Performance-Based Structural-Fire Engineering Analysis Approaches for Highway Bridges

Details

• Creators:
  Quiel, Spencer ; Ma, Saidong ; Zhu, Zheda ; Murphy, Thomas ; Lopez, Maria ; Artmont, Frank A.
• Corporate Creators:
  Lehigh University ; Modjeski and Masters, Inc
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Analysis Concrete Bridges Evaluation Finite Element Method Fire Prevention Highway Bridges Passive Fire Protection Performance-based Structural-fire Assessment Performance Based Specifications Structural Materials Thermal Conductivity

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  ATLSS 26-03
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Lehigh University
• Abstract:
  This report is the second part of a two-phase study to assemble performance-based design guidance for the evaluation and mitigation of severe fire hazards for highway bridges. The following are addressed: (1) summarize design-basis tools that can be used for “engineering analysis” per NFPA 502 Chapter 6 to calculate the thermo-mechanical impact of design-basis fires on a particular bridge; (2) summarize approaches for evaluating common thermo-mechanical limit states of steel and prestressed girders as well as other common structural elements in bridge structures under fire; and (3) review fire mitigation strategies and recommend needs for future research. Thermal and structural finite element (FE) analysis is demonstrated as an effective tool for evaluating both steel and concrete bridge elements under fire exposure. Simpler lumped mass methods of thermal analysis are appropriate for steel materials, which have relatively high thermal conductivity and can therefore be approximated as having a relatively uniform temperature increase over their cross-section, which has a large ratio of exposed area to thermal mass. For other materials with lower thermal conductivity like concrete, a significant internal thermal gradient will develop under fire exposure, thus making lumped mass methods ineffective. More research is needed to develop simplified calculation tools to evaluate concrete bridge elements under fire.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  693JJ321C000035 Phase II
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:abfb6006ec39ec870f87937292b26965d3994b73e1236b5ef5fe63d53ae6b9e8766e4c58a5f08191eec3eacc2b3ae39f0375d3a62d7854ebd03034aa17416651
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/90117/dot_90117_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.60 MB ]