Performance-based Codes Research Articles

Climate action at the neighbourhood scale: Comparing municipal future scenarios

Municipalities face the direct impact of climate change events, but many are challenged to assess the potential outcomes of future climate action policies. It is essential for local municipalities to be able to evaluate cross-sector and cross-scale policy interventions, but many lack the expertise and resources for wholistic forecasting. This paper used a hybrid inter-scalar and interdisciplinary modeling approach to evaluate, compare, visualize, and reveal the performance of climate actions at building and neighbourhood scales of future ‘what-if’ scenarios for three neighbourhood urban form types (dispersed, corridor, nodal) in three cities in British Columbia, Canada (Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George). Results found that increases in population density combined with strict building standards and retrofitting older buildings decreased per person emissions per year by up to 84% by 2050. Within the neighbourhood-scale areas, building form and location had less impact. Population density and frequency of transit service were most important for mobility mode shifts. Concentrating density at transit nodes or along commercial corridors improved the percentages of residents within a five-minute walk of those services, but proximity to greenspaces showed mixed results. <em><strong>Policy relevance</strong></em> Municipal climate action policies cross sectors and scales. This analysis of future urban form and energy scenarios at neighbourhood scales reveals livability and greenhouse gas (GHG) outcomes. It provides evidence that compact neighbourhood form coupled with stringent building codes reduces GHG emissions. (1) Concentrating density at transit nodes or along commercial corridors improved the percentages of residents within a five-minute walk of those services, but proximity to greenspaces showed mixed results. (2) Within neighbourhood-scale areas urban form (building form and location) had less influence on shifting mobility modes than did overall population density and transit frequency. (3) British Columbia’s net-zero-ready building code, a performance-based code, resulted in notable energy-use reductions and related emissions reductions associated with the new building stock. (4) Retrofitting the existing building stock resulted in notable emissions reductions in the three neighbourhoods; however, for cities with growing high land value, the potential for sale and redevelopment is a disincentive to retrofitting.

Reliability analysis & performance-based code calibration for slabs/walls of protective structures subject to air blast loading

A multilevel performance-based design (PBD) framework is developed for panels of Protective structures subjected to air blast. These provisions improve the existing design approach of blast resistance structures for ultimate limit state. Present study develops probabilistic deflection-based capacity and demand models for three performance levels associated with four damage states occurring during an air blast. The chosen protective structures for current study are reinforced Normal Strength Concrete (NRC) and reinforced Ultra-High Strength Concrete (UHSC) panels. The probabilistic models are developed using Bayesian inference (Posterior Statistics). The database is generated through numerical experimental design using finite element (FE) based software, LS-DYNA. The influence of air blast on panel is validated on a panel and obtained results shows the trustworthiness of numerical model. Grounded on these models the fragility estimation is carried out and attained plots demonstrates the consistency. Using a reliability based approach, the Load and Resistance Factors for Design (LRFD) are developed associated with the proposed three performance levels. Hazard curves and total probability are estimated using established dataset from literature available. The estimated LRFD factors can be used for the design of NRC & UHSC panel of slab/walls of protective structure subjected to air blast.

Performance-Based Code Calibration and Total Probability of Failure of the Nuclear Containment Structure Subjected to Missile Impact

The multifarious calamities upon nuclear containment structures (NCS) and insufficient reliability-based factors inspired the current study for the investigation of hard missile impact. Available codes for design and construction of NCS suggest a load factor of 1.0 and basic information for the missile impact scenarios. However, the current study proposes novel reliability-based load and resistance factors for NCS subjected to a hard missile impact. The performance-based probabilistic energy capacity and demand models have been used for the code calibration process. These models were based on three performance levels associated with four levels of damage. The levels were chosen based on local damage due to its rigidity from insignificant penetration to complete perforation of the missile. This study also developed hazard curves for various distributions of missile mass and velocity. The total probability of failure of NCS was calculated based on a realistic range of material and geometrical variables and globally existing cruise missiles, wind-borne missiles, pressure pipes, iron rods, and others. The current investigation considers all the inherent uncertainties of target and missile. This study circumvents the limitations and develops performance-based load and resistance factors based on probabilistic models. The developed load and resistance factors for codal provisions are tied in turn to the different performance levels of the NCS. These factors can be used for the design of NCS, bunkers, silos, storage tanks, slabs, and others without performing exhaustive analysis and/or experiments.

