Fire resistance of timber columns

Fire resistance of timber structures is a vital issue of health and safety in building design. Timber columns represent an important structural element and their fire resistance should be considered during design. In particular, effect of loading and slenderness among the important parameters which effect performance of timber columns during fire. This paper represents the outcomes of a research performed at the Fire Research Institute, University of Ulster to investigate the fire resistance of heavy timber columns taking into account the effect of two structural factors. The factors included in the parametric study are loading level and columns slenderness. The paper also focuses on the charring effect of heavy timber columns in fire. Valuable curves and data on axial displacements and temperatures profile of columns are shown in the paper. A comparison between experimental and theoretical values of columns fire resistance calculated according to the EUROCODE5 is also presented.