- Author
- Schleich, J. B. | Cajot, L. G. | Pierre, M. | Brasseur, M.
- Title
- Development of Design Rules for Steel Structures Subjected to Natural Fires in Closed Car Parks. Draft Final Report. July 1, 1993 to June 30, 1996.
- Report
- 7210-SA/211/318/518/620/933, March 1997, 148 p.
- Keywords
- steel structures | garages | automobile fires | fire tests | heat release rate | simulation | scenarios | ventilation | temperature fields | air | temperature | fire spread
- Identifiers
- statistical study in closed car park; requirement in closed car park
- Abstract
- A research dealing with the Fire Resistance of Open Car Parks was completed at the end of 1992 and lead to the publication of the ECCS Technical Note 75 "Fire Safety in Open Car Parks" which concludes that the stability of the structure is not endangered by the fire produced by a burning car. This Technical Note 75 testifies that no fire resistance requirement is needed for the composite structure of Open Car Parks and will enable us to unify the standards of the different European countries which demand fire resistances from RO to R180. It would be very interesting to extend these very good results. That's why the present research has started. The "Closed Car Parks" represent a very large market as most of the big European cities require that large buildings have several parking levels available. The present requirements for the Closed Car Parks are very severe and generally ask at least R90 and go up to as much as R240 (France, Closed Car Park beneath tall building). In the scope of this research, car fire tests have been performed and has lead to design curve of Rate of Heat release for one burning car and for a wave of several burning cars. These design curves of RHR have been used as the starting points of air temperature calculation methods (simplified formulae, two-zone model, C.F.D.) which have provided the thermal action on the structure for different fire scenarii. For each fire scenario, numerical thermo-mechanical simulations have enabled to analyse the structural behavior in case of fire and to deduce design rules for the steel structures to survive the fire. These numerical simulations of the behaviour of steel closed car park structures submitted to realistic natural fire curves have pointed out that the present standards are too conservative and that they have to be replaced by the requirement 'The structure have to survive the fire produced by burning car(s)'. The burning cars have been characterized by the geometrical fIre size and position and by design Rate of Heat Release curves. The final aim is to change the present regulations and to establish more realistic standards in Europe.