Structural Fire Design for Composite Steel Deck Construction in Canada

Abstract

In Canada, there has been a dearth of research and design attention given to developing innovative fire design solutions for composite steel deck construction. This is despite the increasing number of these constructions in densely populated metropolitan centers in Canada. These structures are currently treated with classic prescriptive based fire designs. Isolated building components are designed based on implicit fire relations and as international practice has shown, prescriptive fire design may be viewed as restrictive, uneconomical, and is challenged in its representation of reality. Internationally, practice has been maturing towards Performance Based Fire Design (PBFD) for composite steel deck structures for the last several decades with significant research into the behavior of these structures occurring. Herein; the first objective is to examine the development of PBFD techniques used globally through relevant experiments, experiences, and applications. The second objective is to explore the state of fire design within Canada and what can be learned from global fire design and research experiences – the international state of the art. The goal is to promote best practice discussion on where structural fire design for composite steel deck construction in Canada, and internationally, could move towards