The post-fire investigation is conducted on a fire-affected reinforced concrete shear wall building to ascertain the level of its strength degradation due to the fire incident. Fire incident took place in a three-storey building made of... more
The post-fire investigation is conducted on a fire-affected reinforced concrete shear wall building to ascertain the level of its strength degradation due to the fire incident. Fire incident took place in a three-storey building made of reinforced concrete shear wall and roof with operating floors made of steel beams and chequered plates. The usage of the building is to handle explosives. Elevated temperature during the fire is estimated to be 350 0 C based on visual inspection. Destructive (core extraction) and non-destructive (rebound hammer and ultrasonic pulse velocity) tests are conducted to evaluate the concrete strength. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) are used for analyzing micro structural changes of the concrete due to fire. Tests are conducted for concrete walls and roof slab on both burnt and unburnt locations. The analysis of test results reveals no significant degradation of the building after the fire which signifies that the structure can be used with full expectancy of performance for the remaining service life. This document can be used as a reference for future forensic investigations of similar fire affected concrete structures.
