical clearance of the bridge, and the type of material composing the deck. The analysis shows that wooden bridges are the most vulnerable and that a tanker carrying gasoline under the bridge, or that is on the bridge and causes a serious spill under the bridge, is responsible for most of the fires that result in the collapse or demolition of the bridge.

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“…The methodology for this study implements the aforementioned four-step approach in a streamlined analytical framework -a complete, detailed description is available in Quiel et al (2015).This approach is less computationally intensive than CFD solutions and allows for the pool fire to be rationally represented in the solution. By implementing the four-step approach, staff at Hinman Consulting Engineers, Inc.with researchers at Lehigh University have created FLaME (Fire Loading and MitigationEvaluator), an in-house 3D modeling program that links the actual geometry of the structure with the realistic fire exposure.…”

Section: Methodology: a Streamlined Simplified Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By implementing the four-step approach, staff at Hinman Consulting Engineers, Inc.with researchers at Lehigh University have created FLaME (Fire Loading and MitigationEvaluator), an in-house 3D modeling program that links the actual geometry of the structure with the realistic fire exposure. FLaME has been previously used to successfully model the mode and time to failure of the 2007 MacArthur Maze freeway collapse in Oakland, CA (Quiel et al 2015) and has been implemented for several recent bridge design projects to calculate the fire protection requirements for stay cables and other steel bridge elements.…”

Section: Methodology: a Streamlined Simplified Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…footprint, flame height, duration, and intensity); (2) calculate the heat transfer from the fire to the structural elements; (3) calculate the temperature increase of the structural elements; and (4) calculate the material and mechanical response of the bridge structure. Using this four-step approach, the authors have recently developed a streamlined framework for efficient calculation of a bridge's response to a large open-air hydrocarbon fire (typically 4 meters to 25 meters across) which results from a tanker truck crash (Quiel et al 2015). The approach synthesizes numerous calculation techniques based on both first principles and empirical data to quantify the extent of damage caused by a specified fire threat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mitigating the effects of a tanker truck fire on a cable-stayed bridge

Quiel¹,

Yokoyama²,

Mueller³

et al. 2015

Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Performance-Based and Life-Cycle Structural Engineering (PLSE 2015)

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Fire represents one of the most severe threats to the integrity of our built infrastructure. This study focuses on the effects of open-air hydrocarbon pool fires that may result from a tanker truck crash or sabotage since the quantity and flammability of its contents poses one of the worst-case hazards to a nearby bridge. In general, the calculation of a bridge's response to a vehicle-based fire hazard consists of four steps:(1) calculate the fire's characteristics and geometry; (2) calculate the heat transfer from the fire to the structural elements via radiation heat flux; (3) calculate the temperature increase of the structural elements; and (4) calculate the resulting material and mechanical response of the structural elements. The authors have developed a streamlined framework for efficient calculation of these steps which synthesizes numerous models based on both first principles and empirical data to quantify the extent of damage caused by a specified fire threat. Due to its efficiency, this approach can be used to calculate the effects of a range of fire types, sizes, and locations to develop an envelope of performance for which the risk of damage and the effectiveness of potential fire protection measures can be evaluated. The methodology is used to demonstrate the design process for determining fire protection on a cable-stayed bridge. This design example shows that explicitly modeling the fire, rather than using the UL 1709 fire curve, better quantifies the extent of fire effects and potentially reduces the required fire protection based on the available capacity. KEYWORDSCable-stayed bridge, hydrocarbon fire, fire protection.

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A streamlined framework for calculating the response of steel-supported bridges to open-air tanker truck fires

Cited by 57 publications

References 27 publications

Analysis of the influence of geometric, modeling and environmental parameters on the fire response of steel bridges subjected to realistic fire scenarios

Analysis of the influence of geometric, modeling and environmental parameters on the fire response of steel bridges subjected to realistic fire scenarios

Detailed Analysis of the Causes of Bridge Fires and Their Associated Damage Levels

Mitigating the effects of a tanker truck fire on a cable-stayed bridge

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