Performance of Structures Exposed to Extreme High Temperature—An Overview

Strength, durability and stability are the main criteria for material selection and design in the construction industry. Consequently, development and enhancement of construction materials is always an active and attractive field for engineers and researchers. Elevated temperature (fire) is a potential threat for any structural buildings that can cause a major damage. Response of construction materials exposed to elevated temperature or fire requires a full study and analysis with lessons learned from previous cases. In this paper, properties of the common construction materials such as concrete, steel and composite structures under high temperature events is presented and discussed. In addition, performance of advanced materials, such as Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and Concrete Filled Tubular (CFT) when exposed to high temperature was discussed. Recommendations from different design codes to increase fire resistance of structures are introduced. Finally, damage assessment of several bridges and buildings found in the literature exposed to fire events is summarized.