Total System Performance Ratio—A Systems Based Approach for Evaluating HVAC System Efficiency

The prescriptive path is the most widely used approach for commercial code compliance in the United States. Though easy to implement, prescriptive approaches do not typically discriminate between minimally compliant, high-performing and poorly performing HVAC system configurations. Hence, to meet aggressive energy and carbon reduction goals, it is clear that energy codes will need to transition from prescriptive to performance-based approaches, a transition that is riddled with several challenges. This paper discusses a new HVAC system-based performance approach (HVAC System Performance) which provides a simpler solution to HVAV system evaluation compared to whole building performance, while keeping tradeoffs limited to specific building systems. The Total System Performance Ratio (TSPR) is a metric for evaluation of overall system efficiency instead of individual component efficiency, a solution which could also eventually facilitate the transition to a 100% performance-based code structure. TSPR is a ratio that compares the annual heating and cooling load of a building to the annual energy consumed by the building’s HVAC system. A calculation software tool has been developed for determining a building’s TSPR. Already incorporated into the 2018 Washington State Energy Code, this approach is also being evaluated by ASHRAE Standard 90.l Project Committee and has the potential to provide a comprehensive performance-based approach for HVAC system evaluation and analysis.

From Form-Based to Performance-Based Codes

The performance of the built environment is an important concern affecting the quality of life and plays a critical role in every urban milieu. However, it generally disappears in the drawing plans. Current planning regulations do not always include performance requirements as part of the planning demands. Additionally, decision-makers lack the methodology and tools to demonstrate the expected performance of the built environment. Therefore, an examination of the performance of the designed area is sometimes neglected in the planning process. Current urban plans focus mainly on technical issues, counting the number of residential units, density measures, etc. The trend of progressive planning regulations, such as Form-Based Code (FBC), aims to coordinate these separated quantitative parameters into one comprehensive 3D plan where the urban form plays as a main integrator. However, these plans still lack the demand for understanding the quality and performance of the built environment through the visualization. This article addresses this gap, the lack of understanding of the performance of the built environment in urban plans and proposes the concept of Performance-Based Codes (PBC). The transition from form-based code to performance-based-design will be demonstrated through the presentation of two performance-based models, the Solar Envelope and Security Rating Index, and the possibility of integrating them into the planning process.

Fire hazard in buildings: review, assessment and strategies for improving fire safety

Purpose The current fire protection measures in buildings do not account for all contemporary fire hazard issues, which has made fire safety a growing concern. Therefore, this paper aims to present a critical review of current fire protection measures and their applicability to address current challenges relating to fire hazards in buildings. Design/methodology/approach To overcome fire hazards in buildings, impact of fire hazards is also reviewed to set the context for fire protection measures. Based on the review, an integrated framework for mitigation of fire hazards is proposed. The proposed framework involves enhancement of fire safety in four key areas: fire protection features in buildings, regulation and enforcement, consumer awareness and technology and resources advancement. Detailed strategies on improving fire safety in buildings in these four key areas are presented, and future research and training needs are identified. Findings Current fire protection measures lead to an unquantified level of fire safety in buildings, provide minimal strategies to mitigate fire hazard and do not account for contemporary fire hazard issues. Implementing key measures that include reliable fire protection systems, proper regulation and enforcement of building code provisions, enhancement of public awareness and proper use of technology and resources is key to mitigating fire hazard in buildings. Major research and training required to improve fire safety in buildings include developing cost-effective fire suppression systems and rational fire design approaches, characterizing new materials and developing performance-based codes. Practical implications The proposed framework encompasses both prevention and management of fire hazard. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework in improving fire safety in buildings, major limitations of current fire protection measures are identified, and detailed strategies are provided to address these limitations using proposed fire safety framework. Social implications Fire represents a severe hazard in both developing and developed countries and poses significant threat to life, structure, property and environment. The proposed framework has social implications as it addresses some of the current challenges relating to fire hazard in buildings and will enhance overall fire safety. Originality/value The novelty of proposed framework lies in encompassing both prevention and management of fire hazard. This is unlike current fire safety improvement strategies, which focus only on improving fire protection features in buildings (i.e. managing impact of fire hazard) using performance-based codes. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework in improving fire safety in buildings, major limitations of current fire protection measures are identified and detailed strategies are provided to address these limitations using proposed fire safety framework. Special emphasis is given to cost-effectiveness of proposed strategies, and research and training needs for further enhancing building fire safety are identified.

