Yash Report
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SEMINAR REPORT
ON
Dr. A. V. NAVALE
[2024-25]
SANGAMNER-422608
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the seminar entitled
Date:
Place: AVCOE, Sangamner.
Dr. A. V. NAVALE Dr. S. B. KANDEKAR
Seminar Guide Head of Dept. (Civil Engg.)
REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that,
Student of Third Year Engineering was examined in the seminar work entitled
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is great pleasure to express gratitude to the people who have rendered valuable help in
completing the dissertation on “ REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING
TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED CONCRETE BUILDINGS”
I earnestly express my sincere thanks to my guide Dr. A. V. Navle for his valuable help,
guidance and hints which they gave me during the completion of dissertation. Of course, more
words will not fully to express my gratitude towards him.
I highly obliged to entire staff of Civil Engineering and my friends for their kind co- operation,
help & encouragement me to carry out this dissertation work.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
ABSTRACT
Rehabilitation of fire affected concrete structures is the process of increasing strength
of the structures damaged during the event of fire. After the incident of fire, buildings
are in bad condition. The severity of the damage depends upon the duration, magnitude
and temperature attained by fire.
After fire is extinguished, the strength of concrete structure decreases and sometimes
building is not able to withstand after the fire load and it may collapse anytime.
Therefore rehabilitation of such buildings is very much essential.
In this study efforts are taken to find out suitable method for rehabilitation. This is done
by considering three basic categories that is condition evaluation, decision making,
Rehabilitation and Retrofitting. Among these the Rehabilitation and Retrofitting
techniques are explained in this study.
Assessment of fire damaged building is done for effective decision making. Behaviour
of various materials is during fire is checked, after feasibility study the effective
technique is selected for Rehabilitation.
Following are some techniques of rehabilitation of fire affected concrete structures after
the fire damaged.
1. Cleaning
2. Removal of smoke odour.
3. Rehabilitation of non-structural members.
4. Retrofitting of structural members.
a. Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP)
b. Partial removal and replacement of concrete and reinforcement.
c. Partial replacement of concrete.
d. Steel jacketing
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
INDEX
III
REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
LIST OF FIGURES
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 History
The events related to September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the world trade center
(WTC) complex in New York were the dominant fire and collapse events of this survey
(represented as 4 separate incidents). The extent of the tragedy and devastation on this
day were unprecedented. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) report
(FEMA 403) published in May, 2002, is a notable reference that provides an excellent
overview of the day’s chronology and each of the directly affected structural steel
building (WTC 1, WTC 2, WTC 5, WTC 7). On September 11, 2001 the 5 story Pentagon
building in Washington, DC, was also struck by a hijacked aircraft, resulting in extensive
damage and fire.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
The Pentagon was constructed between 1941 and 1943 0f hardened, cast-in-place
reinforced concrete. The Pentagon building performance report was released in
February, 2003 by ASCE/SEI. Among the other prior fire events of interest, Sao Paulo
experienced one of the biggest fires in Brazil on May 21, 1987, which precipitated a
substantial partial collapse of the central core of the CESP building 2, see figure 1. This
was a 21-story office building, headquarters of the Sao Paulo Power Company (CESP).
Buildings 1 and 2 of this office complex were both constructed of reinforced concrete
framing, with ribbed slab floors.
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Background
Many books, journals and articles have been written over different aspects of fire
damage buildings e.g. evaluation of fire damaged buildings, NDTs for fire damaged
buildings, rehabilitation of fire damaged buildings, retrofitting of structures subjected
to high temperatures etc. Many Studies and researches have been doneon various
aspects too. But still a crying need have been felt for a structured studythat takes
care of matter right from the beginning (evaluation) and encompass the whole process
till the very end (rehabilitation and retrofitting measures).
Rehabilitation and retrofitting techniques for fire affected concrete structures is the
process of strengthening of fire affected concrete structures without doing complete
or partial demolition of structure or constructing a new structure.
Fire is one of the most severe hazards that building structures may experience during
their lifetime. If structure is damaged due to an incident of fire then it is necessary to
rehabilitate the structure immediately with proper and suitable technique or method.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
We are all aware of the damage that fire can cause in terms of loss of life, homes and
livelihoods. A study of 16 industrialized nations (13 in Europe plus the USA, Canadaand
Japan) found that, in a typical year, the number of people killed by fires was 1 to2 per
100000, inhabitants and the total cost of fire damage amounted to 0.2% to 0.3% of
GNP. In the USA specifically, statistics collected by the National Fire Protection
Association (USA) for the year 2000 showed that more than 4000 deaths, over 100000
injuries and more than $10bn of property damaged were caused by fire. Because of the
incident of fire damaged to buildings we lose many livelihoods and a valuable property
also therefore it is essential to study on rehabilitation techniques for these fire affected
concrete structures.
