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Abstract: Results from an experimental program on the behaviour of high strength concrete-filled steel hollow
structural section (HSS) columns will be presented for three types of concrete filling. A comparison will be made of
the fire-resistance performance of HSS columns filled with normal strength concrete, high strength concrete, and steel-
fibre-reinforced high strength concrete. The various factors that influence the structural behaviour of high strength
concrete-filled HSS columns under fire conditions are discussed. It is demonstrated that, in many cases, addition of
steel fibres into high strength concrete improves the fire resistance and offers an economical solution for fire-safe
construction.
Key words: high strength concrete, steel columns, fire-resistance design, high-temperature behaviour, concrete-filled
steel columns.
Résumé : Les résultats d’un programme expérimental sur le comportement de colonnes en acier (HSS) dont la section
vide est remplie de béton à haute résistance, sont présentés et ce, pour trois types de béton de remplissage. Une
comparaison de la résistance au feu est faite pour des colonnes remplies avec du béton à résistance normale, du béton
à haute résistance ou du béton à haute résistance renforcé de fibre. Les différents facteurs qui influencent le
comportement structural des colonnes HSS remplies de béton à haute résistance sous des conditions d’incendie sont
discutés. Il est démontré que, dans de nombreux cas, l’ajout de fibres au béton à haute résistance améliore la résistance
au feu et offre une solution économique pour obtenir une construction sécuritaire en cas d’incendie.
Mots clés : béton à haute résistance, colonnes en acier, conception de résistance au feu, comportement à haute
température, colonnes en acier remplies de béton.
[Traduit par la Rédaction] Kodur 981
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50 collapse
-60
-70
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
Time (h)
Fig. 2. Elevation and cross section of columns (a) NSC1, Fig. 3. End plate connection details for the columns.
(b) HFC1, (c) NSC2, and (d) HSC1.
(a) (b) (c) (d)
13 mm
for concrete-filled steel columns when used in buildings, is construction, varied from 38 to 42 MPa for normal strength
intended to prevent the bursting of the column under steam concrete and 82 to 98 MPa for high strength concrete.
pressure generated by the heating of entrapped water in the The moisture condition at the centre of the column was
enclosed concrete. also measured on the day of the test. The moisture condition
Type K chromel–alumel thermocouples, with a thickness of columns HSC1 and HFC1 was approximately equivalent
of 0.91 mm, were installed at the mid-height of the column to that in equilibrium with air of 55% and 69% relative hu-
to measure the temperature at different locations in the cross midity (RH) at room temperature, whereas for columns
section. The locations of the thermocouples and other instru- NSC1 and NSC2 it was, with air, above 90% RH.
mentation details are described in detail in Lie and Chabot
(1992) and Kodur and Lie (1995b). Test apparatus
The tests were carried out by exposing the columns to
heat in a furnace specially built for testing loaded columns.
Concrete mix The furnace consists of a steel framework supported by four
XOREX steel fibres were used as reinforcement in col- steel columns, with the furnace chamber inside the frame-
umn HFC1. These fibres are made of mild carbon steel with work. The test furnace was designed to produce conditions,
a tensile strength of approximately 960 MPa. The corrugated such as temperature, structural loads, and heat transfer, to
shape of these fibres provides a strong mechanical bond to which a member might be exposed during a fire. The fur-
the concrete. The fibres were 50 mm long and 0.9 mm nace has a loading capacity of 1000 t. Full details on the
equivalent diameter and had an aspect ratio of 57. The per- characteristics and instrumentation of the column furnace
centage of steel fibres in the concrete mix was 1.77% by are provided in Lie (1980).
mass.
Four batches of concrete were used for fabricating the col- Test conditions and procedures
umns. Concrete in batches 1 and 2 was made with general The tests were carried out with both ends of the columns
purpose type 10 Portland cement, whereas batches 3 and 4 fixed, i.e., restrained against rotation and horizontal transla-
had silica fume added as well. All four concrete batches tion. The columns were subjected to a concentric load. The
contained carbonate stone and silica-based sand. The mix applied load (C), the factored compressive resistances of the
proportions, per cubic metre of concrete, in the four batches column (Crc), and the concrete core (Cr′) are given in Ta-
are shown in Table 1. ble 2. The factored compressive resistance was computed
For the mix with steel fibre, the steel fibres were added to using an effective length factor (K) of 0.65, for the fixed end
the fresh concrete and mixed for approximately 2 min to condition, as recommended in CSA/CAN-S16.1-M89 of the
provide uniform dispersion of the steel fibres. The concrete Canadian Design Code (CSA 1989). The load intensity, de-
was poured into the column through the top opening and vi- fined as the ratio of the applied load to the column resis-
brators were used to consolidate the concrete. The 28-day tance, varied slightly from one column to the other.