Enabling Innovation in Building Sustainability: Australia's National Construction Code

The National Construction Code (NCC) is a performance-based code for building and plumbing, which provides the minimum necessary requirements for safety, health, amenity and sustainability in the design and construction of new buildings.There are two pathways for achieving compliance with the NCC's mandatory performance requirements; (i) developing a performance solution, or (ii) following a prescriptive solution. Typically, performance solutions are unique designs proposed as achieving compliance with respective performance requirements; whereas prescriptive solutions are generic solutions deemed by regulators as complying with respective performance requirements.A recent study has identified that there is a potential productivity gain of $1.1bn by increasing the use of performance solutions within the Australian building and plumbing industry [1].While the NCC has been a performance-based code since 1996, there is still a reliance on prescriptive solutions as it has been difficult to quantify performance requirements [2]. This has resulted in designers and practitioners not being confident in using some performance requirements, such as those for energy efficiency. The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is currently undertaking a project to help increase the use of performance solutions, including in the area of energy efficiency, through quantifying the performance requirements, changing culture, building capacity and removing potential impediments within the industry. This includes looking at appropriate metrics, the use of verification methods, engaging with regulators to improve the tools they use for handling performance solutions and developing educational materials aimed at both residential and commercial building practitioners.The aim of this work is to help increase productivity and innovation within the building industry through enabling the development of tailored innovative performance solutions, and in the case of energy efficiency, aligning methodologies with best-practice voluntary sustainability schemes as appropriate.This paper describes how the NCC facilitates innovation within the building industry in relation to energy efficiency and sustainability performance.

Modelling the Response of Simply-Supported Two-Way Reinforced Concrete Slabs Exposed to Fire

The historically good performance of concrete structures in real fires, and the lack of urgent drivers for the concrete industry to support research on the fire performance of concrete structures, means that research on the full frame response of concrete buildings to fires has received much less attention than for steel-framed structures. However, a credible understanding of, and ability to model, the response of concrete structures under fire exposure is crucial to make further progress in the field of structural fire engineering, and to make best use of the flexibility enabled by performance-based fire codes. This paper presents a computational study on the structural behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs during fire tests undertaken by Zhang et al.[16]. The distribution of stresses in the slabs is discussed, as is the need for further research to better understand structural response during fire. Amongst other factors, the assumed tensile strength of the concrete is crucial to accurately predict response. The results corroborate the existing consensus that concrete slabs in real buildings can, in some cases, withstand fires for longer than expected; this is due to mobilisation of membrane actions, amongst other factors.

Do Performance-Based Codes Support Universal Design in Architecture?

The research project 'An analysis of the accessibility requirements' studies how Danish architectural firms experience the accessibility requirements of the Danish Building Regulations and it examines their opinions on how future regulative models can support innovative and inclusive design - Universal Design (UD). The empirical material consists of input from six workshops to which all 700 Danish Architectural firms were invited, as well as eight group interviews. The analysis shows that the current prescriptive requirements are criticized for being too homogenous and possibilities for differentiation and zoning are required. Therefore, a majority of professionals are interested in a performance-based model because they think that such a model will support 'accessibility zoning', achieving flexibility because of different levels of accessibility in a building due to its performance. The common understanding of accessibility and UD is directly related to buildings like hospitals and care centers. When the objective is both innovative and inclusive architecture, the request of a performance-based model should be followed up by a knowledge enhancement effort in the building sector. Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives is suggested as a tool for such a boost. The research project has been financed by the Danish Transport and Construction Agency.