When a building or concrete structure is affected by fire then it loses its strength and
becomes weak in bearing load of structure or load on structures. Because of which it
may collapse anytime which causes more losses of lives also. Hence it is very essential
to study and practiced the methods and Rehabilitation techniques for fire affected
damaged concrete structures.
The various methods and rehabilitation are used to repair the fire affected concrete
structures.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
CHAPTER-2
LITERATURE STUDY
P.Shriniwasan, A.Cinitha, Vimal Mohan, and Nagesh, LYER (2014) Senior principal, CSIR
Structural Engineering Research centre, Director, CSIR Structural engineering research
centre. National conference on fire, research and engineering, Uttarakhand march 01-
02-2014
Concrete is widely used for the construction of infrastructures such as buildings, bridges,
cooling towers chimneys, industrial and other numerical structures. Fire is one of the
most destructive accidental loads that a structure can be subjected during its lifetime.
The amount of damage caused will depend mainly on the severity and the duration.
The physical properties of concrete and the reinforcing steel are modified by the
temperature and duration. Rehabilitation of the fire damaged structures normally
preferred than demolishing and rebuilding.
Haddad et al(2007) [59] proposed several repair techniques for restoring the structural
capacity of heat-damaged high strength reinforced concrete shallow beams using
advanced composites. A series of 16 under-reinforced concrete hidden beams were cast,
heated at 600°C for 3 h, repaired, and then tested under fourpoint-loading. Tests were
conducted to study the effectiveness of externally applied composite materials on
increasing the flexural capacity of beams. The composites used include high strength
fiber reinforced concrete jackets; ferrocement laminates; and high-strength fiber glass
sheets. The beams repaired with steel and high performance polypropylene fiber
reinforced concrete jackets regained up to 108 and 99% of the control beams’ ultimate
load capacity, with a corresponding increase in stiffness of up to 104 and 98%,
respectively. The beams repaired with fiber glass sheets and ferrocement meshes
regained up to 126 and 99% of the control beams’ ultimate load capacity, with a
corresponding increase in stiffness of up to 160 and 156%, respectively. Most of the
beams repaired showed a typical flexural failure with very fine and well distributed
hairline cracks in the constant moment region.
Chow (2002) [60] proposed a Fire Safety Ranking System for assessing the fire safety
provisions in existing high-rise nonresidential buildings in Hong Kong. The objective is
to investigate how far the fire safety provisions in those existing buildings deviate
from the expectation of new codes. Suitable fire safety management can then be worked
out in the transition period, based on the scores. Local fire codes were reviewed first to
decide what should be the attributes and their weightings. Fromthe reviewing results,
three groups of attributes were proposed. These are the
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
passive building construction, active fire protection systems (fire services installation)
and key risk parameters, all following the local fire safety requirements.
Ufuk in 2007 [61] summarized an engineering evaluation of the extent of fire damage
to a concrete structure under construction. The fire occurred in a portion of the
reinforced concrete structure and visibly damaged a load bearing exterior foundation
wall. The purpose of the assessment was to promptly evaluate the in situ condition of
the wall and recommend necessary repair or replacement options prior to
commencement of backfilling and the concrete construction to be supported bythe
subject wall.
Xin et ai in 2007 [62] developed an assessment method for fire-damaged high strength
concrete (HSC) structures that is convenient for postfire repair. The effectsof concrete
strength and aggregate type on the postfire residual compressive strength of HSC
were studied. Subsequently, the changes in durability and microstructures were
investigated by the rapid chloride-ion penetrability test, the mercury intrusion
porosimetry test, and scanning electron microscopy observation.
Elghazouli and Izzuddin in 2004 [63] studied the behavior of lightly reinforced concrete
members under fire conditions, focusing on the failure state associated with rupture
of the reinforcement. The work transpires from the need to examinethe underlying
mechanisms related to the failure of composite floor slabs, which become effectively
lightly reinforced in a fire situation due to the early loss of the steel deck.
Tan and Yae in 2003 [64] developed a method to predict fire resistance of RC columns.
Until now, the determination of fire resistance of reinforced concrete columns has
essentially been based on tabulated data. Both uniaxial and biaxial bending of columns
is considered. The computer code SAFIR, developed at the University of Liege, was used
to analyze reported experimental results and to simulate the deformation response.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
CHAPTER-3
METHODOLOGY
After the incident of fire, the buildings are in bad condition. The severity of the damaged
depends upon the duration, magnitude and temperature attained by fire. After fire is
extinguished, building has to be immediately investigated to decide that;is it safe to
enter the building and can building withstand after the fire load, without being
progressively collapsed. After structure is secured, it is ready to be properly assessed.
