Evaluating Fire Resistance of Steel Girders in Bridges
Publication: Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 18, Issue 7
Abstract
In current practice, no special measures are applied for enhancing structural fire safety of steel bridge girders. Further, there is very limited information and research data in the literature on the fire resistance of structural members in bridges. In this paper, the fire response of a steel bridge girder under different conditions is evaluated using the FEM computer program ANSYS. In the analysis, the critical factors that influence fire resistance, namely, fire scenario, fire insulation, and composite action arising from steel-concrete interaction, are accounted for. Results from numerical studies show that the composite action arising from steel-girder–concrete-slab interaction significantly enhances the structural performance (and fire resistance) of a steel bridge girder under fire conditions. Other significant factors that influence fire resistance of steel bridge girders are fire insulation and type of fire scenario.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CMMI-1068621, and the authors wish to acknowledge NSF’s support. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Bridge Engineering
Volume 18 • Issue 7 • July 2013
Pages: 633 - 643
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 30, 2011
Accepted: Apr 23, 2012
Published online: Apr 26, 2012
Published in print: Jul 1, 2013
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