Design and Performance Criteria for Fire-Resistant Design of Structures––An Overview

Concrete, despite being inherently fire resistant, cannot be considered as a fire-proof material. It undergoes substantial variation in its characteristics during exposure to elevated temperatures. These variations may become hazardous for structural stability and serviceability depending upon the type and extent of exposure. Moreover, high-strength concrete, which is commonly used in tall buildings, may perform poorly against fire due to its high binder content and very low permeability. Despite all the aforementioned factors, fire resistance design of structural members has been given very restricted consideration in the current Indian practice. Although several standards provide guidelines to achieve fire safety in structures, the provisions for high-strength concrete and spalling prevention are not specifically available in the major international and national standards. This paper attempts to compare the provisions corresponding to fire-resistant design in Indian standard with the respective provisions of other country standards, e.g., ACI 216 [3], NZS 3101 [4], EN 1992–2 [8], etc. Comparison parameters primarily include the design requirements for various structural members to improve their fire resistance. Furthermore, suitable recommendations for Indian Codal provisions are attempted in the latter part of the paper to achieve superior performance under elevated temperatures.