The condition assessment requirements, techniques (field tests, laboratory testing etc.),
methodology for data management of collected data will be discussedin this chapter.
Buildings are consisting of construction materials that vary in nature from one another.
The very nature of each material is specific to its physical properties, chemical
properties and behavior of material, when exposed to fire. The most important
materials found in the concrete buildings is obviously concrete and structural steel but
even in them, we have variations depending upon the manufacturing process and
ingredient mix. Other materials like glass, aluminum, thermal insulations, wood plastics
etc. are also part of building. Investigate of the damage occurred to the building,
requires the understanding of these materials especially those which are part of the
structural elements.
After the event of fire, building is in poor condition. When authorities are done with
preliminary survey to decide that building is safe enough to enter then assessment team
can start the assessment of building but before that a general analysis of building is
required to know following facts and figures about the case.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
It is better to visit the site and conduct complete condition assessment but preliminary
report from fire and police department can be studied to have a general idea about the
damages building has incurred. This will make an initial image and inform about the
building’s damage at a crude level. Answer to basic
questions like how much area or stories have been damaged and how much got
indirectly effected can be obtained from the Fire department/Police report.
Duration, size and if possible then temperature of fire can also be determined from the
fire report and it will be a real assert for the upcoming stages of assessment. Duration
of fire is a very important factor in particular. Fire resistance of the buildingis expressed
in unit of time as it defines.
Fire resistance is a period of time for which an element of construction (beam, column,
floor, wall, etc.) will survive in a standard fire test carried out in an approved furnace
under specified condition of temperature, imposed load and restraint.
Hence duration of fire will give an idea what kind of damage building would have
undergone in the event. Interviews recorded from the inhabitants and witnesses can
give an idea about the fire path which also have impact on the damage undergone
and obviously on the duration of fire exposure.
Desk study before visiting the site and conducting general assessment is very beneficial.
It is always better to do homework before dealing with the case. It will create an initial
picture and equip the inspector with the valuable information regarding structure, its
properties and its materials.
Non-structural members of the building like doors, windows, ventilators, partition walls,
façade, thermal insulations, floor coverings etc. bear heavy damages often in case of
fire. They just not get damaged but many times adds to the fire load of the building
during the event. Ideally they are assessed during visual inspection. There is no need to
conduct excessive testing on these parts or utilities of the building. Visual inspection of
the building with a team of crafts men can determine the condition of the utilities or
non-structural members.
Eye of an experienced engineer is more valuable than any other tool in the condition
assessment of non-structural members or utilities. A team consisting of
experts/craftsmen in respective field can conduct this task. Table 2 will give a
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
While assessing the condition of utilities and non-structural part of the building
nature of damage has to be determined to realise that what was the cause of
damage. Either it was because of fire or because of water or fire extinguishing foam
that fire brigade have used or damage has been done due to smoke etc. Once cause
of damage is recognised then extent of damage is assessed and probably be given
rating from 5 to 1. Five is the worst case scenario where only replacement is the
option. While giving utilities the damage rating then eye should be kept upon the
price factor.
Visual inspection is a very powerful tool and one of the most common and oldest
available non-destructive testing techniques available. Visual inspection gives a wealth
of information about the structure and its condition but has certainrequirements and
limitations. Visual inspection can only be governed by a technically sound professional
who has knowledge about structure, material science and construction methodologies.
Visual inspection only gives impression of visible issues and hidden issues remain
unnoticed. It also doesn’t give us any quantitative information about the properties of
the material. Due to these limitations, often visual inspection is not sufficient and has
to be supplemented by other non- destructive and partially destructive testing
techniques.
Visual assessment of a fire damaged concrete structure is practiced to observe the heat
patterns, change in colour of concrete, spalling of concrete, cracking in concrete, any
visible deflection of structural members like load bearing walls, beams, roof etc. Cracks
in concrete due to deflection may be present in the structure before the event of fire
but still it is advisable to consider them during inspection. Normally concrete is
considered as fire resistant and non-combustible material but if the
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
temperature of concrete reaches upto 300 Celsius then oxidation of iron compounds
in the aggregates and cement paste occurs and it gives a pink texture to the concrete.
Pink colour of concrete refers to the damaged concrete and indicates towards the fact
that concrete can’t be used anymore. At higher temperatures that usually doesn’t occur
in building fires, concrete turns it’s colour to whitish grey and then to yellowish-brown
colour ultimately. So care has to be taken while observing the damage of concrete with
reference to its colour.
