Fire Safety of Tall Wood Buildings:A Research Review

Robert Gerard, MSc, PE, ,Arup, San Francisco29 January 2014

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Course Description

Recent architectural trends in sustainable urbanRecent architectural trends in sustainable urbandensification have spurred a movement towardincreasingly tall buildings made from mass timberproducts or a combination of wood and other

l ll b b ldmaterials. Many tall timber building concepts aremotivated by their suggested advantages insustainability resulting from the use of wood as arenewable resource and low carbon constructionrenewable resource and low carbon constructionmaterial. However, to ensure occupant safety andthe protection of property, the next step is to fullyassess the fire performance of these buildings. This

t ti ill di lt f i iti l t dpresentation will discuss results of an initial studyperformed in coordination with the Fire ProtectionResearch Foundation, as well as recommendationsfor research and testing.g

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the current state of fire and life safety codes and standards as theyrelate to allowing timber as a structural materialrelate to allowing timber as a structural material.

2. Describe the current understanding of fire performance of tall timber buildings,including results of fire testing and examples of high rise timber buildings.

3 Id tif f f t t ti d h d d t d t t f t i3. Identify areas for future testing and research needed to demonstrate safety intall timber buildings.

4. Understand the importance of effective risk communication with timberbuilding stakeholders.building stakeholders.

AgendaI d i fi f• Introduction to fire safety

• Introduction to timber buildingsTi b b ildi l i• Timber building regulations

• Timber fire performanceG i k l d• Gaps in knowledge

• Risk communication: performance based design and building codescodes

6

Fire SafetyS f f fi• Safety from fire- Occupant evacuation- Emergency operations

• Safety from structural failure- Structural stability

• Safety during building use- Occupation

7

Timber BuildingsN l li i• Non-structural applications- Flooring, linings, facades, finishes

8

Timber BuildingsS l li i• Structural applications- Building materials

9

Timber BuildingsLi h i b f d• Light timber frame products- 2” x 4” studs- “I” joists

10

Timber BuildingsLi h i b f i• Light timber frame construction- Stick framing

11

Timber BuildingsH i b f d• Heavy timber frame products- Engineered wood products

Glue laminated wood (Glulam) Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)

12

Glue laminated wood (Glulam) Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)

Timber BuildingsH i b f d• Heavy timber frame products- Engineered wood products

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)

13

Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)

Timber BuildingsH i b f d• Heavy timber frame products- Composite wood products

Post-tensioned timber

14

Post tensioned timber

Timber BuildingsH i b f d• Heavy timber frame products- Composite wood products

Timber-concrete composite

15

Timber concrete composite

Timber BuildingsH i b f i• Heavy timber frame construction- Panelized construction

16

Timber BuildingsH i b f i• Heavy timber frame construction- Post and beam construction

17

Timber BuildingsH i b f i• Heavy timber frame construction- Post-tensioned timber construction

18

Timber BuildingsHi i l l• Historical examples

Yiangxian Pagoda Urnes Stakirke Leckie BuildingYiangxian Pagoda,China, 1056

Urnes Stakirke,Norway, 1132

Leckie Building,Vancouver, Canada, 1908

19

Timber BuildingsC l• Contemporary examples- Post and beam construction

Life Cycle Tower One, Austria 2012

Bullitt Center, Seattle, Washington 2013

20

Austria, 2012 Washington, 2013

Timber BuildingsC l• Contemporary examples- Post and beam construction

Wood Innovation Design Centre, Prince George, Canada, 2014

21

Timber BuildingsC l• Contemporary examples- Panelized construction

Stadthaus,London UK 2009

Via Cenni, Milan Italy 2013

22

London, UK 2009 Milan, Italy, 2013

Timber BuildingsC l• Contemporary examples- Panelized construction

Forte Building, Melbourne, Australia, 2013

23

Timber BuildingsF ibili di• Feasibility studies

40-story office building, CEI Architecture 2013

Timber Tower,SOM 2013

24

CEI Architecture, 2013 SOM, 2013

Timber BuildingsF ibili l• Feasibility examples- Case for Tall Wood

30-story high-rise,i h l G A hi 2012

25

Michael Green Architecture, 2012

Building Regulations in TimberI i l l i• International regulations

26

Building Regulations in TimberI i l l i• International regulations

Country Applicable Building Code Maximum # of StoriesS i kl d U i kl dSprinklered Unsprinklered

