Developments in the design of steel structures for fire

Abstract

Abstract Developments in recent years in the requirements for fire protection of structural steel in buildings and in the methods for determining the required thickness of fire protection material are described along with the effect they have had on the use of structural steel in various types of buildings in Australia. Fire protection is a significant component of the cost of structural steelwork in many buildings. Excessive and uneconomical mandatory requirements have had the effect of making structural steel uncompetitive against other construction materials in many types of buildings. A new section in the Australian Standard for Steel Structures which provides methods for the design of structural steel elements and fire protection to meet the fire resistance requirements of the building regulations is described. Developments in establishing the relationship between the level of fire safety in buildings and the level of fire resistance of the structural elements are briefly reviewed and the likely impact on structural steel construction discussed. The use of realistic large scale experimental fire testing to examine the validity of regulatory requirements and the resulting changes to regulations for open deck and closed carparks, office buildings and buildings with mixed occupancies are also briefly described.