Fire damage assessment of hot rolled structural steel

The assessment of fire damaged hot rolled structural steel is an area in which most engineers and architects have little practical experience. On many occasions fire affected steelwork shows little or no distortion resulting in considerable uncertainty regarding its re-usability. This is particularly true in situations where fire has resulted in some parts of the structure exhibiting little or no damage alongside areas where considerable damage and distortion are clearly visible.

The principal source of information on this subject can be found in the Corus Publication ‘The Reinstatement of Fire Damaged Steel and Iron Framed Structures, Figure 64 shown below.   Its main conclusions are summarised.