Passive fire protection methods of load-bearing structures in case of hydrocarbon fire

Abstract

The work was commissioned by Neste Jacobs. The first objective of the thesis was to study a procedure of passive fire protection design for structures and to create a guide and a scheme for civil engineers containing steps of the fire protection design process. The second objective was to figure out what passive fire protection methods are used for load-bearing structures in case of hydrocarbon fire, to study and to compare them. The data for this study was gathered from codes, articles taken from the Internet and by interviewing civil engineers working in the relevant field. Websites and brochures of some manufacturing companies were a very useful tool in understanding the composition and the protection mechanism of fireproofing materials. The final result of this thesis was the work instruction designed for civil engineers which describes the procedure of the passive fire protection design. As a result of the thesis, an important conclusion was drawn that the choice of a fire protection method depends on many factors, of which the most significant are the type, the material, and the shape complexity of a structural member, acting load, the type of a fire and the environmental conditions. Composite structures have a good behavior under a fire situation and deserve further thorough study.