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Contents
1.
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
References .......................................................................................................................... 27
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
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1.
Introduction
1.1
On 20 April 2013, a Level 3 fire broke out at Tai Shing Street Market in Wong
Tai Sin. The fire (Figure 1) lasted for seven hours before the blaze was put out.
News reporting the incident are available at the following URLs:
Hong Kong Boardband: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkvD32BQX0U
(accessed: 4 October 2013)
Now TV: http://news.now.com/home/local/player?newsId=65700 (accessed: 4
October 2013)
As a result, the market had to be closed down temporarily, with more than 400
stalls being affected. The fire had caused substantial fire damage to the
structural elements to the market, including extensive concrete spalling of the rc
slab, and cracks on the beams, columns and walls, though the fire did not cause
severe damage to the external elevation (Figure 2).
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1.2
2.
The Site
2.1
Tai Shing Street Market, completed in 2001, is located within the compound of
Kai Tak Garden in Wong Tai Sin at the junction of Tai Shing Street and Choi
Hung Road (Figure 4). Kai Tak Garden (Figure 5) consists of two phases with
a total of five nos. of 26-36-storey residential blocks sitting on a common
podium (which serves as a garden for the residents of Kai Tak Garden (Figure
6)). The market is of two storeys situated underneath the common podium of
Kai Tak Garden Phase I with a single storey basement serving both the market
and Kai Tak Garden. The structural design of Kai Tak Garden Phase I was
prepared by Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd in 1995-96, and the developer was
Hong Kong Housing Society. Under the Government Lease, the market is
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owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government, and the podium is owned by the
Incorporated Owners of Kai Tak Garden. Food and Environmental Hygiene
Department (FEHD) is responsible for the daily management of the market,
and ArchSD is responsible for the maintenance of the market. Figure 7 gives a
schematic section across the compound showing the relationship of the market
and the residential blocks.
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The as-built architectural layout (at Appendix A) and structural framing plans
(at Appendix B) of the market have been retrieved, and the whole compound is
an rc construction with lateral stability provided by core walls. The market
itself is an rc framed structure with typical rectangular grid. Slabs are of
150mm thick spanning 3.417m on secondary beams of 750mm(D)500mm(B)
spanning 12.9m maximum. Primary beams are of 800mm(D)700mm(B) with
a maximum span of 10.25m. A FRR of 2 hours has been allowed in the original
design. The foundation of the whole compound is founded on driven steel Hpiles.
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3.
3.1
The fire occurred in the mid-night of 20.4.2013 on the dry goods area on 1/F of
the market, and was only put off in the afternoon of 21.4.2013. After the fire,
SSE/APB immediately visited the site to make a preliminary assessment of the
structural integrity of the building. As the fire occurred on 1/F, extensive
damage was caused to the underside of the podium (i.e. 2/F slabs and beams).
SSE/APB, after consulting the then CSE/1, advised PSM and the management
office to cordon off part of the podium in order to restrict the imposed load onto
the podium, and props were then installed on 1/F as temporary support to 2/F
slabs before restoration. Of course, the market was temporally closed.
3.2
The investigation team headed by the then CSE/1 arrived at the post-fire scene
in the afternoon of 22.4.2103. During an initial inspection (Figure 8), the
debris had not yet been removed and this provided very useful information on
the spread and severity of the fire. Spalling, the flaking of the concrete, the
formation of major cracks and the distortion of the construction were identified
so as to assess the structural integrity. As the concrete surfaces of the structure
were blackened and visibility in the absence of artificial lighting was poor, it
was difficult to ascertain the extent of damage. However, the investigation team
was still able to examining the most conspicuously damaged elements and
identifying the extent of damaged elements in order to give an indication of the
likely scale of the damage and the areas to be under detailed investigation.
3.3
In the initial inspection, SSE/APB also got the contact of fire fighting officers,
and this later served as a valuable and reliable source of information on the
history of the fire, e.g. where and when the fire started, the spread route of the
fire, whether flashover occurred, the length of time taken to fight the fire, the
operation of any automatic fire detection, and the degree of effort required to
fight the fire. Hence, in assessing fire damage, the contact point of the
responsible fire fighting officers should be obtained. Management office of Kai
Tak Garden was also contacted, and their witnesses gave information, such as
the severity of the fire, the damage to the podium, the length of time between
the fire being noted and the arrival of the fire brigade, etc.
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4.
Preliminary Assessment
4.1
An initial assessment of the gas temperature at the time of the fire was required
to determine:
(a) whether structural damage had been resulted; and
(b) whether detailed structural investigation was required.
