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Steel-Concrete Composite Floor Systems Subject to Fire – Phase 1
This study deals with compartment fire experiments on 12.8 m long composite floor beams with various end support conditions. Each specimen was constructed as a partially-composite beam, consisting of a lightweight concrete slab cast on 76 mm (3 in.) deep ribbed steel decking and a W18×35 steel beam acting compositely via 19 mm (3/4 in.) diameter steel headed stud anchors welded on the top flange. Test variables included two types of simple shear connections (shear-tab and welded-bolted double-angle connections) and the presence or absence of slab continuity over girders. Hydraulic actuators were used to apply gravity loads to the specimen under fire conditions. The natural gas-fueled burners were used to create a compartment fire with the maximum heat release rate of 4000 kW. This study evaluated the characteristics of the fire loading and thermal and structural responses of the specimens. The test results indicated that the thermal restraint conditions significantly affected the behavior and failure modes of the specimens with simple shear connections. The specimens resisted gravity loads at large vertical displacements near midspan (approximately a ratio of the span length over 20) without collapse under fire loading. Various limit states and vulnerabilities to fires were observed, including local buckling of the steel beams near supports, flexural failure (yielding of steel beams and concrete fracture near restrained end supports), and connection failure (weld shear or bolt shear) during heating and cooling which could lead to partial or total collapse of the floor system.
DATA
Spreadsheets containing the data from the experiments can be downloaded from the links provided here. Additional information about the instrumentation layout including sensor types and uncertainties can be found in the test reports.
- Instrumentation Layout
- Test 1: CB-DA-AMB
- Test 2: CB-DA
- Test 3: CB-DA-SC
- Test 4: CB-SP
- Test 5: CB-SP-SC
VIDEO GALLERY
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
- L. Y. Choe, S. Ramesh, W. L. Grosshandler, M. S. Hoehler, M. S. Seif, J. L. Gross, M. F. Bundy Behavior and Limit States of Long-Span Composite Floor Beams with Simple Shear Connections subject to Compartment Fires: Experimental Evaluation, ASCE J. of Structural Engineering, 146 (6), 2020.
- L.Y. Choe, S. Ramesh, M.S. Hoehler, M.S. Seif, M.F. Bundy, J. Reilly, B. Glisic Compartment Fire Experiments on Long-Span Composite-Beams with Simple Shear Connections Part 2: Test Results, Technical Note (NIST TN) - 2055, 2019, pp 144.
- S. Ramesh, L. Y. Choe, M. S. Seif, M. S. Hoehler, W. L. Grosshandler, A. Sauca, M. F. Bundy, W. Luecke. Y. Bao, M. Klegseth, G. Chen, J. Reilly, B. Glisic Compartment Fire Experiments on Long-Span Composite-Beams with Simple Shear Connections Part 1: Experiment Design and Beam Behavior at Ambient Temperature, Technical Note (NIST TN) - 2054, 2019, pp 141.
- Choe, L.Y.; Ramesh, S.; Seif, M. S.; Hoehler, M. S.; Grosshandler, W. L.; Gross, J. L.; Bundy, M. F. Fire Performance of Long-Span Composite Beams with Gravity Connections, SiF18 - The 10th International Conference on Structures in Fire, June 6-8, 2018, Blefast, UK.
- Ramesh, S.; Choe, L.Y.; Hoehler, M. S.; Grosshandler, W. L.; Gross, J. L. Design and Construction of Long-Span Composite Beam Specimens for Large Structural-Fire Tests, Structures Congress 2018, April 19-21, 2018, Fort Worth, USA.
- Choe, L.Y.; Ramesh, S.; Hoehler, M. S.; Gross, J. L. Experimental Study on Long-Span Composite Floor Beams Subject to Fire: Baseline Data at Ambient Temperature, Structures Congress 2018, April 19-21, 2018, Fort Worth, USA.