average cylinder strength varied from 35 to 43 MPa for nor- The load was applied approximately 45 min before the
mal strength concrete and was approximately 90 MPa for start of the fire test and was maintained until a condition
high strength concrete. The corresponding compressive was reached at which no further increase of the axial defor-
strength on the test day, which was 6 months or more after mation could be measured. This was selected as the initial
Table 1 (concluded).
Compressive strength
Silica Fly ash Water Water/cement (MPa)
Batch fume (kg/m3) (kg/m3) ratio Superplasticizer Retarding admixture 28 day Test day
1 — — 161 0.37 Mighty 150 Master Builders 100 XR 43.0 42.7
2 — — 161 0.37 Mighty 150 Master Builders 100 XR 35.9 38.2
3 30 — 135 0.25 Mighty 150 None 90.5 82.2
4 50 — 140 0.26 Daracem 100 Daratard 17 90.1 98.1
Fig. 4. Temperature at various depths for columns NSC2 and HSC1 as a function of exposure time.
1200
Standard Furnace Temperature
1000
Temperature (oC)
Column NSC2
column surface
800 Column HSC1
600
400
33 mm depth
200
98 mm depth
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time (min)
condition for the axial deformation of the column. During are not identical, the results can be used to illustrate the
the test, the column was exposed to heating controlled in comparative behaviour of the three types of concrete filling.
such a way that the average temperature in the furnace fol- The effect of concrete strength on the behaviour of concrete-
lowed, as closely as possible, the CAN/ULC-S101 (ULC filled HSS columns is illustrated by comparing the data from
1989) or ASTM E119-88 (ASTM 1990) standard time–tem- columns NSC2 and HSC1, and the effect of steel fibre rein-
perature curve. The load was maintained constant through- forcement in high strength concrete is illustrated by compar-
out the test. The columns were considered to have failed and ing the test data of columns NSC1 and HFC1.
the tests were terminated when the hydraulic jack, which has
a maximum speed of 76 mm/min, could no longer maintain Behaviour of high strength concrete
the load. The time–temperature curves for the external column sur-
face and for depths of 33 and 98 mm in the concrete are
plotted in Fig. 4 for columns NSC2 and HSC1. For both col-
Results and discussion umns, the temperatures inside the column rise rapidly to
The test data from the four columns, NSC1, NSC2, HSC1, about 150°C and then the rate of increase of temperature de-
and HFC1, are compared in this section. The load intensity creases. This temperature behaviour is due to the thermally
(C/Crc) in columns NSC2 and HSC1 was 0.26 and the corre- induced migration of moisture toward the centre of the col-
sponding values for columns NSC1 and HFC1 were 0.36 umn (Chabot and Lie 1992). The influence of moisture mi-
and 0.3, respectively. These load levels represent typical gration is highest at the centre of the column.
loads that are encountered in columns under a fire situation. The failure of column NSC2 occurred when the tempera-
Although the load intensities for columns NSC1 and HFC1 ture at the centre of the concrete core was approximately
Fig. 5. Axial deformation of columns NSC2 and HSC1 as a function of exposure time.
30
20
Column NSC2
Axial deformation (mm)
10
Column HSC1
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Time (min)
Size of HSS Factored resistance (kN) Test load Load intensity Fire resistance
Column (mm) Cr′ Crc C (kN) C/Cr′ C/Crc (min)
NSC1 219.1×4.78 699 1551 560 0.80 0.36 108
NSC2 273.1×6.35 947 2689 712 0.75 0.26 144
HSC1 273.1×6.35 2291 4023 1050 0.46 0.26 48
HFC1 219.1×4.78 1184 2032 600 0.50 0.30 174
300°C. The corresponding temperature at the centre of the In Table 2, a comparison of the fire-resistance values for
concrete core for the high strength concrete-filled column, the columns is shown. The fire resistance (48 min) of the
HSC1, was about 100°C. This variation in core temperature high strength concrete-filled steel column (HSC1) is much
at the failure of the columns can be attributed to the differ- less than the fire resistance (144 min) of the normal strength
ences in mechanical properties of the normal strength and concrete-filled column (NSC2).
high strength concrete.
