A NOVEL TEST METHOD FOR MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES IN FIRE

摘要

A novel testing method/apparatus named the Heat-Transfer Rate Inducing System (H-TRIS) has been developed to control the time-history of incident heat flux imposed on test specimens.H-TRIS can be used to simulate a broad range of thermal exposures, from those encountered in a standard fire resistance test in a furnace to those encountered in any real (or design) fire in a real building.This is made possible by implementing a rational understanding of the fundamentals of heat transfer and a paradigm shift (from a structural fire engineering perspective) in how standard thermal exposures are prescribed;i.e.not by a single temperature in a furnace (e.g.gas temperature) but rather by a time-history of incident (or absorbed) heat flux.H-TRIS enables comprehensive experimental thermal studies with high statistical confidence and repeatability relative to furnace testing at comparatively low economic and temporal costs.