- Author
- Thomas, G. C.
- Title
- Fire Resistance of Light Timber Framed Walls and Floors.
- Coporate
- University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Report
- Fire Engineering Research Report 97/7, May l1997, 324 p.
- Keywords
- walls | floors | timber | fire resistance | fire severity | heat transfer | time | concretes | steels | bending | structural design | calibrating
- Identifiers
- calibration and validation of the finite element wall model; thermal time equivalence for walls; house fire results and comparison with models; time equivalence for concrete and steel; calibration of structural model with bending tests; calibration of the structural wall model; thermal time equivalence for floors; calibration of the structural floor model; structural time equivalence for floors; design of structures for fire resistance
- Abstract
- The structural fire resistance of light timber frame walls and floors has traditionally been determined by using standard fire resistance tests to provide a Fire Resistance Rating (FRR). The required FRR was prescribed by building codes and had little relation to likely fire severity. More recently, simple formulae have been used to determine an appropriate FRR given the ventilation parameters of a compartment, the likely fuel load and to a lesser extent the thermal properties of the compartment boundaries. The work described in this thesis determines the validity of these formulae for light timber frame walls and floors and other materials. It is shown that, computer modelling can be used to determine the thermal and structural performance of light timber frame walls and floors exposed to fire. The COMPF-2 program can be used with modification to model compartment fires. The thermal behavior of cavity walls and floors exposed to fire can be modelled accurately using the TASEF program. The structural behavior of light timber frame walls and floors exposed to fire can be modelled using a general purpose finite element program, such as ABAQUS.