BRE DG488 PDF

This Digest is part of a suite of related documents containing guidance for the construction industry on structural fire engineering design. The intention is to produce performance based guidance that brings together fire engineering and structural engineering providing a framework within which designers are free to develop site specific solutions based on real performance criteria. The Digests contain information complementary to the existing and emerging fire engineering codes and standards. Each Digest may be used in isolation or as part of the full integrated suite. This Digest gives a general overview of methods for predicting the thermal response of structures to fire. These methods provide the essential link between the description of the heating conditions due to the fire itself (covered in BRE Digest 485) and the structural performance of building components (covered in Parts 1-4 of BRE Digest 487). The common structural materials are considered (ie steel, concrete, masonry and timber) including the effects of typical protection materials as appropriate. The main analysis concerns heat transfer within solid phase materials, but methods for describing the thermal exposure boundary conditions at the surface of the structural members are also addressed.