کفاءة تطبیق قوانین الحمایة من الحریق على المبانى التراثیة

Heritage buildings are exposed to problems and difficulties associated with fire protection don't exist in new buildings, where it require fire protection approach, that provides comprehensive protection for both: occupants, building, and contents, and at the same time, without damaging character of the heritage building. In gereral.. there are two types of fire protection approaches: prescriptive-based approach, and performance-based approach, And according to these two approaches, prescriptive-based codes, and performance-based codes have been put. While the application of the provisions of prescriptive-based codes aren't sufficient or appropriate in dealing with problems and difficulties, that facing provide fire protection in heritage buildings, the application of the provisions of performance-based codes are the most appropriate way in dealing with these problems and difficulties, in order to achieve both: the comprehensive fire protection, and the conservation of heritage character. Hence.. the theme of this paper is to study the efficiency of application of the various fire protection codes on Heritage buildings. This paper bases on research methodology descripitive, analytical, and comparative. This paper consists of three main parts: introduction, text, and conclusion / recommendations. تتعرض المبانى التراثية الى مشاکل وصعوبات, مرتبطة بالحماية من الحريق, غير موجودة فى المبانى الجديدة, حيث تتطلب منهج من الحريق, يقوم بتوفير الحماية الشاملة لکلا من: شاغلين المبنى, والمبنى ذاته, ومحتوياته الأصيلة, وفى نفس الوقت بدون الإضرار بطابع المبنى التراثى. وبشکل عام.. يوجد نوعين من المناهج التى توفر الحماية من الحريق؛ هما: المنهج الإلزامى (التقليدى), والمنهج القائم على الآداء (غير التقليدى). وبناءا على هذين المنهجين تم وضع الحماية من الحريق الإلزامية و الآدائية. وفى حين أنه يمکن تصميم المبانى الجديدة من البداية بشکل يحقق إشتراطات القوانين الإلزامية بسهولة وبساطة, فإن تحقيق هذه الإشتراطات فى المبانى التراثية يکون أکثر صعوبة وتعقيدا. ويکون تطبيق إشتراطات القوانين الإلزامية, غير کاف أو مناسب فى التعامل مع المشاکل والصعوبات, التى تواجه توفير الحماية من الحريق فى المبانى التراثية, وقد يضر أو يدمر الصفات التى تعطى المبانى ملامحها التراثية, بينما يکون تطبيق إشتراطات القوانين الآدائية, فى کثير من الأحيان, هو الطريقة الأکثر مناسبة فى التعامل مع هذه المشاکل والصعوبات, من أجل تحقيق کلا من: الحمابة الشاملة من الحريق, والحفاظ على الطابع التراثى, معا فى نفس الوقت. وفى هذا السياق.. يتمثل موضوع هذه الورقة البحثية فى دراسة کفاءة تطبيق الحماية من الحريق, بأنواعها المختلفة, على المبانى التراثية, التى أقيمت قبل وضع الحماية من الحريق. ولا ترکز هذه الورقة البحثية على دراسة مبانى تراثية أو قوانين حماية خاصة بدولة معينة, بل تقوم بتناول الموضوع بشکل مفهومى عام, مع إمکانية الإستفادة من النتائج على المستوى المحلى (المصرى). وتعتمد هذه الورقة البحثية على المنهج الوصفى, التحليلى, المقارن؛ عن طريق الإستعراض النظرى لمفاهيم المبنى التراثى والحريق, وأسباب ونتائج الحريق فى المبانى التراثية, ومناهج وقوانين الحماية من الحريق, ثم التحليل والمقارنة لمناهج وقوانين الحماية من الحريق المختلفة, من أجل تعيين کفاءة تطبيقها على المبانى التراثية. وتتکون هذه الورقة البحثية من ثلاثة أجزاء رئيسية غير متساوية؛ هى: مقدمة تمهد للموضوع محل الدراسة, ومــتن يوضح کافة جوانب الموضوع, ثم خاتمة تتضمن النتائج والتوصيات.

Jane Jacobs and the Value of Older, Smaller Buildings

Problem, research strategy, and findings: In recent years, some economists and urban development advocates have argued that historic preservation is fundamentally at odds with a growing, diverse economy. We supply empirical support for Jane Jacobs's (1961) seminal argument about the value of “plain, ordinary, low-value old buildings,” finding that older, smaller buildings support dense, diverse streets and neighborhoods (p. 187). We use spatial regression models to analyze how social and economic activity relate to building characteristics in Seattle (WA), San Francisco (CA), Tucson (AZ), and Washington, DC. On a per commercial square foot basis, areas with older, smaller buildings and mixed-vintage blocks support more jobs in new businesses, small businesses, and businesses in creative industries. However, while areas with older, smaller buildings have greater diversity of resident age and higher proportions of small businesses, we also find lower proportions of Hispanic and non-White residents, indicating limited racial and ethnic diversity.Takeaway for practice: Focusing on new construction alone to achieve denser, more sustainable cities elides the important role that older, smaller buildings play in dense, diverse neighborhoods. Planners should support the preservation and reuse of older buildings and the integration of old and new buildings. Relevant policies include adaptive reuse ordinances, performance-based energy codes, context-sensitive form-based coding, and deregulation of parking requirements.