After visual inspection, field tests have to be performed to get better understanding
about the structure and its residual strength. Various kind of field tests are available
most of them are non-destructive tests like Schmidt hammer, ultrasonic pulse velocity
etc. Except these non-destructive tests, core cutter test is also very helpful to
understand the structure and gives more accurate results although it is considered as
partial destructive test. Location of these field tests have to be carefully decided by an
engineer as it has a very obvious effect on the results.
A Rebound Hammer is a simple, handy tool used to measure the elastic properties or
compressive strength of concrete or rock, mainly surface hardness and penetration
resistance. When using it for fire damage structures it has its own limitations and
usefulness.
The Schmidt rebound hammer works on the principle that the rebound of an elastic mass
depends upon the hardness of the surface against which the mass strikes. When the
plunger of the rebound hammer is pressed against the surface of the concrete, it will hit
the concrete at a defined energy and the spring controlled mass rebounds.
The extent of such a rebound depends upon the surface hardness of the concrete,
the surface hardness, and therefore the rebound, is taken to be related to the
compressive strength of the concrete. The rebound value is read from a graduated scale
and is designated as the rebound number or rebound index. By reference tothe
conversion chart, the rebound value can be used to determine the compressive strength.
There is little apparent theoretical relationship between the strength of concrete and
the rebound number of the hammer.
However, within limits, empirical correlations have been established between strength
properties and the rebound number of Schmidt hammer is really a useful handy
technique but can’t be really relied upon. It is a test which requires personal
competence. The values of the test are quite variable even when same test is
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
performed on the same element at two different places. Reason for that is the nature
of the test. As described earlier that rebound hammer calculates the surface hardness
of the concrete which then we relate to the compressive strength with empirical
charts/graphs. So if there will be an aggregate just beneath the surface ofthe test
point then it will give high value and if there is a plane of weakness (cement paste in the
fire damaged concrete is the weaker plane) then it will show less values.
Moreover, the nature of the test and its requirement to interpret hammer value to the
compressive strength summed up to deviation of 15% to 30%. Conditions of smooth
surface and repeated number of tests at the same points and no of points required for
successful testing make it very difficult to test the fire damaged concrete structures
where concrete spalling and disintegration is often the case.
After it is established that rehabilitation of the building and retrofitting of the structure
is feasible both on technical and financial grounds, rehabilitation of the building will be
started, while discussing the rehabilitation and retrofitting of the building, various
options pops up.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
Each option has its own properties, feasibilities and therefore shortcomings too.
Similarly every case is a unique case as well and has its own requirements. In some
buildings, we have the luxury to consider different solutions and select from thembut
sometimes this is not possible due to some restricting factor like services of the building
doesn’t permit that. For fire damaged building not many options are available for
retrofitting of structure. Most conventional ones are strengthening of structural
members with fiber reinforced plastic and replacement of damaged concrete either
with shot Crete or in-situ placement of concrete. These are quite commonly practiced
ad may not be very suitable in every case. Some common methods of retrofitting will
also be discussed that are not common for such cases like steel jacketing, concrete
jacketing or provision of extra members. Thesemeasures are usually needs for other
purposes like protection against earth quakes but if chosen after careful analysis then
may prove to be beneficial in comparison to other more conventional measures.
3.5.1 Cleaning
Just after the fire building is in filthy condition, depending upon the size, nature and
duration of fire. It is better to clean the building and secure the residual stuff as soon as
possible after building is cleared to be safe by the police or fire department. It will
minimize the impact of damage and make it easier and cost efficient to recover the
building and belongings. Water or fire extinguishing foam is used to extinguish the fire.
Therefore, the only worrying point is not fire and smoke damage but possible water
damaged as well. This measure must be taken preferably just after the fire even before
assessment and evaluation and decision making phase. This will not allow the soot
and smoke deposits or penetrate inside and further damage will be
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
prevented as the acidic fumes and particles in smoke and soot will not be granted
enough time to inflict damage.
In the beginning all the water accumulated in the building must be removed by the help
of pumps and manual equipment. Fire extinguishing foam is removed as well from the
building.it is very important to dry the wet surface as it will otherwise generate the
problem of mold. High ventilation in the building is highly recommended and if
possible or required then dehumidifiers can be used. Professional cleaners are required
for cleaning job in case of heavy fires. Heavy sootwill be deposited on the accessories
and the building structure.
It is important to deal with it properly and remove it from the surface otherwise it
will deteriorate them and the smoke smell will become a permanent stay in the facility.
Inspection of building services like HVAC is important. All such building services or
property that has been damaged beyond repair should be identified in the beginning
and disposed properly. For the remaining belongings and building structure can then be
subjected to cleaning and repair works. There are various
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techniques to deal with soot deposited on different surfaces. For curtains and
upholstery (furniture), it is preferred to use vacuum cleaners before washing them. Itis
necessary to uplift soot with the nozzle of appropriates vacuum cleaner before
otherwise soot will penetrate into the fabric. Soot have to be removed from the walls
and ceiling as well with the help of chemical sponge and if required then some counter
chemicals can be ceiling then the smell of fire wouldn’t go away.
