Life safety in single-story steel frame buildings, Part II - probabilistic design

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the probability of unacceptable consequences from structural fire damage in a typical Scandinavian single-story steel frame building and discusses it in relation to life safety. This paper is a complement to the paper “Life safety in single-story steel frame buildings, Part I – deterministic design” by Sandström (2019) which considers the same design philosophy but with a probabilistic design approach. Design/methodology/approach The reliability of a single-story steel frame building is investigated by using crude Monte Carlo simulation by including consideration to the fire conditions. Findings The investigated building does not meet the safety levels as stipulated by EN 1990 for structural fire damage. However, by including consideration to the fire conditions in the compartment, it is shown that the life safety objective is not compromised by the structural fire damage, i.e. the structure remains intact as long as any individuals/firefighters can survive within the fire area compartment. Originality/value This paper presents practical application of a conceptual paper presenting a general approach to structural fire safety design and the life safety objective.