Date: 6 May 2025. Time: 16-17 hrs CET. 

WBTG2.2025. Register (free): Click Here

Speaker: Stefan Zmigrodzki, Canada, CIMA, Longueuil, Canada, Vice-Chair, Task Group 1.2.                              

Moderator: Ignacio Paya-Zaforteza, Spain; Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Chair,  Task Group 1.2.

The first series of webinars prepared by Task Group 1.2, “Structural Design of Bridges against Fire Hazards,” is divided into two parts to fit in the time frame allowed for this type of presentation. The focus of the series is on “the why” of the importance of bridge fires, the vulnerability of bridges exposed to fires, dealing with fire hazards, and finally, fire engineering related to bridge structures.

This present webinar is Part 1 of the series and is composed of two sections: (1) Examples of bride fires (2) Structural response to fire. Examples of 22 selected bridge fires that occurred in the period 2002-2016 are reviewed in detail, explaining the origin of fires and the damages caused to the structure. Based on the presented cases observations and conclusions are then shared with the audience.

Structural response to fire refers to the performance of steel and concrete as materials exposed to heat, the temperature loads created by heat and acting on the structural system and the parameters related to the temperature considered in the analysis.

Documents referred to during the webinar: 

1. Bruno Godart, Jacques Berthellemy, Jean Pierre Lucas. Diagnosis, assessment and repair of the Mathilde bridge close to collapse during a fire. Structural Engineering International, 2015, 25 (3), pp. 331-338. Link: https://hal.science/hal-01215848/document

2. Juan José Pagán-Martínez, Ignacio Payá-Zaforteza, Antonio Hospitaler-Pérez. Post-fire assessment of composite steel-concrete box-girder bridges: Lessons from a recent incident. Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 2024, 214, 108425. Link:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143974X23006521

To watch the webinar recording, you may click here: https://www.iabse.org/elearning/webinars

Thank you and hope to see you at Webinar Part 2, to be held on June 5, 2025: https://www.iabse.org/Upcoming-Webinars

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF BRIDGES AGAINST FIRE HAZARDS - Part 2

Date: 5 June 2025. Time: 16-17 hrs CET. 

WBTG3.2025. Register (free): Click Here

Speaker: Speaker: Stefan Zmigrodzki, Canada, CIMA, Longueuil, Canada, Vice-Chair, Task Group 1.2.          

Moderators: Maria Pina Limongelli, Associate Professor at Politecnico di Milano, Italy, Vice-Chair, IABSE e-Learning and Ignacio Paya-Zaforteza, Spain; Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Chair,  Task Group 1.2.

The first series of webinars prepared by Task Group 1.2, “Structural Design of Bridges against Fire Hazards,” is divided into two parts to fit in the time frame allowed for this type of presentation. The focus of the series is on “the why” of the importance of bridge fires, the vulnerability of bridges exposed to fires, dealing with fire hazards, and finally, fire engineering related to bridge structures. This webinar will present on the topic:  Structural response to fire. This present webinar is Part 2 of the series and is composed of four sections:

- Design for fire based on the NFPA 502

- Risk Analysis

- Dealing with Fire Hazards

- Holistic Approach to Fire vs Life-Cycle Performance

- Closing remarks

Review of the NFPA 502 is followed by the risk analysis based on the parameters related to the nature of risks, the structural performance of bridges and the impact of fire. Examples are given to reflect the presence of dangerous goods under/on bridges and the use of space underneath for parking or storage.

Dealing with fire hazards includes passive protections, conceptual aspects and factors reducing the risks.

Conceptual holistic approach to the design for fire is put in the perspective of the life-cycle performance of structures.

Observations/remarks summarizing the content of both parts of the 1st series of webinars presented by the Task Group 1.2 will close the presentation.