Experimental Evaluation of Thin Composite Floor Assemblies under Fire Loading
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 137, Issue 9
Abstract
This paper presents the behavior observations, results, and findings from experimental investigations of the structural behavior of thin composite floor systems subjected to combined gravity loads and fire loading. The floor systems consisted of A992 steel interior beams and girders acting composite with a 38.1-mm-deep ribbed steel deck with 63.5 mm of lightweight concrete on top. Three composite floor-assembly specimens were tested with two different shear connection types (welded-bolted shear tab and all-bolted double-angle connection), two different fire scenarios (realistic fires with standard heating and uncontrolled or controlled cooling paths), and two different fire protection scenarios (i.e., interior beams with or without fire protection). The experimental results indicate that removal of fireproofing from the interior beams causes them to heat, deflect, and fail more rapidly. The beams and girders have similar deflection-versus-temperature behaviors irrespective of the fireproofing on the interior beams. The thin lightweight composite slab used in these tests contributes significantly to the load transfer from the interior beams to the girders, but it does not seem to be able to support the interior beams once they started failing. Removing the fire protection from the interior beams of thin lightweight composite slabs such as those tested in this paper is not recommended, unless better behavior can be demonstrated through future tests that include effects of neighboring floor systems.
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Acknowledgments
The experimental work presented in the paper was performed in the Michigan State University Center for Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan State University. The research presented in this paper is based upon work funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. NSF0758461 and NSF0758409), the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), and the American Institute for Steel Construction (AISC). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors. The authors acknowledge the contributions of Purushotham Pakala, Research Assistant at Michigan State University, to the experimental work in the paper
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 137 • Issue 9 • September 2011
Pages: 1002 - 1016
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 15, 2010
Accepted: May 27, 2011
Published online: May 30, 2011
Published in print: Sep 1, 2011
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