Why do we thermally insulate structural systems? Structural fire protection addresses the low probability and potentially high-consequence event of uncontrolled fire exposure in buildings. The ASCE/SEI 7 industry standard contains industry-consensus provisions for the design of structural fire protection in the U.S., and other adopting jurisdictions. The default option is termed 'standard fire resistance design', and is based on a long-standing empirical indexing system that excludes consideration of realistic thermal demands and structural system response. Furthermore, ASCE/SEI 7 sanctions the use of 'structural fire engineering' as an engineered alternative to standard fire resistance design, as constituted in the new Appendix E section of ASCE/SEI 7, and as described in the new ASCE/SEI Manual of Practice No. 138 (Structural Fire Engineering). Specifically, these resources provide designers the framework to practice structural fire engineering, as well as provide building officials a potent set of tools to properly evaluate such designs. The envisioned endgame of this movement is a gradual transition toward intrinsically fire safe structures which are rationally optimized. Since structural fire design has the potential to produce buildings that are safer, cost less, and are optimized for stakeholder design objectives such as aesthetics, carbon footprint, and allowance for innovation, the future is certainly bright for this movement.
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