Fire performance of reinforced concrete slabs: a numerical analysis

The emergence of tensile membrane action as a key load-carrying mechanism has increased experimental and numerical studies on the fire performance of concrete slabs since 2000, however, the different behaviour due to aggregate type is less studied in slabs numerical analysis. This paper presents a numerical analysis of the thermomechanical behaviour of reinforced concrete slabs exposed to fire, using Finite Element Modelling in ATENA and GiD. Results were validated against experimental data from the literature subjecting slabs to ISO834 and hydrocarbon time- temperature curves. 3 calibration steps were done to combine mechanical and thermal behaviours. A parametric analysis was carried out with calcareous and siliceous aggregates to provide information for safer slab design and consequent fewer accidents related to fire situation. The choice of aggregate type must always be considered in design.