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Introduction to specific fire engineering design of buildings. Active and passive fire protection. Severity of post-flashover fires. Fire resistance of steel, concrete and timber structures.
Structural Fire Engineering introduces graduate students and engineering professionals to performance-based design of structures for fire situations. It covers general fire safety principles, fire resistance of structural elements and the behaviour, analysis and design of structures at elevated temperatures. In exploring available fire engineering design methods, the course examines prescriptive approaches, simple calculations and advanced calculation methods. It is aimed at improving the understanding of behaviour and design of fire-exposed structures for structural and fire engineers.
At the end of this course, participants will understand the fundamental behaviours of individual structural elements and structural systems in fires and the different methodologies that may be used to predict these behaviours. Students should be able to distinguish between situations where tabulated and simplified calculations of fire resistance of structural elements are applicable, and where advanced calculations are either the only alternative or a better option. Principally, they will be able to estimate:Temperatures in post-flashover firesEquivalent fire severityTemperatures in structural assemblies using hand calculation methodsLoads and safety factors for structural fire designFire performance of steel, concrete, timber and composite frame structures using hand calculation methodsWhen to use advanced calculation methods for the analysis or design of structures for fire
ENGR403 or subject to approval of the Head of Department
ENCI661
Students must attend one activity from each section.
The course is based on guided self-study, using the textbook Structural Design for Fire Safety (2nd Edition) and other references on structural fire engineering. It is delivered in ‘Block Mode’, with two three-day blocks at the University of Canterbury. To guide students through the course and to prepare them for the final exam, the first block course offers lectures, which are designed to introduce basic concepts and ideas of structural fire engineering. The course textbook and other references cover the material in greater detail: they should be consulted for completeness. There are fortnightly tutorials to reinforce the ideas discussed in the lectures and referenced materials. The second block reviews assignment problems and introduces advanced topics in structural fire engineering amongst discussions of current problems in this field.This course builds on the structural fire design principles taught in ENGR403 Fire Engineering. It expands on these principles by delving into the fundamentals of the design of structures for fire conditions and addresses the behaviour of single elements and structural assemblies to standard and real fires. We would encourage you to review your ENGR403 notes to enhance your understanding of the basics of structural fire design.
Anthony Abu
Logan Cooper
The assessment for this paper comprises five main components – Tests, Lab Participation, Tutorials, Assignments and Presentations. The weighting for each of these is given below.1 - Block 1 Test: 10%2 - Lab Participation (2): 5%3 - Tutorials & Quizzes (5): 10%4 - Design Assignments (3): 30%5 - Presentations (2): 10%6 - Final Test: 35%
Required Text:Structural Design for Fire Safety (2nd Edition) by A. H. Buchanan and A. K. Abu (John Wiley & Sons, UK)Recommended References:Fire Safety Engineering Design of Structures (3rd Edition) by J. A. Purkiss & L.Y. Li (2014)Structural Fire Engineering by T Lennon (2011)SFPE International Handbook of Structural Fire Engineering edited by K LaMalva and D Hopkin (2021)SFPE Handbook (5th Edition)
Domestic fee $1,344.00
International Postgraduate fees
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Civil and Environmental Engineering .