Directions in structural-fire safety design for steel buildings

Fire safety considerations have an impact on the design of almost all structures, ranging from small residential structures to high-rise buildings. One important aspect of building fire safety is structural-fire safety, with the goal of preventing or delaying collapse of structures during severe fires. Structural-fire safety is of particular importance for steel structures, because of the high thermal conductivity of steel. Structural-fire safety design is most often accomplished using non-engineered prescriptive approaches. However, there is increasing interest in engineered structural-fire safety design for potential advantages in safety, economy and design flexibility. This paper provides an overview of engineered structural-fire safety design for steel buildings, and discusses some of the challenges in this field.