Behavior of Wood in Case of Fire: Proposal for a Stochastic Dimensioning of Structural Elements

The European standards EN 199x, the so-called Eurocodes, permit for the dimensioning of structural elements in case of fire besides the conservative methods (prescriptive rules), alternative ways of solution. They are described by performance-based codes. The author Dietmar Bobacz developed tools to dimension wood members on basis of performance-based codes. A fire event in this connection is no longer determined by the standard temperature curve (STC) but individually derived for each fire scenario. This is the first step. The main part of this paper deals with the calculation of charring and the temperature distribution in a wood cross-section. The last tool consists of a structural mechanical FE-model, which is based on the thermal cross-section analysis. All three tools combined allow the realization of a performance-based dimensioning according to EN 1991. This paper addresses engineers and architects to strike new paths within the framework of the European standardization as well as scientists who are working on similar or continuative research projects.