| Vol. - No. | Vol.7 - No.4 |
|---|---|
| Date | Dec., 2018 |
| Title | Editor's Note |
| Contents |
Since the Broadgate Phase 8 fire in London and the subsequent Cardington fire tests in the 1990s, researchers have been focusing on understanding the response of structural systems under fire conditions. This trend strengthened further following the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 which motivated the structural fire research community to investigate fireinduced progressive collapse of tall buildings, given the potentially enormous consequences of such events.High-rise building fires traditionally rely upon preventing vertical spread of fire and smoke. This is because the capacity for exterior rescue and firefighting is limited, evacuation times are longer, and the fires may be more complex and therefore less predictable due to mixed occupancies and large open-plan spaces with fewer barriers. However, many accidents (such as the Grenfell Tower fire in London, June 2017) have shown that the traditional approach of preventing vertical fire spread is not always reliable, highlighting the need for continued research on developing better approaches for tall building fire safety. Despite significant achievements over the past twenty years, there is still no comprehensive guidance on the fire safety of tall buildings. This special issue on Fire Safety of Tall Buildings for IJHRB aims to summarize some of the achievements and inspire further research and development of design and construction approaches to ensure robustness of high-rise buildings and safety of the occupants against fire. A total of 10 papers have been collected in this special issue, covering three different scales for elements of the tall buildings: material, component and the whole structure. Firstly, some key issues on fire safety engineering for high-rise buildings is reviewed by Prof. Guo-Qiang Li, Chao Zhang and Dr. Jian Jiang. Then from the material perspective, Prof. Weiyong Wang and his colleagues present experimental results of mechanical properties of high strength steel at elevated temperatures. Dr. John Gales et al. shared their latest experimental work on the shear strength of glulam. On structural components, papers from the research team led by Prof. João Rodrigues and Prof. Zhong Tao, discuss the fire behavior of concrete-filled steel tubular columns. Dr. Shanshan Huang et al. propose a simplified spring connection modelling approach for steel flush endplate beam-to-column connections in fire. The flammability and performance of building facades is studied by Prof. Guillermo Rein et al. On the scale of the whole structure, Dr. Jian Jiang presents a review on the progressive collapse mechanisms of steel framed buildings exposed to fire. Dr. Chao Zhang and Prof. Asif Usmani investigate the structural response of buildings subjected to travelling fire scenarios. The contribution of all authors for this valuable and interesting special issue is highly appreciated. We are also extremely thankful for the support of IJHRB Chief Editor, Prof. Sangdae Kim and his staff. |