An Integrated Thermomechanical Method for Modeling Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Structures in Fire

This paper presents an integrated thermomechanical method for modeling the behavior of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite structures subject to simultaneous fire and mechanical load. The model includes heat transfer modeling to calculate temperature history of the structure and structural modeling to predict the mechanical performance of the structure. Heat transfer modeling assumes that heat and mass transfer of volatile by decomposition are one dimensional through thickness. With the temperature profile calculated by heat transfer modeling, structural modeling analyzes the deformation and failure. Both thermal and mechanical properties in modeling are temperature dependent. Arrhenius equation is used to describe decomposition reaction of resin and a concept of shift temperature is introduced to account for heating rate's effect on the decomposition temperature. The integrated model is validated with experimental data from structural fire tests.