FOREWORD

This book is a major new contribution to the wider understanding of structural behaviour in fires. The art and science of designing structures for fire safety has grown dramatically in recent years, accompanied by the development of sophisticated codes of practice such as the Eurocodes. The Eurocode documents have evolved over several decades and now represent the best international consensus on design rules for structures exposed to fires.

Codes alone do not provide enough information for design, especially as they become more sophisticated and comprehensive. Most codes have been written by a small army of dedicated experts, some of whom have been immersed in the project for many years, with the responsibility to provide the correct rules, not necessarily to provide guidance for using those rules. Code users want to understand the basic concepts, the philosophy of the code-writers, and hands-on advice for using the code.

Structural design for fire is conceptually similar to structural design for normal temperature conditions, but often more difficult because of internal forces induced by thermal expansion, strength reduction due to elevated temperatures, much larger deflections, and many other factors. Before making any design it is essential to establish clear objectives, and determine the severity of the design fire. This book shows how the code writers have taken these factors into account, and gives guidance for all those wishing to use the Eurocodes for fire design of steel structures.

Dr Jean-Marc Franssen has been a pioneer in the field of structural design for fire safety, with extensive involvement in codes, software development, research, teaching, and consulting. He is also well known for establishing the SiF Structures in Fire international workshops. His co-author is Dr Raul Zaharia, another leading researcher in structural fire engineering. Together they have produced a book which will be extremely valuable to any design professionals or students wishing to use and understand Eurocode 3, or to learn more about the design of steel structures exposed to fires.

The fire sections of the Eurocodes are considered to be among the most advanced international codes of practice on fire design of structures , and have attracted attention around the world. This book will be an excellent introduction for readers from other regions who wish to become knowledgeable about the philosophy, culture and details of the Eurocodes.

Professor Andy Buchanan

University of Canterbury , New Zealand .

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