Agent-Based Fire Evacuation Model as a Tool for Fire Safety Design Assessment in Malaysia

Evacuation model is an important tool in formulating performance-based building design. It is a tool aims at helping designers assess the robustness of their design against factors such as human behaviour in fire. Currently, performance-based code for fire safety design has been the hot trend all over the world. Nevertheless, even though Malaysia is applying prescriptive-based code, performance-based approach for special buildings and mega projects are allowed. This shows that it is just a matter of time before performance-based code be fully adopted in place of prescriptive-based code in Malaysia. This paper aims to highlight how evacuation modelling may help designers assess the performance of their design. In this paper, an example of evacuation scenario was modelled and simulated using an agent-based fire evacuation model – FDS+Evac. The output of the simulation provide graphical representation such as the fire curve, the evacuation time, and the time to untenable condition that can be used to analyse the life safety objective based on concepts of ASET and RSET. The FED values of all occupants throughout the evacuation process are less than tenability criteria (0.3 FED). Therefore, it is concluded that all occupants have evacuated safely in the event of fire.

Improvement alternatives for determining the watertightness performance of building facades

The accurate determination of a facade's watertightness performance is important for optimizing design. Different micro-climatic conditions can affect water penetration. The recently developed Bayesian method allows this performance to be estimated for any operating condition and location, based on the results of standardized watertightness tests. This performance-based method uses semi-empirical calculations for wind-driven rain, estimates of wind velocity based on the wind profile power law and analyses of the annual maximum climatic data. This method determines the return period of climatic conditions that each facade system can withstand. Alternative approximations are studied that may be implemented using the Bayesian method to obtain more precise or functional estimations: improved friction coefficients, peaks-over-threshold analyses or catch ratios from computational fluid dynamics (CFD), among others. The effects of these alternatives on the results of the Bayesian method were evaluated by analysing different case studies in two cities in Spain. This analysis suggests that the original formulation of the method underestimates watertightness performance and highlights the fundamental importance of wind velocity to estimate the performance of any facade accurately. This will provide greater precision for estimating facade performance and provides potential for introducing performance-based codes for watertightness.

廊下の滞留が居室単一開口部の流動量に与える影響

This paper presents the characteristics of the pedestrian movement around the door connected to a corridor. We focused on the flow rate where a door connects to a corridor to verify evacuation safety, based on performance-based design. Full-scale evacuation experiments were conducted to confirm that a decrease in flow rate would occur when passing through an opening. A flow rate of 1.5 persons/m/s is assumed as the convention for Japanese Building-Standard Law. However, when the corridor connected to the door is crowded, flow rate at the door decreases. Therefore, the effective flow rate, which changes in relation to the effective area of corridor available, was used in Japanese performance-based codes to accurately evaluate the evacuation time of buildings in a fire. Furthermore, the differences between this experiment and “SimTread” (a multi-agent pedestrian simulator) were investigated to examine the validity of the simulation.

Numerical Simulation of the Performance-Based of the Building Fire Protection Safety Evaluation

In order to understand the fire safety of the various types of buildings, we need more flexible and efficient performance-estimating methods to verify fire protection safety in various types of buildings. Assuming can utilize computer fire simulation software CFAST / FDS + Evac to analyze Taiwan's domestic fire cases, in order to understand in the different fires heat flow transfer, and toxic smoke diffuse, and human evacuation to escape, and other important fire parameter characteristics, in the building the fire protection safety evaluating to produce the efficiency. This study is used cases of fires in four-story old-style residential and commercial mixed-use buildings to explain building fire performance-based numerical evaluation methods, and to provide quantitative data and reference information in Taiwan performance-based codes creating and the fire protection to project design is helpful in the buildings.

An Examination of the Performance Based Building Code on the Design of a Commercial Building

The Building Code of Australia (BCA) is the principal code under which building approvals in Australia are assessed. The BCA adopted performance-based solutions for building approvals in 1996. Performance-based codes are based upon a set of explicit objectives, stated in terms of a hierarchy of requirements beginning with key general objectives. With this in mind, the research presented in this paper aims to analyse the impact of the introduction of the performance-based code within Western Australia to gauge the effect and usefulness of alternative design solutions in commercial construction using a case study project. The research revealed that there are several advantages to the use of alternative designs and that all parties, in general, are in favour of the performance-based building code of Australia. It is suggested that change in the assessment process to streamline the alternative design path is needed for the greater use of the performance-based alternative. With appropriate quality control measures, minor variations to the deemed-to-satisfy provisions could easily be managed by the current and future building surveying profession.

