Chapter 11 Structural fire engineering design

The purpose of this chapter is to explain the methodology underpinning the structural fire engineering design process. Structural fire engineering design consists of three basic components: choosing an appropriate design fire, using this information to derive the temperatures of the structural elements and assessing the structural behaviour with respect to the temperatures derived. For each element of the structural fire engineering design process there are a number of options available to the designer depending on the complexity of the project, the state of knowledge with regard to the structural material chosen and the objectives of the fire engineering design strategy. Detailed information on the design methodology in this area is available in the Institution of Structural Engineers’ Guide to the Advanced Fire Safety Engineering of Structures (2007).