Residual axial strength of reinforced concrete columns after exposure to standard and non-standard fires

This study investigated the residual axial strength of reinforced concrete (RC) columns after exposure to standard and non-standard fires. Experiments and theoretical analyses were performed on 30 RC columns, which were divided into five groups: one group (the control group) was not exposed to fire; two groups were exposed to 30-min and 45-min ISO 834 standard fires; and the other two groups were exposed to 60-min and 75-min non-standard fires. These postfire specimens were axially loaded until they failed. The experimental results showed that 30-min and 45-min ISO 834 fires decreased the residual strength by 11.6% and 17.4%, respectively. 60-min and 75-min non-ISO 834 fires caused similar reductions in the residual axial strength of postfire RC columns, although the durations of these non-standard fires were considerably longer. This experimental result confirmed that the maximum temperature, rather than the fire durations, of non-standard fires governed the reduction in the residual axial strength. In theoretical analysis, the axial strength of postfire RC columns can be calculated using the proposed model, which combines the confinement model, the 500°C isotherm method, and the distribution model of temperature. The proposed model can appropriately predict the residual axial strength of postfire columns when the fire closely follows the ISO 834 fire. The inaccuracy of the model significantly increases when the fires are non-ISO 834 fires. Two concepts, namely equivalent area and maximum temperature, were introduced to address the issue. The concept of maximum temperature successfully addressed the above-mentioned issue and exhibited superiority over the concept of equivalent area. This result reaffirmed the superior governing characteristic of the maximum temperature compared with the duration of non-standard fires, as evidenced in the experimental results. The proposed models would be useful for engineers in practice when evaluating the residual axial strength of both standard and non-standard postfire RC columns.