Structures in Fire: Using Computational Modeling to Design Structures for Fire Safety

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Structural engineers use computational modeling to design structures for gravity, wind, and earthquake-induced forces, but often rely on empirical rules for fire design. Yet, using computational models that simulate the fire development and its effect on the materials and structures enable creating buildings that are better able to withstand fire, as well as understanding newly introduced fire hazards as innovation precedes building codes. In this presentation, we will explore how we characterize and model new materials at elevated temperature, how we simulate accidental fire scenarios, and how we calculate the stability of structures subjected to these scenarios with finite element modeling. We will discuss how assessing explicitly the performance of structures in fire can contribute to solving challenges of architectural heritage, sustainability, and resilience.