Smoke movement in multi-storey buildings using CUsmoke

Advancements in computer technology and tendency to replace prescriptive fire and building codes with performance-based codes have promoted the development of computer fire models to simulate fire and smoke movement. In this research a two-zone model CUsmoke (Carleton University smoke model) is used to simulate fires with steady or linear growth heat release rates (HRRs) in a single-compartment and in a two-compartment building, as well as fires with non-linear HRR in a multi-compartment multi-storey building. The comparisons between the CUsmoke predictions and the experimental data showed that the model is capable of predicting smoke movement in single and multi-compartment, multi-storey buildings with a corridor and a stair shaft. The model also provides good predictions of the upper layer temperature for non-flashover fires with steady HRR in a single compartment. Additionally, the CUsmoke predictions of concentration of O2 and CO2 in the growth phase of fires and the predicted interface heights in the fire compartment compared well with the experimental measurements.

A Performance–Based Building Code in Use

The trend in development of building codes has been to move away from prescriptive codes that describe a particular method that must be complied with, to performance–based or objective–based codes that describe the outcome or level of performance to be achieved. The development of the Building Code of Australia followed this trend, with a fully performance–based version of the code being released in 1996. An independent review of the Australian Building Codes Board, including the impact of the performance–based code was undertaken in 1999. This review reached conclusions about whether the code had met the expectations that were originally envisaged. The performance-based Building Code of Australia followed the ‘Nordic model’ of performance hierarchy, consisting of Objectives, Functional Statements and Performance Requirements. After 3 years of use of the code, and with a major review of how the code should develop in the future under way, the appropriateness of the Nordic model is being questioned. This paper identifies the experiences gained from use of the Building Code of Australia´s performance hierarchy, and factors associated with the regulatory environment that have the potential to influence its success. The code re–development process will be described and current thinking on changes to the performance hierarchy will be exposed. The results from the independent review of the performance–based code is reported here in.

CALIDAD DE AIRE INTERIOR Y EFICIENCIA ENERGÉTICA

The Spanish Building Technical Code, named CTE standard rule, establishes the present safety and habitability requirements in the building projects. This standard has been implemented in several phases since the year 2006. The CTE has adopted recent international approaches to other building standard rules, such as the performance-based codes or objectives,improving the previous prescriptive-based standards.This performance-based behaviour has been reached in some chapters of the standard rule more effectively than in others. The practical application of the standard Basic Documents (BD) HS3 (Indoor air quality), HE1 (Energy demand limits) and HE2 (Ef? ciency of heating/air-conditioning systems), to a specific building project gives place to an incoherent building solution. Moreover, in some cases both standard documents are incompatible.This research paper develops a critical valuation of the three BD’s of the CTE standard rule, showing the interferences in the practical application of the BD-HS3 standard with the other two rules: BD-HE1 and BD-HE2. Authors analyze the problems identified in relationship with the energy efficiency, thermal comfort and indoor air quality. A complete revision and correction measures are proposed for future modifications in the standard BD rules in order to fulfill the basic requirements at the different project, construction and final use phases.The changes in the code that are necessary are suggested, so as the technical systems that are able to satisfy in a performance way the demands resulting from the integral applications of the Basic Documents.

High-Temperature Properties of Steel for Fire Resistance Modeling of Structures

Fire is one of the most severe conditions to which structures can be subjected, and hence, the provision of appropriate fire safety measures for structural members is an important aspect of design. The recent introduction of performance-based codes has increased the use of computer-based models for fire resistance assessment. For evaluating the fire resistance of steel structures, high-temperature properties of steel are to be specified as input data. This paper reviews high-temperature constitutive relationships for steel currently available in American and European standards, and highlights the variation between these relationships through comparison with published experimental results. The effect of various constitutive models on overall fire resistance predictions is illustrated through case studies. It is also shown that high-temperature creep, which is not often included in constitutive models, has a significant influence on the fire response of steel structures. Results from the case studies are used to draw recommendations on the use of appropriate constitutive models for fire resistance assessment.