Developments in structural fire protection design – a US perspective

Author: Kevin LaMalva

Date published

2 January 2018

Price

Standard: £10 + VAT
Members/Subscribers: Free

Back to Previous

Developments in structural fire protection design – a US perspective

Tag
Author
Kevin LaMalva
Date published
2 January 2018
Price

Standard: £10 + VAT
Members/Subscribers: Free

The Structural Engineer
Author

Kevin LaMalva

Citation

The Structural Engineer, Volume 96, Issue 1, 2018, Page(s) 25-29

Date published

2 January 2018

Author

Kevin LaMalva

Citation

The Structural Engineer, Volume 96, Issue 1, 2018, Page(s) 25-29

Price

Standard: £10 + VAT
Members/Subscribers: Free

This article provides a US perspective on developments in structural fire protection design in relation to the ASCE/SEI 7 standard update.

Synopsis
The next edition of the ASCE/SEI 7 standard commences a new and groundbreaking industry-consensus standard of care for structural fire protection in the USA, and other adopting jurisdictions. The default option is termed standard fire resistance design, and is based on a long-standing empirical indexing system that excludes consideration of realistic thermal demands and structural system response.

The only permitted alternative to standard fire resistance design is structural fire engineering (SFE), as constituted in the new Appendix E. SFE explicitly evaluates the demand and capacity of structural systems under fire loading in a similar manner as other design loads are treated in structural engineering practice.

Due to common misconceptions and lack of industry guidance, designers often erroneously intermingle these two approaches in order to justify structural fire protection variances. To combat this poor practice, recent industry efforts in the USA have focused on formally bifurcating these two design options, and providing specific requirements for the SFE approach.

Additional information

Format:
PDF
Pages:
25-29
Publisher:
The Institution of Structural Engineers

Tags

Fire Issue 1

Related Resources & Events

The Structural Engineer
<h4>Book review: Structural Design for Fire Safety (2nd ed.)</h4>

Book review: Structural Design for Fire Safety (2nd ed.)

Fire engineer, Panagiotis Kotsovinos, finds this book and its worked examples to be a useful introduction to the subject of structural fire engineering.

Date – 2 January 2018
Author – Panagiotis Kotsovinos
Price – Free
The Structural Engineer
<h4>Structural fire engineering for super-high-rise buildings in China</h4>

Structural fire engineering for super-high-rise buildings in China

This paper introduces four different examples of high-rise buildings in China to provide insight into the commercial application of structural fire engineering.

Date – 2 January 2018
Author – Hongxia Yu and Young Wong (Arup)
Price – £10
The Structural Engineer
<h4>A structural fire strategy for an exposed weathering steel-framed building</h4>

A structural fire strategy for an exposed weathering steel-framed building

This paper documents the key steps undertaken in realising Four Pancras Square and describes how they were tackled at the interface of the fire and structural engineering disciplines.

Date – 2 January 2018
Author – Danny Hopkin, Simeon Anastasov, David Illingworth, Ben McColl, Eoin O'Loughlin and Adam Taylor
Price – £10