4.2
Figure 9 Condition of fresh water pipes, drain pipes and air ducts after fire
4.3
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Substance
Examples
Paint
Polystyrene
Polyethylene
Polymethyl
methacrylate
PVC
Cellulose
wood
Solder lead
Zinc
Aluminium
and alloys
Glass
Silver
Brass
Bronze
Copper
Cast iron
Condition
Deteriorates Destroyed
Thin-wall food
containers, foam, light
shades, handles, curtain
hooks, radio casings
Bags, films, bottles,
buckets, pipes
Handles, covers,
skylights, glazing
Cables, pipes, ducts,
linings, profiles, handles,
knobs, house ware, toys,
bottles
Wood, paper, cotton
Plumber joints,
plumbing, sanitary
installations, toys
Sanitary installations,
gutters, downpipes
Fixtures, casings,
brackets, small
mechanical parts
Glazing, bottles
Jewellery, spoons,
cutlery
Locks, taps, door
handles, clasps
Windows, fittings,
doorbells, ornamentation
Wiring, cables,
ornaments
Radiators, pipes
Collapse
Softens
Melts and flows
Shrivels
Softens and melts
Softens
Bubbles
Degrades
Fumes
Browns
Charring
Darkens
Ignites
Melts
Melts, sharp edges rounded
Drop formation
Drop formations
Melt
Softens
Melts
Drop formation
Softens, sharp edges rounded
Flowing easily,
Viscous
Melts
Drop formation
Melts
Drop formation
Edges rounded
Drop formation
Melts
Melts
Drop formation
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4.4
4.4.1 Severe concrete spalling was found on some of the slabs, and minor concrete
spalling was also noted on walls and columns (Figure 11). SEBGL-OTH7
summarises detailed information on the causes of concrete spalling during a fire.
There are three common types of spalling, namely: explosive spalling,
aggregate spalling, and corner spalling (Concrete Society 2008)). Explosive
spalling occurs early in the fire (typically within the first 30 minutes) and
proceeds with a series of disruptions, each locally removing layers of shallow
depth. Aggregate spalling also occurring in the early stage, involves the
expansion and decomposition of the aggregate at the concrete surface causing
small pieces of the aggregate flying off the surface. Such type of spalling will
only result in superficial damage. Corner spalling occurs in the later stage of
the fire, and is due to tensile cracks developing at planes of weakness. However,
this type of spalling occurs in the later stage, when the concrete is already
significantly weakened, and will not usually affect structural performance.
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5.
Detailed Assessment
5.1
A detailed assessment programme was then devised to study the effect of fire to
the structural integrity of the market and to devise the repair proposals.
Moreover, as Tai Shing Market situated underneath Kai Tak Garden, which is
controlled by Buildings Department, the assessment will have to be submitted to
Buildings Department. The main steps of the assessment programme are listed
as follows:
1.
Measurement of the extent of damage
2.
Assessment of maximum temperature during the fire
3.
Computer modelling of the fire and its effect on the structure
4.
Preparation of the assessment report and repair proposals
It was expected that the assessment would take about two months to be
completed after the clearance of the debris from the site. SSE/APB therefore
advised the PSM, which coordinated with FEHD to inform the stall lessees of
the progress of the assessment and repair. Dr Y L WONG of The Hong Kong
Polytechnic University was also engaged to assess the maximum temperature
during the fire, and to prepare the submission to Buildings Department.
5.2
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and Figure 23(b) shows the colours of the polished surfaces. Though the
correlation of the colours and temperature could be improved, it was noted that
the crack densities increase with high temperatures. The relationship of crack
density and temperature may therefore worth further investigation.
Figure 23(b) Colours and cracks in polished sliced concrete samples with
temperature at Tai Shing Street Market
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5.4
Fire Modelling
5.4.1 With the colour image analysis, the maximum temperature at the most severe
fire-damaged areas was estimated. Site visits and measurements also gave
information on the history of and the spread rout of the fire, and the extent of
damage. However, the extent of damage by this fire was quite large, and it was
impractical to determine the maximum temperature of every structural member.
To aid the damage appraisal and the development of a cost-effective repair
schedule, a fire model using CFD method was therefore used to estimate the fire
intensity (gas temperature) and the resultant approximate isothermal surfaces.
Consultation and discussion with Fire Services Department confirmed the
ignition point of and spread route of the fire. Photos taken during the initial
inspection formed vital part in the modelling, as these photos gave rough idea of
the fire load on the spread rout of the fire. The observations during the initial
inspection were very useful in validating the fire model, as the results should
tally with the observations in terms of the spread and the maximum gas
temperature.
5.4.2 A zone model (Figure 24) using CFAST was built, and each compartment was
divided using a system of differential equations that express the conservation of
mass and energy, assuming valid the ideal gas law and defining the density and
the internal energy. Figure 25 shows the results of the fire modelling, which
tallies with the spread route as per the information from Fire Services
Department. Moreover, the maximum fire temperatures predicted by the model
also tally with the damage to the market.
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6.
6.1
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6.1.2 Besides correlating the strength of concrete and steel reinforcement using the
colour image analysis and the computer modelling, tests were carried out to
determine residual strength of concrete and steel reinforcement by respectively
compressive tests on concrete cores from the fire-damaged zone and tensile tests
on steel reinforcement. However, it should be noted that strength tests on cores
suffer a major limitation that they average the strength of concrete throughout
the core, which may contain both damaged and undamaged concrete. Table 3
summarizes the results of these tests.
6.2
Moreover, Schmidt hammer tests on the concrete surface had been carried out.