Australia 2013 Building Code of Australia (BCA) 3 3

Austria Austrian Building Codes 8 (*72 feet) 3

Canada 2010 National Building Code of Canada (NBCC)

4 3

Germany 2012 Federal Building Code 8 (*59 feet) 3

Sweden 2013 Planning and Building Act 8 2

UnitedKingdom

2010 Building Regulations 5** 4**

* Indicates a height limit in addition to a maximum story limit

27

Building Regulations in TimberUS l i• US regulations

Applicable Building Code Maximum # of StoriesS i kl d U i kl dSprinklered Unsprinklered

2013 International Building Code (IBC) 5* 4*

2012 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 5000

6* 5*(NFPA) 5000

* Number of heavy timber stories permitted

28

Timber Fire PerformanceCh i• Charring- Well-understood- Predictable

- ~0.03 in/min [0.7mm/min]

29

Timber Fire PerformanceFi R i• Fire Resistance- Sacrificial char layer- Post-fire stability

30

Timber Fire PerformanceFi f• Fire performance- Light timber

31

Timber Fire PerformanceFi f• Fire performance- Heavy timber

32

Timber Fire PerformanceFi f• Fire performance- Composite members

33

Timber Fire PerformanceFi f• Fire performance- Connections

34

Timber Fire PerformanceFi i• Fire protection- Light timber

35

Timber Fire PerformanceFi i• Fire protection- Heavy timber

Sacrificial char layerSolid “cold” timber

36

Timber Fire PerformanceFi i• Fire protection- Connections

37

Timber Fire PerformanceTi b F 2000 (TF 2000)• Timber Frame 2000 (TF 2000)- Cardington, UK, 1999- Fire resistance mid-rise timber building

38

Timber Fire PerformanceN l fi i F i d F 2005• Natural fire testing, Frangi and Fontana, 2005- CLT structure- Sprinklered vs. non-sprinklered- Exposed wood vs. gypsum lining

Sprinkler protectionExposed CLT Gypsum board

39

lining

Timber Fire PerformanceLi h i b bli• Light timber assemblies- Improved fire resistance with gypsum board layers and

thickness- Design equations (Just, Schmid and Konig, 2010)

40

Timber Fire PerformanceCLT bli (O b D i B i h 2012)• CLT assemblies (Osborne, Dagenais, Benichou, 2012)- Charring rate consistent with wood (~0.03 in/min

[0.7mm/min])- Predictable behavior- Improved performance with gypsum board protection

41

Timber Fire PerformanceTi b i bli (O’N ill 2012)• Timber composite assemblies (O’Neill, 2012)- Fire performance based on testing- Up to 2-hour ratings for assemblies

42

Gaps in KnowledgeS l l i• System-level testing- Exposed steel testing

43

Gaps in KnowledgeC i bli• Composite assemblies

44

Gaps in KnowledgeC i• Connections

45

Gaps in KnowledgeD l i i• Delamination

46

Gaps in KnowledgeP i• Penetrations- Fire-stopping

47

Gaps in KnowledgeE i• Economics- Fire protection- Life cycle costs

48

Risk CommunicationT h i l d di• Technical understanding- Foundation for demonstrating safe design

49

Risk CommunicationP f b d d i• Performance based design- Alternative solution to prescriptive codes

50

Risk CommunicationI i i i h• Initiating change- Model building codes

51

Risk Communication

• We cling to the myth that timber construction presents risks, while concrete and steel do not. Nonsense. Every materialwhile concrete and steel do not. Nonsense. Every materialpresents risks, but we manage them in different ways…

- Russell Fortmeyer, Arup Structures

52

AcknowledgementsFi P i R h A i i• Fire Protection Research Association

• National Fire Protection AssociationW dW k• WoodWorks

53

Q ti ?Questions?

This concludes TheThis concludes TheAmerican Institute ofArchitects ContinuingEd i SEducation SystemsCourse Robert Gerard, MSc, PE

A S F iArup, San Franciscorobert.gerard@arup.com