Smoke penetrates the building in the event of fire. The smoke is very problematic in case
of fire. Smoke penetrates virtually through very other material present in the building.
It persists in the building if not properly removed. Records recovered from 1906 San
Francisco fire that are currently stored in National Achieves of USA, still have very
strong odour of smoke. It can give the idea that how critical the problem is. To
understand the gravity of the problem first it is necessary to understand smoke and its
composition. Smoke is the combination gases, liquids and solid fumes that emits from
the fuel. They are considered as the unburnt part of the fuel and they may contain
toxic and carcinogenic particles. The size of these particles is less than10 microns in
diameter, mostly they are less than 1 micron. Hence it is critical to get rid of smoke
particles as they pose serious health issue and sometimes acidic fumes that may contain
corrodes and damages the property and structure like wise.
Thermal insulation can have significant capacity to store smoke particles and retain it for
long time. If there is any such insulation in contact with smoke then it’s better to replace
it otherwise dry cleaning and treatment with counter chemicals will take care of the
problem to some extent.
Thermal insulations at the attic are mostly damaged in case of fire if there are any. Itis
better to replace the insulation with new one. Smoke that has penetrated theducts
can be sealed on the walls of the ducts with the help of chemical sealers as it is very
difficult to access the inner side of these ducts.
For the rest of the building and its belongings thermal foggers, ozone machines and air
scrubbers are used. Aerosol sprays or deodorizers can’t cover the smoke smell for
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
long and sometimes they mix with the smoke and create a new smell that might be more
irritating. Thermal foggers create a fog from water based masking agent. It super heats
the masking agent that produces the fog. Fog then travels through the building and its
properties just like smoke reaches where smoke might have reached. Thermal foggers
comprehensively deal with the smoke but it has its disadvantages too. The material
that has already been under stress from fire and smoke is then again subjected to the
high temperature fog toward off smell. It puts extra stress over the material of
property.
Ozone machines produce ozone in large quantities. Ozone roams through the building
and disinfects the building. The problem associated with ozone treatment is serious
though as ozone is a strong oxidizing agent and oxidize virtually all organic matter. Due
to ozone treatment, leather will be damaged. It embrittles paper, inks and dyes will be
faded, and if concrete spalling is extensive then it will reacted to the exposed steel
surface to make metallic oxide.
Moreover ozone causes irritation in eyes, lungs and skin. Hence its application is very
limited and should not be used everywhere as it virtually ages every material in
household.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
Air scrubbers are used to depollute the particles and fumes from the air. Smokeparticles
that are suspended in the air or trapped in the corners will be removed with the help of
air scrubbers. Special air scrubbers are used for smoke damage that cycles air 5 to 6
times in an hour. After repeated cycles the air is pollutant free and smoke particles are
arrested by it.
During fire, non-structural members and utilities undergoes more damage than
structural members. Thanks to the inherent properties of concrete and steel that makes
them inert even on high temperature. Fire damage is quite serious in case of materials
made up of combustible material like plastics, wood etc. and these are the materials that
are usually used for non-structural members and utilities. Commonly, HVAC ducts are
made from plastics and fiber plastics not only get damaged but infact increases the fire
load.
Non-structural members like façade, partition walls, suspended ceiling etc. bear heavy
damage as well and again their damage depends upon the material of their composition.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
Glass façade usually gets heavy damage where it gets in contact with the direct flames
and usually glass is broken within 30 minutes. Glass façade provides safety issues as they
retain gases and smoke inside the building because of lack of sufficient openings which
markedly increases the causalities in fire incident. Glass panels that are damaged had
to be replaced with similar ones and rest of the damaged glass tiles can be rehabilitated
just by cleaning. Other façade materials like metallic sheets, terracotta, marble tiles brick
tiles etc. doesn’t suffer heavy damage and usually just few tiles that would be in direct
access of high temperatures are required to bereplaced. Otherwise, cleaning job will
take care of the rest of the job.
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Structure is the skeleton of the building. It provides the integrity, strength and stability
to the building to perform its function. Structural safety is one of the outmost
important thing. During fire, buildings structures resist the fire and countersit upto a
certain point according to its fire rating. If structure is loaded during fire as well then it
reduced the material capacity of fire resistance. Under fire, structure shouldn’t fail,
which would ultimately cause the demolition of the whole building. Concrete structures
have proven to be very stable in fire especially when comparedto wood and steel
structures, all thanks to the superior fire resistant properties of concrete. In the event
of fire R.C.C members endured damage due to high temperature but this is not the only
worrying point when it comes to retrofitting of structure. After fire, use of water to
extinguish the fire or fire retardant foam cause sudden cooling of structure that have
been at very high temperatures this causes permanent set of deformation, cracking and
spalling.