Though the tests could not provide accurate measurements of the concrete
residual strength, they provided a first, quick monitoring of the severity of the
effect of fire on a concrete structure, and allowed engineers to recognise the
most impaired parts of a member. Furthermore, in the case of concrete
members with thermal gradients, Felicetti (2005) found that the hammer tests at
the heated surface can indicate the average strength of the concrete located at
about 15 to 25 mm depth.
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Elongation %
23
31
20
25
33
32
25
29
28
28
28
7.
Structural Appraisal
7.1
Table 3 shows that the average strengths of the cores of rc slabs and beams are
39.7MPa and 31.0MPa respectively, which are greater than the original concrete
strength of 30MPa. The residual concrete strength of fire damaged structures
demonstrates that effect of the fire is minimal to the structural adequacy of
existing structures. The minimum cube strength of 24.5MPa from one
individual sample was then adopted to check the structural adequacy of the
existing concrete slabs and beams within the fire damaged area.
7.2
For corewall and columns within the fire damaged area, an average strength of
40MPa was obtained from samples from the rc core walls, which is slightly
lower than the original design strength of 45MPa. Since concrete core samples
were retrieved from the outer layer of core wall (less than 100mm from
concrete face) on 1/F and the fire effect is usually limited to the surface
zone, the result is expected. Hammer rebound test on all existing structural
elements including rc core wall and columns were also conducted. The results
of all these hammer rebound tests show that the correlated concrete strength is
over 50MPa. Thus, it was concluded that residual concrete strength of lower
than 45MPa was only localised at the surface zone.
7.3
For the selected reinforcement bars, it was found that the average yield strength
is about 473MPa, which is higher than the original strength of 460MPa.
Average measured elongation at the tensile strength of the selected samples of
about 27% shows that the reinforcement after the fire performs more ductile,
compared with 12% specified in BS 4449.
7.4
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8.
Repair Proposals
8.1
Given the fact that there were locations with severe damage to the slabs, the
most cost effective solution at these locations should be partial demolition
followed by recast. However, this would seriously affect the continuous
operation of the market on 1/F and G/F, and the podium above. Repair was
therefore adopted. The following information was required:
the extent of breaking out of fire damaged concrete and removal of fire
damaged steel reinforcement;
requirements for preparation of concrete surfaces that are to receive
repair concrete, including special requirements to prevent feathered
edges;
details of new steel reinforcement including lap length and splicing with
original bars, mechanical anchorage, cover etc;
any fabric reinforcement or wire mesh that may be required to hold the
repair concrete in place in the temporary condition, including means of
supporting the fabric/wire mesh and the required concrete cover; and
the thickness and the properties of the repair materials.
8.2
Based on the extent of damage, the following three methods were use to repair
the damaged areas:
(a)
Areas with damage limited to the concrete surface zone: the damaged
concrete removed followed by patch repair by using repair mortar;
(b)
Areas with cracks, where the concrete had been heated up to 500oC:
removal of the damaged surface to a depth of about 15-20mm followed by
spraying (Figure 28);
(c)
To provide the required key of the repair material to the existing concrete, all
concrete surfaces after removal of damaged concrete should be roughened.
Appendix C shows the details of the above repair proposals. Figure 30 shows
the repaired soffits with BS installed.
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9.
Concluding Remark
Reinforced concrete structures have a very good fire resistance. Fire-damaged
concrete members can therefore be repaired by inexpensive repair methods.
This paper has demonstrated the procedures to assess the damage and the
residual load carrying capacity by combining site inspections, investigations,
testing combined with computer simulation and design calculation for a fire
damaged structure at Tai Shing Street Market.
References
Felicetti, R (2005), TR 1/05: New NDT Techniques for the Assessment of Fire
Damaged RC Structures (Milano: Politecnico di Milano).
Concrete Society (1978), TR 15: Assessment of fire-damaged concrete
structures and repair by gunite (Camberley: Concrete Society).
Concrete Society (2008), TR 68: Assessment, design and repair of fire-damaged
concrete structure (Camberley: Concrete Society).
Felicetti, R (2004), Digital-camera colorimetry for the assessment of firedamaged concrete, Proceedings of the Workshop: Fire Design of Concrete
Structures, Milan, 2-3 December 2004, pp. 21120.
Hager, I (2013), Colour Change in Heated Concrete, Fire Technology, 49, pp.
1-14.
IStructE (2000), Appraisal of existing structures (London: IStructE, 3rd ed.).
Gosain, N K, Drexler, R E and Choudhuri, D (2008), Evaluation and repair of
fire-damaged buildings, Structure Magazine, September, pp. 18-22.
Lin, D F, Wang, H Y and Luo, H L (2004), Assessment of fire-damaged
mortar using digital image process, Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering,
16(4), pp. 383-6.
Short, N R, Purkiss, J A and Guise, S E (2001), Assessment of fire damaged
concrete using colour image analysis, Construction and Building Materials,
15(1), pp. 9-15.
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Appendix A
Architectural Layout of Kai Tak Garden Phase I
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Basement Plan
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G/F Plan
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1/F Plan
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Appendix B
Structural Framing Plans of Kai Tak Garden Phase I
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Appendix C
Drawings for Repair Works
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