Structural Fire Design Codes: United Kingdom vs. United States

This report, prepared by a student at Kingston University London, compares fire design provisions for steel elements in the United Kingdom (Eurocode 3/EC3/BS EN 1993-1-2:2005) and the United States (AISC-360). The study aims to determine which set of design provisions is more uneconomical or non-conservative. The research includes a literature review of historical building fires and the evolution of fire codes, followed by a conceptual design and a case study of a multi-story steel frame building. The report analyzes temperature-dependent properties, mechanical and thermal properties of steel, and probabilistic analyses at both member and system levels. The findings aim to provide insights into the performance-based fire design approaches of both codes, considering factors like building size and usage, and ultimately assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of each code in ensuring fire safety. The report concludes with a discussion of the results and suggestions for future studies.