Experimental Study on the Fire Performance of Tubular Steel Columns with Membrane Protections for Prefabricated and Modular Steel Construction

Abstract

Experimental research was conducted to study the fire resistance of steel tubular columns used in prefabricated and modular construction. In order to achieve high-efficient prefabrication and fast on-site installation, membrane protections using board products and thermal insulation blankets are adopted as the favorable protection method. Three protected tubular columns were tested in a full-scale column furnace with axial load applied. The study variables were different membranes, including fiber reinforced calcium silicate (FRCS) boards, rock wool and aluminum silica (Fiberfrax) insulations. The results suggest that one layer of 12 mm FRCS board with rock wool insulation has insufficient fire protection. However, steel columns protected with two layers of 12 mm FRCS boards with insulation appeared to have good fire resistances and could achieve a fire resistance rating as high as 2.5~3.0 h.

A study of literature in modular integrated construction - Critical review and future directions

“…The famous seismic loads were discussed by Gunawardena et al (2016a), where the authors discussed its effect on several elements and connections, and provided explanation to the behavior of the system. Fire performance of tubular steel columns was studied using various proofing materials; fiber reinforced calcium silicate (FRCS) boards, rock wool and aluminum silica (Fiberfrax), to check the fire rating in hours (Zhang et al, 2018). Further exploration of the benefits and challenges of using cold-formed steel sections as the main structure components were explored in the literature, particularly in Hong Kong.…”

Interactive Buckling of Steel LC-Beams Under Bending

“…The fire-resistant design of steel columns used in prefabricated modular construction was described in References [26,27].…”

Analysis of Fire Resistance of Square-Cased Square Steel Tube Reinforced Concrete (ST-RC) Columns

“…Previous studies on concrete-filled steel tube (CFST) members [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ] showed that the main parameters affecting the fire resistance limit of ST-RC columns are section perimeter ( C ), fire load ratio ( n ), slenderness ratio ( λ ), cross-sectional core area ratio α sc ( α sc = A sc / A 0 , where A sc is the core concrete area and A 0 is the area of the CFST), eccentricity e/r 0 ( r 0 = B /2), steel ratio ( α s ), yield strength of the steel tube ( f y ), yield strength of the steel bar ( f yb ), strength grade of the concrete ( f cu ), etc. The parameters of a typical example are given as follows: C = 2400 mm, n = 0.6, λ = 10, α sc = 0.25, α s = 0.15, f y = 390 MPa, f yb = 400 MPa, the strength grade of the concrete inside and outside the pipe is f cu = 40 MPa, and the initial eccentricity is L /1000.…”