Fiber reinforced polymer is synthetic material in which polymer matrix is reinforced with
fibers. Most commonly used fibers are glass, carbon or aramid though other fibers are
also used in FRP. FRP is light in weight, exhibits high strength and stiffness.It is non-
corrosive as well. These inherent properties of FRP make it suitable candidates for
repair work. It is possible to repair a heavily damaged structure with fiber reinforced
plastic. FRP is used in number of forms for structural strengthening. FRP plates and thin
sheets are commonly practiced though new research is going on FRP bars that can
replace steel bars in structures. The efficiency of FRP repairs is based upon number of
factors. At first the properties of the FRP material are important. The kind of fibers
which are used in the polymer matrix defines the material properties and hence plays
a crucial role overall. FRP sheets are actually
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
week in shear in transverse direction and the orientation of the fiber with respect to the
element remains critical as well.
Hence FRP sheets are wrapped in such a way that the direction of the fibers is
perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the element or to the axis along which element
requires flexural stiffness.
Another factor that plays very important role in the overall success of repair and
installment of strength and stiffness is the method of application. For different members
the method of application of FRP sheets or straps is different which will be described in
detail later in the topic.
Last but not least epoxy resins that are used as glue for the application of FRP wraps
over the damaged structural member is of prime importance. Some researches even
states that it is the telling factor for the successful restoration of the strength. Surface
of damaged member should be prepared before the application of the FRP sheets must
be taken care of by grouting or resin injections. Sharp edges of non- circular members
must be rounded by grinding machine. All these measures are important because FRP
material is prone to rupture and it dramatically changes the behavior and scenario of
strength re-installment. After preparing the surface of concrete epoxy resins are applied
to the surface and on the wraps as per requirements and then applied to the structural
members immediately and somepressure is applied over it to squeeze out the extra
strength from bonding. Hence application of FRP over the damaged structure should be
properly monitored for above mentioned factors.
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Various researches have been conducted to estimate the impact of FRP treatment over
the strength and over all structural revitalization. It has been established through
experimental research that FRP treatment increases both compressive and flexural
strength. It also provides extra confinement to the elements which is handyfor better
shear resistance and stiffness. For M25 grade concrete, increase in compressive strength
is 67%, 129% and 150% for one, two and three layers of GFRP sheet wrapped around
concrete.
Beams are repaired by two ways. One is by applying FRP plates on the tension side of
the beam which is on the downward side in the middle of supports. Alternatively beams
are wrapped on three sides by FRP wrapping sheet making and additional protective
layers are provided along the axis of beam as shown in the above figure. For application
of FRP material usually epoxy resins are used but sometimes steel bolts are also
provided but it should be monitored that don’t provide a weaker planein cross section.
For column repairs, FRP wrapping sheet material is used. The surface is prepared and
FRP sheet are wrapped around the column wit epoxy resins. The FRP sheets are slightly
overlapping with each other.
Number of sheets used for the repair is dependent upon the design and degree of
damage member has endured during the infortune event. The confinement provided by
the FRP wraps provides the stiffness and enhanced flexural strength along with better
compressive strength.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
There are two methods to apply the FRP wraps. Applying wraps with pre-tensioning and
filling of grout between number and the FRP wrapping sheet. Second method is to
apply FRP wraps in passive mode in which counter stress is produced for confinement
when concrete column is subjected to expansion under the action of loads. The direction
of fibers in FRP is kept perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of column.
Fig. 12 – FRP sheets wrapped on the tension side of fire damaged slab
For slabs repairs, FRP sheets are pasted on the tension side of the slab so provide extra
flexural strength to the element. FRP wraps are also so provided to increasethe
shear capacity of the slabs where it has been damaged due to fire. FRP wraps are applied
to the slab elements just as for beams. Usually the FRP sheets are wrapped with the help
of epoxy resins, and mechanical fixings.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
FRP reinforcing is a very useful technique for rehabilitation of fire damaged building
but choice of selecting FRP reinforcing material for retrofitting of structural members
totally dependent on its material properties.
During fire, both concrete and steel undergoes damage. Degree of damage is assessed
in condition assessment and survey. For retrofitting of the damaged structure it is
mandatory to have clear ideas about the structural condition and its integrity because
only then the methodology and requirement for this method can be decided.
