Fire Walls Made from Concrete and Masonry - Barriers against a Fire Spreading

2016 ◽  
Vol 691 ◽  
pp. 408-419
Author(s):  
Maria Bellová

Fire exposure of a construction represents an accidental load (temporary with a high intensity) and it´s appearance during service life of the construction is improbable. All structural eurocodes, which deal with the normal temperature (20°C) design of structures made from loadbearing materials (steel, steel and concrete composite, concrete, masonry and timber), include always Part 1-2: Structural fire design. Concrete, similar to the masonry, has (in comparison with other construction materials such as steel and timber), an excellent resistance against fire exposure. This is why both of these materials are used for construction of fire walls, which create barriers against the fire spreading. Fire walls separate two spaces and they are designed for fire resistance and structural stability, including resistance to mechanical impact. In the case of fire and failure of the structure on one side of the fire wall, fire spread beyond the wall is avoided. Properties of concrete and masonry walls, subject to fire exposure, are however negatively influenced. Concrete compressive strength is reduced depending on the aggregate choice. The strength of reinforcing bars is also reduced at elevated temperature, by an amount which strongly depends on the axis distance of the reinforcing bars from an edge of a cross section, too. The behaviour of a masonry wall depends on a masonry unit type and material, type of the mortar, the density of units, type of the wall construction, and applied surface finishes. In the present article we discuss basic principles of the design and assessment of various concrete and masonry fire walls and compare their effect - fire resistance period – depending on their thickness.

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1318-1328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Nahmias ◽  
Hervé Téphany ◽  
José Duarte ◽  
Sophie Letaconnoux

In the experimental work presented here, fire spread was studied through various laboratory and full-scale models containing different types of combustible and noncombustible materials. We have examined the dynamic behaviour of the flame front and the final state (after extinction) on randomly created heterogeneous zones, both with and without wind. The principal conclusion is that critical thresholds exist, for the ratio between combustible and noncombustible parts, at the transition between nonpropagation and propagation of the fire. This result is common to all types of spreading (with or without wind). The values of the critical thresholds in the nonwind-driven experiments are those of the percolation theory. The critical exponent, obtained for wind-driven experiments, is in accordance with current values suggested by the directed percolation approach.


2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. S168-S178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlota Monroy ◽  
Dulce Maria Bustamante ◽  
Sandy Pineda ◽  
Antonieta Rodas ◽  
Xochitl Castro ◽  
...  

The deterioration or absence of plaster walls in houses and poor hygienic conditions are the most important risk factors for indoor Triatoma dimidiata infestation in Guatemala. A cross-disciplinary study was conducted addressing T. dimidiata infestation, household hygiene, and housing construction. The study focused on local materials and cultural aspects (including gender roles) that could lead to long-term improvements in wall construction. A new plaster mix for walls was developed on the basis of laboratory studies on construction materials recommended by local villagers. Four villages with persistent (post-spraying) T. dimidiata infestation were studied. In two villages, an ecosystem approach was implemented, and the homeowners conducted wall improvements and household sanitation with the support of the interdisciplinary team (the ecosystem intervention). In the other two villages, a vector control approach based on insecticide spraying was adopted (traditional intervention). Both interventions were associated with a reduction in T. dimidiata infestation, but only the ecosystem approach produced important housing improvements (sanitation and wall construction) capable of preventing T. dimidiata re-infestation in the long term.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 647-654
Author(s):  
Ahmed A. Alfakhry

The traditional building in Iraq characterised by the using of a certain number of finishing's in external façades like cement plastering, limestone and perforated yellow brick because the raw materials of manufacturing are available locally. Fire spread through the facades is widely recognized as one of the fastest pathways of fire spreading in the buildings, so the appropriate choose of highly performance finishing material against fire will be potentially the main factor in controlling the fire and suppressed it. This study uses computer modeling and fire simulation technology of Pyrosim, FDS and smoke view to compare the difference between the performance of some traditional finishing materials like cement plastering, limestone and perforated yellow brick with the ACPs and their speed to transfer fire from floor to floor if used in multi storey buildings. The study highlighted that traditional finishing materials are more efficient than modern cladding materials and that the performance of ACP-PE is the worst among the materials examined by this study. Moreover, the cement plastering is the worst among the traditional local finishing materials.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatiha Imane Mahcar ◽  
Belkacem Takhi

