Fire Effects on Reinforced Concrete

Abstract

Concrete is a structural material that can be destroyed as a result of varied nature actions. Among them, fire is important: fire is a physical action of great destructive capacity and, at the same time, fire is an accidental action. In general, a fire is a vandalism action or an accidental event, which can affect every structural element. Fire is frequently an aggressor agent for constructions, in general, and for concrete structural elements, in particular. 
The fire attack is always complex. It acts over material made up of steel and concrete, with different behaviors and reactions to rising temperatures. Thus, it is necessary to study the alterations produced on the mechanical characteristics of the concrete, the alterations produced on the mechanical characteristics of the steel reinforcement and the alterations produced on the adherence between the steel and the concrete, and other phenomena such as the deformations imposed as a consequence. of the prevented expansions or the stresses produced by the temperature distribution gradients. This article aims to analyse the resistant capacity and the safety level of deterioration mechanisms, comparing real mechanisms and standard normative theoretical postulates.