Calculation of fire resistance of timber structure according to Eurocodes

Abstract

Determination of the fire resistance level of wooden structural elements requires an assessment of their behavior under fire conditions. Wood has excellent natural resistance to fire penetration due to its low thermal conductivity and to the characteristic of forming an insulating carbonized layer while burning. However, wooden structures lose their mechanical properties during the fire which is reflected on their load-bearing capacity. Therefore, in order of their wider application, it is necessary to design a timber structure with the required time of fire resistance. An analytical procedure which is based on the exposure of uncoated and coated timber elements to parametric fire can be used for the calculation of the required parameters. Their reliability in fire conditions is checked on the basis of the residual strength, wherein the load-bearing capacity of the element should have a higher value than the value of the designed load for the required time to fire exposure.

Keywords

• structural timber member
• parametric fire
• fire resistance
• load-bearing capacity