Fire protection

Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems. In structures, be they land-based, offshore or even ships, the owners and operators are responsible to maintain their facilities in accordance with a design-basis that is rooted in laws, including the local building code and fire code, which are enforced by the authority having jurisdiction. Buildings must be constructed in accordance with the version of the building code that is in effect when an application for a building permit is made. Building inspectors check on compliance of a building under construction with the building code. Once construction is complete, a building must be maintained in accordance with the current fire code, which is enfor

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Fire protection systems for building floors made of pultruded GFRP profiles. Part 1: Experimental investigations

Thomas Keller

This paper presents results of experimental investigations on the behaviour of GFRP pultruded profiles exposed to fire, in order to study the viability of their structural use in floors of buildings, taking into account the fulfilment of fire resistance requirements. The feasibility and efficacy of using three different protective coatings/layers, often used to protect structural steel, and a water cooling system to provide fire protection to GFRP pultruded profiles were investigated. The experimental programme included dynamic mechanical analyses (DMA), thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC) experiments and fire resistance tests on GFRP tubular loaded beams. The unprotected GFRP beam failed after about 38 min, the three different passive protection systems provided a fire resistance between 65-76 min and the water cooling system provided a fire resistance of at least 120 min. Failure occurred in the upper part of the beams, due to compression and shear stresses. Results of these experiments allowed defining the field of application of each investigated solution, according to building code requirements. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elsevier2010

Fire protection systems for building floors made of pultruded GFRP profiles. Part 2: Modeling of thermomechanical responses

Thomas Keller

A recently developed thermomechanical model to predict the time-dependent thermal and mechanical responses of pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) profiles subjected to fire was extended to include the beneficial effects of passive fire protection systems. The model extension was validated by comparing predicted and measured thermomechanical responses of pultruded GFRP tubes subjected to four-point bending and exposed to an ISO834 fire from their underside. The profiles were protected using passive and active methods, including a calcium silicate board, a vermiculite/perlite-based mortar, and a water-cooling system. Variations resulted mainly from the unavailability of accurate time-dependent thermophysical properties for the protection materials. The benefits provided by the fire protection systems could be quantified and the model therefore can be used for the selection and design of passive fire protection measures. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elsevier2010

Fire safety

Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that

Fire sprinkler system

A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method, consisting of a water supply system providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, to which fire sprinkle

Fire

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reacti

AR-340: Building technology V

Technologie du Bâti V aborde le bâtiment comme un système d'opérations techniques et culturelles invoquant des choix liés à l'environnement, au matériau, à la structure, et au montage. L'objectif du cours est d'amener les étudiants à acquérir des compétences sur la conception critique du bâtiment.

AR-241: Building technology III

Ce cours traite des divers domaines techniques intervenant dans la conception et la réalisation d'un bâtiment, soit : physique du bâtiment, structures, matériaux, construction et installations techniques; ceci dans une approche globale et transversale.

CIVIL-235: Design of steel structures

Ce cours permet de maitriser les aspects fondamentaux et pratiques du dimensionnement des structures en acier. Il traite des poutres, des poteaux, des assemblages, des cadres, des systèmes porteurs et des problèmes de stabilité.