ASSESSMENT OF THE MECHANICAL STRENGTH OF A STRUCTURE SUBJECT FO FIRE ATTACK AT THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE (WUI)

Abstract

Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) have a strong detrimental impact on the built environment. This study evaluates the effect of fire in the WUI on steel sandwich panels in a prescriptive fire field experience. The heat transfer mechanisms are obtained using a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation, more specifically the adiabatic surface temperatures (AST) of the structure. The ASTs were applied in a finite element model (FEM) as boundary conditions in the thermal field in order to quantify the heat transfer processed by the FEM. In conclusion, it is identified which area of the structure is most affected due to the temperatures in the panels.