Integrated Approach for Post-fire Reinforced Concrete Structures Assessment

In order to assess decay in the mechanical characteristics of fire-exposed Reinforced Concrete (RC), it is crucial to reconstruct the temperature time history and the evolution of strain and stress fields. In this paper, the state of the art of assessment methods is presented and applied to a real structure damaged by fire. It is a prestressed RC industrial warehouse located in the outskirts of the city of Cagliari (Italy). The collected data of several assessment methods are presented in order to produce the flowchart of an integrated approach for post-fire investigation. Among the various techniques, the authors highlight a thorough laser scanner geometric survey and destructive and non-destructive testing. In addition, the temperature distribution and its time history has been reconstructed by means of optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, Thermogravimetric Differential Thermo-Analysis and calibrated Colorimetry. Actually, refurbishment is needed, but the structure withstood the fire very well. Central columns displayed the most important damage, and several beams presented important deflections having lost the prestressing actions of the tendons.