Algeria has a rich urban and architectural heritage, which presents regional specificities. Once the ksour was a symbol of balance and perfect harmony with its environment, unfortunately today they no longer reflect their former function. The Ksourian architecture, including that of Laghouat is a prestigious heritage of high value; it is the testimony of genius knowledge and the capacity of their occupants to adapt to the difficult environment. The housing is considered the essential core of this architecture it represents the entire composition of the ksar, its design is inspired by the immediate environment and respects ancestral social values. It is characterized by a simple architecture and simple construction techniques which are based on the construction in load-bearing walls, the construction materials used are local materials of great resistance and less expensive. This study addresses the theme revaluation of heritage, particularly our case study ksar El-Haouita which has experienced a neglecting and depopulation due to several factors. The ksar El-Haouita is among the most famous ksour located in the south of Algeria and exactly in the region of Laghouat. It is built with simple materials and techniques of construction. The construction materials used are local materials like stones and lime found in the environmental surroundings of the ksar. The aim of this study is to identify the major causes of the degradation of ksar, also to preserve ksar El-Haouita through specific operations and to improve the tourist attractiveness of ksar El-Haouita in order to promote heritage, to convert it back into sustainable Saharan tourism. Our study based in the first place; on a theoretical underpinning which contains the notions that have a relation with our theme, the problematic and the envisaged objective, then a presentation of ksar followed by a morphological analysis accompanied by identification of the problems to identify the phenomena of damage and its disfigurement. The last step is to treat an aspect for the development of ksar, this aspect is devoted to the restitution of the defensive system (doors, ramparts, ramparts of houses and towers) of the ksar, through a diagnostic and several operations like (rehabilitation and reconstruction). The aim result of this study is to show that the revaluation of the ksar is a very vast operation and proposes interventions that allow the preservation of the ksar and also to understand the elements that help the success of interventions and to put some of the parameters considered as reference elements and basic principles for the operations on the ksar and among these operations it is (the case study, which is the restitution of the defensive system of ksar El-Haouita).


2020 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 08003
Author(s):  
Ivan Doroshin ◽  
Boris Zhadanovskiy ◽  
Ruben Kazaryan

Traditional and innovative ways of constructing temporary roads at a construction site are considered. The basic principles of the preparation of construction operations are given, which should be taken into account at this stage. Particular attention is paid to the preparation of the construction of the facility and preparation for the construction and installation works. The organization of designing construction roads, temporary and permanent, is considered. Methods for determining the parameters of construction roads are described. The main technical indicators of construction roads are given. Dangerous areas of the roads are indicated. The main purpose of the research is to generalize and systematize the modern ways of arrangement and operation of auto-roads on a construction site. For carrying out of the study the methodical and scientific literature on the subject was analyzed, and also the statistic methods of data investigation were used. The main results of the research is the accomplishment of estimation of expenses on arrangement of auto-roads, the indication of order of working out of design of the auto-roads, also the indication of necessity of use of permanent roads as temporary. The design of temporary and permanent construction roads is very important because of their greater use in comparison with railway transport and a great influence on the supply of construction materials.


1990 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 658-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Castaño ◽  
L. Martinez

We review our field investigations of construction materials which were initiated after the 1985 Mexico City earthquakes. We report observations on reinforcing steel samples collected in the ruins of collapsed buildings and describe the experiences in the production and testing of HSLA steel reinforcing bars with mechanical and metallurgical properties suitable for earthquake resistant construction. We review some aspects of the cement and concrete industries of Mexico before 1985 and present a description of the properties of polymer modified cements considering the potential not only for construction but for many other applications.


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