Communication framework for Hybrid Fire Testing: developments and applications in virtual and real environments.

Area of Science:

• Structural Engineering
• Fire Safety Engineering
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• Traditional fire tests on structural members lack realism.
• Full-scale fire tests are accurate but impractical for widespread use.
• Hybrid Fire Testing offers a viable alternative to bridge the gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and present a MATLAB-based communication framework for Hybrid Fire Testing.
• To validate the developed framework through simulations of structural systems under fire loads.
• To highlight the significance of environmental factors and key parameters in hybrid fire testing.

Main Methods:

• Hybrid Fire Testing technique integrating physical substructures (PS) and numerical substructures (NS).
• Real-time communication framework enabling continuous updates of mechanical boundary conditions.
• Validation using a single degree of freedom system and a ten-story steel frame under design fire.

Main Results:

• Successful development and validation of the MATLAB communication framework for hybrid fire testing.
• Demonstrated the critical influence of the 'cold surrounding' effect on structural fire behavior.
• Identified time step and substructure stiffness as crucial parameters affecting test accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The developed communication framework enables reliable hybrid fire testing.
• Accurate structural fire response assessment requires considering ambient conditions alongside fire exposure.
• Optimizing parameters like time step and stiffness is essential for effective hybrid fire testing.