Structural health assessment of fire damaged building using non-destructive testing and micro-graphical forensic analysis: A case study

Abstract

After fire exposure the reinforced concrete structures lose strength and durability. Mapping the damage caused by fire exposure becomes extremely important to assess the serviceability of a fire exposed building. This case study covers in brief the structural health assessment of a fire damaged structure. To unravel the heating history various techniques were adopted. Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods were employed to assess the residual durability properties. Similarly, core extraction tests were performed to evaluate the residual mechanical properties. Further, a framework was developed with the help of microstructural and thermal analyses to reasonably estimate the exposure temperatures of various structural units. This methodology has efficiently predicted the degraded quality of Reinforced concrete based on Microstructural Structural Analysis and Non-Destructive Testing. Keywords: Non-destructive testing, Structural heath assessment, Ultrasonic pulse velocity, Microstructural analysis, Compressive strength