Probabilistic simulation of fire endurance of a wooden beam

This paper presents a probabilistic simulation approach to assessment of the fire endurance of a wooden load-bearing beam in a fire. The approach introduces several novel modelling techniques developed by VTT, such as the probabilistic fire simulator which is an interface enabling to run fire simulation models in the Monte Carlo mode and the time-dependent event-tree method which enables to take into account the active fire safety measures such as detectors, first-aid fire fighting, sprinklers and fire brigade intervention. Also the simulation of the response to heat and the mechanical performance of the structure are carried out using the Monte Carlo technique. The charring rate of the wooden beam is calculated by a new model that includes explicitly the principal sources of uncertainties and variabilites. The results show explicitly the effectiveness of different fire safety measures in reducing the risk of structural failure. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.