Loadbearing capacity criteria in fire resistance testing

The European system for fire testing and classification of loadbearing building elements lacks consistency because the two standards that have to be applied prescribe different criteria for assessing the loadbearing performance. This article analyzes the implications of the present conflict between the standard for testing and the standard for classification. The prescribed criteria for loadbearing performance are related to the exceedance of deflection and rate of deflection thresholds. A database of 46 fire resistance tests performed at the University of Liege is collected that contains the time at which these thresholds are reached in fire tests with different typologies of elements (walls, floors, columns and beams). Then, the loadbearing performance (and hence the fire resistance rating) can be derived according to the two standards. The evolutions of deflection and rate of deflection during the tests are also analyzed to gain a better understanding of the adequacy of the standards. The selection of one or the other standard affects the time at which “failure” is deemed to occur in fire tests. Statistically speaking, the difference in terms of failure time that results from using one or the other standard has a 25% probability to exceed 10%. In certain cases, this results in a difference in fire resistance rating; this was observed for 3 of the analyzed tests. The apparent contradiction in two codes in application has potential practical implications and therefore needs to be solved. The article suggests some guidelines for defining homogenized and consistent criteria.