ASSESSMENT OF FLEXURAL BEHAVIOUR OF RC ELEMENTS EXPOSED TO FIRE

Abstract

Fire as a man-made hazard is gaining much interest in the research community now-a-days. The usage of numerical techniques for predicting the behaviour of structure gives a decent understanding of the response of the structures. In this study a 3D FEM analysis is carried out on a reinforced concrete beam. The FEM package used in his study is Abaqus V.6.9. During this study emphasis is laid upon evaluating the effect of sequencing on the beam. For this, the beam is preloaded in the vertical direction and thermal stress analysis is carried out on the resultant beam. Sequentially coupled thermal stress analysis is used for simulating the behaviour under fire. Residual strength analysis is carried out on the resulted beam after thermal stress analysis. Sequentially coupled thermal stress analysis refers to carrying out stress and deformation independent heat transfer analysis followed by a stress analysis due to preceding thermal gradients. Validation of results with experiments performed on beam at lITR is done. The difference between simple super-position and sequential analysis is studied in depth and is reported in this study.