Automation in Structural Fire Resistance Design

Abstract

Designing and constructing a building is a complex process with many stakeholders, constraints, and requirements. Generally, a property development firm would hire an architect to produce a concept design that is meant to achieve the client objectives. After a few iterations, and if the development firm and client succeeded in obtaining initial funding for the project, they move on to hire design, construction, and possibly project management firms. The structural engineering designer is one of the various engineering teams involved in the project and is responsible for ensuring that the structure is designed with sufficient capacity to be safe under all expected loading conditions [1].

Typically, the structural engineer operates under the supervision of the architect and the project manager and liaises with the contractor and other engineering disciplines such as those dealing with fire, ventilation, plumbing, and electrical systems. Naturally, each of these engineering disciplines have their own objectives for their part of the project, and thus conflicts often arise and are resolved by interdisciplinary compromise and cooperation. Structural fire engineering is unique in its nature as it is, by definition, a cross-disciplinary enterprise that is concerned with both fire and structural behaviour. Unfortunately, current practice is that structural fire design is performed as a “check” rather than a part of a holistic design approach. This means that the structural fire engineer is often given the constraints of a mostly finished structural design that they need to ensure remains safe under any potential fire scenarios. The time given for such a critical undertaking is usually in the range of one to three weeks. This chapter will cover how automation of the most repetitive and time-consuming parts of structural fire engineering may enable the engineer to perform a thorough structural fire analysis within the tight limitations of realistic project timelines.