Towards reliability-based structural fire safety:

Development and probabilistic applications of a direct

stiffness method for concrete frames exposed to fire
Ruben Van Coile

Supervisors: Prof. Robby Caspeele

Counsellor: ir. Pieterjan Criel
Defense, June 23, 2016

Layout of the Presentation

Background and motivation
Efficient probabilistic evaluations: the ME-MDRM
Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire
Combining the ME-MDRM and the DSM-tool
Roundup / Conclusions
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Background and motivation

Efficient probabilistic calculations: the ME-MDRM

Estimation of the PDF
Limited number of simulations, thanks to:
Gaussian interpolation
Multiplicative Dimensional Reduction (Method)
Basic concept developed by Zhang (2013)
Modifications in dissertation:
Estimate stability through Latin Hypercube Sampling
Further reduction of number of simulations (4n +1 vs 5n+1)
Generalized Gaussian interpolation
(vs. Legendre, Chebyshev)
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Efficient probabilistic calculations: the ME-MDRM

Simple example
Y =2

X1 X 2
X3

With X1 : LN (3; 0.3); X2 : LN (4; 0.5); X3 : LN (2; 0.2)

Y: LN (12.48; 0.646)

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Linear-elastic second-order Direct Stiffness Method
(Vandepitte, 1979), (Caspeele, 2015)

[ F ] = [ S ][ D ] + [ F0 ]

py
i

ui

Mj

px
vi (<0)

Xi

dx px
q = - py sin
- px cos

vj (<0)

Mi

py

j*

i*

Xj

Yj

Nj
q
c

dx (1+)
Ni

S1' S2'
S = '
'
S
S
3 4
'

Yi

uj

EA

M + M
S1' = i 2 j
l

Mi + M j
l

4 EI
P
+ )
3 (
l
l
2 EI
( + )
l2

2 EI

+ )
2 (
l

2 EI

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Non-linear behavior of concrete elements during fire exposure
Stiffness parameters are N, M, and time-dependent

Force-less strain and

Moment-less curvature

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Re-derivation of the stability functions and

Conclusion
Mathematical formulation of stability functions maintained
Effect on DSM-equations:
DSM equations maintained when including stiffness forces N
and M in the force-vector

F ' = S ' D' + F0'

pl

x + N

p
l
y

2
pyl
2 +M

tg

F0' =

px l

pyl

p
l
y
2 M
1

tg

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Application and validation: eccentrically loaded concrete column

10

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Application: simple concrete frame

11

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Application: simple concrete frame

12

Direct Stiffness Method (DSM) for concrete frames during fire

Application: simple concrete frame

13

Combining the ME-MDRM and the DSM-tool

Load E
Resistance R
during fire

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Resistance R
prior to fire

Combining the ME-MDRM and the DSM-tool

Application: PDF describing the shear force in the column

15

Combining the ME-MDRM and the DSM-tool

Application: PDF describing the mid-span displacement of
a restrained beam

16

Combining the ME-MDRM and the DSM-tool

Application: load-bearing capacity of an eccentrically loaded concrete column

Pmax kN

Pmax kN 0.005 m

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Roundup / Conclusions
Re-derivation of Direct Stiffness Method, including fire effects

Adaptation of the ME-MDRM: a recently developed method

for an efficient estimation of the PDF of a model output
Combination of the ME-MDRM and the DSM-tool: method
seems promising
ME-MDRM proves its worth especially when the PDF is not
described by a traditional (lognormal) distribution
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Thank you for your attention !

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