For both columns, the reduction in the compressive Behaviour of fibre-reinforced high strength concrete
strength of the concrete with temperature, together with The fire-resistance behaviour of high strength concrete
cracking in the concrete core, contributed to failure. How- can be improved by adding steel fibres to the concrete mix.
ever, this reduction in strength with temperature starts only The time–temperature curves for a normal strength concrete-
after about 300–350°C for normal strength concrete. In the filled steel column (NSC1) and a fibre-reinforced high
case of high strength concrete, the reduction in compressive strength concrete-filled steel column (HFC1) are shown in
strength with temperature is significant even at temperatures Fig. 6 at various concrete depths. The temperatures follow
around 200°C and excessive cracking occurs in the concrete similar trends in both concrete cores. However, at the centre
core. Hence, the column has a lower fire-resistance rating. of the column, the temperature in column NSC1 is slightly
The variation in axial deformation with time for columns less than that for HFC1.
NSC2 and HSC1 is shown in Fig. 5. As expected, both col- The failure of column NSC1 occurs when the temperature
umns expand, in the initial stages, with the expansion of the near the centre reaches about 350°C, whereas the failure in
steel section and then contract, leading to failure. The defor- column HFC1 does not occur until the temperature reaches
mation results from several factors such as load, thermal ex- about 600°C. This can be attributed to the superior mechani-
pansion, water vapour pressure in concrete, and creep. While cal properties of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete. There is
the effect of load, water vapour pressure, and thermal expan- very little information on the properties of steel-fibre-
sion is significant in the early stages, the effect of creep be- reinforced high strength concrete, however, studies on steel-
comes pronounced in the later stages. fibre-reinforced normal strength concrete have shown that
The results shown in Fig. 5 indicate that the deformation the compressive strength increases with temperature up to
behaviour is influenced by the strength of concrete inside about 400°C (Lie and Kodur 1996b).
the HSS section. For column NSC2, the failure is by gradual The improved performance in column HFC1 can further
contraction, whereas for column HSC1 it is by sudden con- be seen in Fig. 7, which shows the axial deformation as a
traction. This can be attributed to the brittle nature of high function of time for columns NSC1 and HFC1. The defor-
strength concrete. mation behaviour of the fibre-reinforced high strength con-
Fig. 6. Temperature at various depths for columns NSC1 and HFC1 as a function of exposure time.
1200
Standard Furnace Temperature
1000
600
26 mm depth
400
Column NSC1
Column HFC1
200
105 mm depth
(centre)
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Time (min)
Fig. 7. Axial deformation of columns NSC1 and HFC1 as a function of exposure time.
30
20
Column NSC1
Axial deformation (mm)
10
Column HFC1
0
-10
-20
-30
-40
-50
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Time (min)
Fig. 8. Effect of concrete filling on the fire resistance of hollow steel columns.
NSC2
HSC1
HFC1
NSC1
High strength concrete
Plain concrete
High strength fibre reinforced concrete
Time (min)
crete-filled steel column, HFC1, is similar, during the early (1) Concrete filling offers an attractive alternative for pro-
stages of the test, to that of the normal strength concrete- ducing fire resistance in HSS columns.
filled steel column NSC1. At the later stages, column HFC1 (2) The behaviour of high strength concrete-filled steel col-
performs better than column NSC1, since the presence of umns is significantly different from that of normal
steel fibres enhanced the ductility of column HFC1. Al- strength concrete-filled HSS columns.
though the lower load intensity on column HFC1 contrib- (3) The fire-resistance rating of high strength concrete-
uted to an increased fire resistance to some extent, much of filled HSS columns can be significantly improved by
the contribution is from the presence of steel fibres in the adding steel fibre reinforcement to concrete.
high strength concrete.
