A performance-based approach for evaluating fire resistance of prestressed concrete double T-beams

The current approach for evaluating fire resistance of prestressed concrete (PC) members is through prescriptive-based methods and this approach has several drawbacks. To overcome these drawbacks, a performance-based methodology is applied to evaluate the fire resistance of PC beams under realistic fire, loading, and restraint scenarios. A numerical analysis is carried out to study the effect of various factors governing the fire resistance of PC double T-beams. In the analysis, high-temperature material properties, various load and restraint levels, and material and geometric nonlinearities are accounted for, as well as realistic criteria applied to determine failure. Results from the analysis indicate that fire scenario, load level, and failure criterion have a significant influence on the fire resistance of PC double T-beams. The steps involved in undertaking a performance-based fire design are outlined.