Construction application of Fibre/Mesh method for protecting concrete columns in fire

In this paper, a construction application of a technique to improve the fire resistance of high strength concrete is presented. Before the construction application, fire tests of three hours duration were carried out in accordance with ISO-834. Three types of mitigating methods, namely, a specimen with no protection (control), with fireproof panel protection and with the combination of polypropylene fibre reinforcement and metal mesh confinement (Fibre/Mesh), were applied to full sized columns for comparison purposes. The fire resistance performance of all columns was tested under loads. After the fire tests, the severity of spalling of specimens was assessed, and the best performing technique, Fibre/Mesh, for spalling protection was selected for an application in practice. The process of the construction application is described in detail, including pumping, pouring and compacting of the concrete. The concrete quality was examined and the behaviour of the concrete was observed. Consequently, it was verified that this new spalling resistance technique is feasible in practice.