The fire-resistance values of normal strength, high
strength, and high strength fibre-reinforced concrete-filled
columns are compared in Fig. 8. The variation in fire resis- ASTM. 1990. Standard methods of fire tests on building construc-
tance from one column to another can be attributed to the tion and materials. Standard ASTM E119-88, American Society
different types of concrete filling in the columns. The fire for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, Pa.
resistance of the high strength fibre-reinforced concrete- Chabot, M., and Lie, T.T. 1992. Experimental studies on the fire
filled columns is much higher than that of all other columns resistance of hollow steel columns filled with bar-reinforced
tested. This indicates that, for high strength concrete appli- concrete. Institute for Research in Construction, National Re-
cations, adequate fire resistance can be obtained by adding search Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ont., IRC Internal Report
No. 628.
fibre reinforcement to concrete.
CSA. 1989. Limit states design of steel structures. Standard
By adding fibres, the load-carrying capacity of the mem-
CAN/CSA-S16.1-M89, Canadian Standards Association,
ber also increases to a certain degree. The additional cost in Rexdale, Ont.
the case of fibre-reinforced concrete-filled columns, over the Kodur, V.K.R. 1998. Design equations for evaluating fire resis-
cost of concrete, is the cost of the steel fibres. Since there tance of SFRC-filled steel columns. ASCE Journal of Structural
are no additional fire-protection costs for the steel, this can Engineering, 124(6): 671–677.
offer an economical solution for obtaining a required fire- Kodur, V.K.R., and Lie, T.T. 1995a. Fire performance of concrete-
resistance rating where fire resistance governs the design. filled hollow steel columns. Journal of Fire Protection Engi-
neering, 7(3): 89–98.
Kodur, V.K.R., and Lie, T.T. 1995b. Experimental studies on the
fire resistance of circular hollow steel columns filled with steel-
The main objective of the experimental studies, such as fibre-reinforced concrete. Institute for Research in Construction,
those described above, is to generate fire-resistance data for National Research Council, Ottawa, Ont., IRC Internal Report
immediate use by the construction industry. These studies No. 691.
also provide information for the development of general Kodur, V.K.R., and Lie, T.T. 1996. Fire resistance of circular steel
methods of calculating fire resistance of concrete-filled steel columns filled with fibre-reinforced concrete. ASCE Journal of
columns. Structural Engineering, 122(7): 776–782.
Experimental and theoretical studies have been completed Lie, T.T. 1980. New facility to determine fire resistance of col-
for normal strength concrete-filled steel columns, and com- umns. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 7(3): 551–558.
puter programs (Lie 1994; Kodur and Lie 1996) have been Lie, T.T. 1994. Fire resistance of circular steel columns filled with
developed for predicting the fire resistance of these columns. bar-reinforced concrete. ASCE Journal of Structural Engi-
At present, work is at an advanced stage in the development neering, 120(5): 1489–1509.
of material properties, namely thermal, mechanical, and de- Lie, T.T., and Chabot, M. 1992. Experimental studies on the fire
formation properties, for high strength concrete and steel- resistance of hollow steel columns filled with plain concrete. In-
stitute for Research in Construction, National Research Council
fibre-reinforced high strength concrete. These properties will
of Canada, Ottawa, Ont., IRC Internal Report No. 611.
be incorporated into the existing computer programs and the
Lie, T.T., and Kodur, V.K.R. 1996a. Fire resistance of steel col-
programs will be upgraded by incorporating other factors umns filled with bar-reinforced concrete. ASCE Journal of
that influence the behaviour of high strength concrete-filled Structural Engineering, 121(1): 30–36.
HSS columns. Lie, T.T., and Kodur, V.K.R. 1996b. Thermal and mechanical prop-
These computer programs will be used to develop design erties of steel-fibre-reinforced concrete at elevated temperatures.
equations which can be used in the normal course of struc- Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 23(2): 511–517.
tural design. A designer can arrive at a desired fire- Phan, L.T. 1996. Fire performance of high-strength concrete: a re-
resistance value by varying different parameters. The use of port of the state-of-the-art. National Institute of Standards and
computer programs can lead to an optimum design that is Technology, Gaithersburg, Md.
not only economical but also based on rational design prin- Prion, H.G.L., and Baraka, M. 1994. Thin-walled tubes filled with
ciples. high strength concrete. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering,
21(1): 207–218.
ULC. 1989. Standard methods of fire endurance tests of building
construction and materials. Standard CAN/ULC-S101-M89, Un-
Based on the information presented, the following conclu- derwriters’ Laboratories of Canada, Scarborough, Ont.
sions can be drawn: