Hi All,
I am working on the rehabilitation of a fire-damaged structure.
Should I consider the Column below Soil structurally deficient.
visually it doesn't look like fire affected the column below grade.
Should I retrofit whole member or just the section above plinth beam.
as Slab on Grade is a 6" the Plain Concrete Slab which is difficult to chissel/excavate.
Assessment and repair of concrete structures ( Fire damages)
Dear Ahmad Uzair Arshad
A visual inspection is required to assess concrete structures damaged by fire. However, fire (heat) decreases the strength of a concrete-structure. Therefore, you cannot limit your investigation to visual inspection. A structural test to assess the integrity of the structure is required above and below soils. I advise measuring the strength of all the concrete members using a rebound hammer (Schmidt Hammer) on-site, or you can drill a core sample from the concrete member and measure the strength in the lab. For the concrete slab, load testing to evaluate de deflection of the reinforced concrete slab is required. The repair methods are selected base on the assessment results. For example, you can use jacketing (attached files) for columns
Attached documents
1-handbook Repairs concrete structures
2-Jacketing
Thank you.
While you can rationally assume that the deeper you go below the soil level, you would expect less damage, it really depends on the boundary conditions (how well the soil around the column provides thermal insulation during a fire) and on the fire event itself, i.e. what levels of temperatures have been reached during the fire event in the below soil part of the column. Ahmad Uzair (earlier answer) is right that you need to carry out a visual inspection and some non-destructive assessment to get a better insight.
I think it does to a certain level. If the material is a reinforced concrete, the steel embedded in the concrete matrix expands because of the excessive heat. After the inferno may have stopped, it contracts there by creating voids at the steel and concrete interface. This void becomes an entry point for moisture and other deleterious substances which eventually damages the concrete over time
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