Basic idea behind this repair method is to remove the damaged concrete by some
suitable mean (hydro blasting, Jack hammer etc.) upto the depth of damage. Then
remove the part of reinforcement bar/bars that has/have been damaged (if any). Then
preparation of surface for repair application is done. Usually the surface is prepared and
good enough for repair application in case of concrete removal and preparation of
surface reinforcement bars that have been removed are replaced by suitable means
(overlapping or welding etc.)
Then concrete is replaced by in-situ casting with the help of form work or by shot Crete
such that it reinstate the original form and provides sufficient strength for structural
requirements. The whole process is explained in detail below.
After reinforcement bars are covered with protective epoxy to protect fromcorrosion
and damaged reinforcement bars are replaced (if any), removed damaged concrete is
replaced with new one. In case reinforcement bars are repaired, thennew concrete
should surround reinforcement bar from all around to provide strong enough bond that
can accommodate stress transfer between concrete and steel. Thumb rule is to be
provided that is 1 inch new concrete around the bars.
Moreover to avoid premature corrosion of reinforcement bars, coat the new concrete
surface with same epoxy that has been used to coat reinforcement bars. There are two
basic methods to replace removed damaged concrete.
1. Shot Crete
2. In-situ Replacement with formwork
Shot Crete is a very extensively used method in which concrete is replenished with
sprayed mixture (mortar or concrete) form the nozzle with high speed which eliminates
the need of compaction. The mixture that is supplied to the nozzle can bein dry or wet
form. In dry form water is added at the nozzle. In fire damaged buildings, elements
such as slab, can’t easily repair by in-situ concrete.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
Shot Crete provides an easy solution as it doesn’t need any compaction or formwork.
A bonding agent is required to provide over the surface of old and new concrete andto
avoid cold joint. Following figure explains the phenomenon of Shot Crete.
In-situ replacement can also be used for the replacement of damaged concrete but it
cannot always be used as in case of top surface repair as in case of slabs.
For vertical members like columns in situ concrete can be used but still in-situ
replacement is not beneficial more than Shot Crete as it requires more labor, formwork
and effort. Special concrete mix is required for preventing cold joint that exists between
new and old concrete.
Bonding agent has to be applied to the surface as surface preparation measure same
as in Shot Crete. Shot Crete may require a costly mix than conventional concrete but
labor and other requirements like vibration are not required which makes it more
financially feasible. Moreover Shot Crete can be used almost for all kind of concrete
repairs (vertical, horizontal or overhead repairs).
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
FRP material is light in weight that is one of its many qualities but this is a
double edge sword as it also not as good in stiffness as its challenger steel.
This lack of satisfactory stiffness is responsible for heavy deflection which is
not very appreciated. For example how many of us would like to sit under a
heavily deflected beam. So although FRP proves to be a good repair material
for fire damaged building but still it doesn’t take cares of heavy deflection.
FRP lacks shear strength or ability to resist shear stress in transverse direction.
This inherent disability is another shortcoming attached to use this material for
beams where we may possibility of dowel action.
FRP sheets are prone to wear and tear. It can be ruptured due to any sharp object
pointing force through it that’s why corners of non-circular column are rounded
prior to the a is application FRP over them.
The FRP sheets as damage repair solution does one serious shortcoming. The
failure action of FRP is brittle.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
The mode of failure makes it dangerous. The structural elements are designed
to have ductile failure by making it sure that concrete will fail at second and
reinforced first. Steel reinforcement has ductile failure. This assembly gives the
warning for the failure of structure. As concrete still have some capacity but steel
have already shown plastic behavior. Hence cracks will starts to appear on
tension face. These cracks give time to the habitantsto evaluate. But a fire
damaged element that is repaired with FRP will nothave this luxury. As FRP
will be completely wrapping it from all three visible sides (in case of beam) hence
no cracks would be seen more over by itself has will exhibits mode of failure.
Hence the structural element repaired with FRP will exhibit somehow brittle
mode of failure which in turn means no significant warning although abnormal
deflections may give indication but yet not sufficient.
FRP shows poor performance when exposed to high temperature.
This requires extra fire protection to the FRP reinforcing plus better fire proofing
for building as well.
Environmental impact to FRP is a serious setback for this repair method as
sustainability is an important issue. FRP material is not a green material as it
depletes fossil fuels. Moreover acidification, air pollution and smog is related to
its production. Moreover, it can be recycled to perform the same function as it
is in case of timber or steel.
Hence on the surface material resources, production process, energy
requirements and environment pollution makes it a brown material or
unsuitable material but in depth life cycle analysis raise some hope. Moreover
whole demolition and reconstruction job is not sustainable either so we may
raise a case that FRP repair is atleast greener than demolition and
reconstruction. When we compare it with other measure of retrofitting thenits
sustainability may raise serious question over its superiority as a repair or
retrofitting measure.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
It removes any cement or concrete left over the reinforcement bars which
provide better bonding of bars with repair material.
