A Thermo Mechanical Experimental Investigation on 3 Loaded Concrete Walls Exposed to ISO 834-1 Fire

Abstract

This paper describes the thermo mechanical experimental response of three fullscale ordinary concrete (fc 28 days = 32 MPa) wall specimens (3.0 x 1.2 x 0.2 m3) subjected to thermal and mechanical loading. The wall specimens were heated on one side over the full length and height of the wall with the ISO 834-1 fire curve, while simultaneously being subjected to a constant uniaxial compressive load at the bottom of the wall. Walls 1, 2 and 3 were loaded at 0, 10 and 110 tons, respectively. The aim of this research is to provide the experimental results on the structural behavior of load bearing concrete walls in a fire situation. No spalling was observed on any of the 3 walls. It has been found that the deflections of the walls decreased with the increased applied mechanical loading. A thermo mechanical modeling benchmark has been organized. Eight laboratories have participated. It is encouraged for whoever wishes to carry out a simulation of the 3 walls in order to compare the calculated deflections with the experimental measurements presented in this paper.