Structural Deformations as an Indicator of Fire Origin
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 28, Issue 3
Abstract
Current methodologies of fire origin investigation have yet to include the structural deformations witnessed in steel buildings as a viable indicator of the area of fire origin. In this paper, the validity of using such a technique for fire investigation has been assessed. A series of full-scale burn tests was conducted to validate the proposed methodology. Although it did not turn out that the greatest magnitude of deflection was always indicative of the precise area of origin, the tests have shown that the deflections can be used as important indicators of the area of origin.
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© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 11, 2012
Accepted: Feb 20, 2013
Published online: Feb 22, 2013
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
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