It prepares the concrete surface for repair job, as it scarify the aggregate and
leaves a clean, rough surface of aggregate that is vital for repair material to
get bonding.
It doesn’t damage the reinforcement bars but infact cleans the corrosive
chlorides from the surface.
It is faster than mechanical measures for concrete removal.
Disadvantages for hydro blasting are as under
It requires serious safety measures serious safety measures to conduct this
procedure as the jet that can blast concrete can easily tear muscle or even bones.
So special suit and safety accessories are required.
As this method is quite sensitive and conducted by both manual and robotic
means, therefore experienced ad expert staff is required to do the job.
Advantages of partial removal and replacement
Partial removal and replacement technique reinstate the form and shape of
damaged element. It also revitalized its structural strength to reasonable mean.
Hence structure can continue its normal function and load pattern of building
doesn’t change significantly.
Material cost of this technique is way lesser than FRP reinforcement.
One striking benefit of this technique that others don’t is that it not only takes
care of shortcomings due to fire damage but also covers the inherent
shortcomings to somewhat. If there had been some carbonation of concrete
or corrosion of steel then it will automatically takes care of it as well.
It also provides excellent fire proofing abilities as after repair structural element
will be having more thicker and tight cover that is excellent fire resisting
properties.
Concrete is a green material as it doesn’t depletes fossil fuel and waste too much
energy in its manufacturing as it is in case of FRP. Hence it can be credited as a
sustainable repair technique.
This repair technique offers high durability as element is revitalized by it and can
serve for long time.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
relocated to avoid sustained load on the fresh replaced concrete that is not in
the condition to bear the burden at such early stage.
For overhead repair such as ceilings, removal of concrete may prove to be
injurious as falling material can hurt the labor and skilled workers.
Cold joint is always existing between old and new concrete hence for proper
bonding special surface preparing measures have to used. Bonding agent is
usually required to add into concrete mix.
Use of epoxy resins, propping, and lot of activities involved makes this measure
costly and not very financially feasible when we compare it withother possible
options like FRP.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
CHAPTER -4
CONCLUSION
Risk of fire is always there for all kind of building. Concrete buildings are no exception
to it. Though concrete buildings are more resilient to the fire than othersbut a serious
fire can inflict damage which depends upon salient features of fire and building. After
fire is extinguished and structure is secured, condition survey and condition assessment
is done over it.
Soda blasting is good, sustainable, economical and effective technique for surface
treatment. Patching and varnishing can also be done if required. HAVC, electrical wirings
and other utilities can be repaired if damages are limited otherwise have tobe
replaced partially or completely. Structural members can be retrofitted by FRP
reinforcing, partial removal and replacement of damaged concrete and steel,concrete
or steel jacketing and epoxy injections. FRP reinforcing technique is a good measure with
many excellent advantages like performance, light weight etc. but falls short on the
criteria of future fire proofing and sustainability. Partial removal and replacement is a
sound technique for retrofitting and most popular one. It is a sustainable method with
good fire proofing qualities but it might prove to be bit more costly than FRP.
Partial removal can put extra stress on adjoining members hence needs propping.
Concrete jacketing is used basically for earthquake retrofitting but can be used for fire
damaged concrete buildings in certain cases. It is a fire proof and sustainable technique
but may alter the structural behaviour of structure and dimension of members. Steel
jacketing is more suitable than concrete jacketing for the purposeand it also doesn’t
change the dimensions of members significantly. It is sustainable but needs protection
from fire and rusting with a protective coating. Epoxy injections are used to fill cracks
and to make up for the loss of bonding between steel and concrete.
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REHABILITATION AND RETROFITTING TECHNIQUES FOR FIRE DAMAGED BUILDINGS
CHAPTER-5
REFERENCES
https://www.google.com/search?q=rehabilitaion+and+retrofitting+of+fire+damaged
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me..69i57.21608j0j7&client=ms-android-xiaomi&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
https://www.academia.edu/10682360/Retrofitting_and_Rehabilitation_of_fire_dam
aged_concrete_buildings
www.mdpi.com › pdfPDF
A Case Study on the Rehabilitation of a Fire-Damaged Structure – MDPI
https://www.google.com/search?q=repair+of+fire+damage+buildings+literature&saf
e=active&sxsrf=ALeKk00vtBnEypqPkbck10IGPaWo25ffSg:1588399894873&source=ln
ms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi6z_rbwpTpAhV0gUsFHesWB-
MQ_AUoAXoECAwQAw&biw=1536&bih=754&dpr=1.25#imgrc=Q3sRzEjdqqCxyM
http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/6/5/126/pdf
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/4/963/pdf-vor
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