1975. FIP / CEB Recommendations for the design of reinforced and prestressed concrete structural members for fire resistance

The first draft recommendations for the design of both reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete structural members with regard to fire resistance were presented for discussion at the Sixth FIP Congress held in Prague in 1970, at an open meeting of the FIP Commission on Fire Resistance under the chairmanship of Professor K. Kordina.

These recommendations were subsequently discussed and elaborated at meetings of the Commission in Paris, Brunswick, and London. A final draft was agreed upon at the Seventh FIP Congress held in New York in 1974, for publication covering both normal dense and lightweight concrete.

The inclusion of reinforced concrete was made at the special request of CEB, which had expressed a wish for detailed recommendations to be available for inclusion in its next revision of the CEB/FIP International Recommendations for the Design of Concrete Structures.

The recommendations provide detailed guidance to practising engineers on how to design structural elements to withstand standard fire loads for specified periods, as prescribed by building authorities on a national basis. The values given are safe values based on research and testing of individual elements in a standard furnace.

Analytical methods for the assessment of fire resistance are being developed, taking into account the interaction of structural members, and these may lead to further economy in design. Further investigations by the Commission into the effects of continuity and end restraint may enable these recommendations to be revised in the future.