Reliability-Based Capacity Reduction and Fire Load Factors for Design of Steel Members Exposed to Fire

A general reliability-based methodology is proposed for developing capacity reduction and fire load factors for the load and resistance factor design of steel members exposed to fire. The effect of active fire protection systems (e.g., sprinklers, smoke and heat detectors, fire brigade, etc.) in reducing the probability of occurrence of a severe fire is included. The design parameters that significantly affect the fire design of steel members are chosen as random variables, and their statistics are obtained from the literature and the analysis of raw data. Capacity reduction and fire load factors are obtained using the proposed methodology and particular design equations for steel beams and columns. It is shown that capacity reduction and fire load factors should vary for different design situations depending on the presence of active fire protection systems in the building.