Advancing Performance-Based Structural Fire Engineering Design in the U.S.

This project was developed to demonstrate the proper execution and potential benefits of performance-based structural fire design (PBSFD) for structural fire protection as an alternative to the traditional prescriptive method.  This project includes the analysis of four regionally diverse, protected, steel-framed building designs by design teams from four firms: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), Thornton Tomasetti (TT), and Walter P Moore (WPM). The design teams worked closely with a panel of academic advisors from four institutions: University at Buffalo, Oregon State University, Johns Hopkins University, and University College London (previously with University of Maryland). 

Each design team examined their existing building for multiple design scenarios that included varying levels of performance objectives and structural design freedom. The scope of each analysis included the characterization of uncontrolled fire exposure within building spaces, the associated thermal response of structural elements, and the resulting structural system response per the provisions of ASCE 7-16 Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures Appendix E Performance Based Design Procedures for Fire Effects on Structures (Appendix E).  Comprehensive structural analyses identified key structural system vulnerabilities under fire exposure to be addressed to achieve the required performance objectives specified in ASCE 7-16, Appendix E.