1978. FIP-CEB Report on methods of assessment of the fire resistance of concrete structural members

Following the publication of the Guide to Good Practice: FIP/CEB Recommendations for the Design of Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structural Members for Fire Resistance in 1975, the FIP Commission on Fire Resistance, under the chairmanship of Professor K. Kordina, met in London, Düsseldorf, Vienna, and Lund to consider how it could extend the information available to designers of concrete structures where fire resistance is an important criterion.

The various calculation methods that have been developed have been reviewed and are discussed in this report. These range from straightforward rational methods based on test results from standard ISO DIS 834 fire loading, to more sophisticated approaches that include a more rigorous assessment of fire loading related to the contents and use of the building. Their presentation as appendices to this report should encourage further development and research into the primary effects of fire on buildings as a whole, as well as the many parameters that affect their performance in fire conditions.

The FIP Commission has been able, in this report, to make specific recommendations in some areas where knowledge is still incomplete and further research is needed. This is particularly true in relation to the interaction of individual structural members and the behaviour of entire structures, where the Commission maintains an active interest and hopes to report more fully in the future.

The four parts of the main report have been discussed intensively and thus represent the official opinion of the Commission. The members who prepared these parts are: H. L. Malhotra (Parts 1 and 2), L. Krampf (Part 3), and A. W. Hill, assisted by the Netherlands group (Part 4).

The appendices contain contributions that are of great interest for future developments. In some countries they have already been adopted in regulations. The Commission is pleased to present these contributions here, but it has not yet been possible to include them in the official report as internationally approved recommendations. The appendices therefore remain the responsibility of their authors: O. Pettersson (Appendices A and D), A. H. Gustaferro (Appendix B), and M. Adam (Appendix C).