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SUMMARY:Structures in Fire or Fires in Structures?
DTSTART:20120314T121500
DTEND:20120314T133000
DTSTAMP:20260407T143852Z
UID:6bf0b0ee368e3c7dd4b5d37cd260551b7587d9ab456df4db14f33735
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. José L. Torero\nThe development of the concept of struc
 tural resistance to fire in the late 19th century enabled the transformati
 on of infrastructure such as tall buildings or the use of steel as a const
 ruction material. Once century later the concept of fire resistance is sti
 ll used in a generalized manner. During the last two decades\, dramatic im
 provements in the understanding of structural behaviour in fire has enable
 d the design and construction of many buildings that do not meet the code 
 compliant requirements of fire resistance. In the same period we have expe
 rienced the biggest structural failures due to fire within buildings that 
 fully met the required fire resistance raising many questions associated t
 o the validity of the fire resistance concept. It has become clear that fi
 re resistance is not an absolute guarantee for structural stability in fir
 e\; nevertheless it is not clear where the weaknesses lie. Structural beha
 viour in fire has thus receive great attention but the definition of the 
 “fire load” has been fundamentally neglected\, ignoring how the modern
  build environment has displaced us away from the standard temperature vs.
  time curve. This presentation will discuss the weaknesses and strengths o
 f the fire resistance concept emphasizing both the fundamental understandi
 ng of complex structural behaviour (tensile membrane action\, spalling\, m
 aterial properties\, etc.) and the nature of the “fire load” in modern
  built environments (definition of space\, fuel loads\, ventilation\, etc.
 ).\n\nBio: Jose L. Torero (FREng\, FRSE\, CEng\, PhD) is BRE Trust/RAEng P
 rofessor of Fire Safety Engineering and Director of the BRE Centre for Fir
 e Safety Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. Fellow of the Royal A
 cademy of Engineering and Royal Society of Edinburgh and recipient of the 
 2008 Arthur B. Guise Medal from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (
 USA) and the 2011 Rasbash Medal from the Institution of Fire Engineers (UK
 ) for eminent achievements in the science\, engineering and education in F
 ire Safety. Author of more than 150 journal publications and 500 technical
  documents in conferences around the world. Member of many technical and s
 tandards committees\, editor of Fire Safety Journal as well as editorial b
 oards of diverse journals in the fields of architecture\, combustion\, ene
 rgy and fire.\nLeading expert in the development of fire safety solutions 
 for complex environments that include spacecraft\, tunnels\, oil platforms
 \, historic building\, nuclear power plants and tall buildings among other
 s. His work crosses the boundaries of civil\, chemical\, mechanical and ae
 rospace engineering as well as architecture\, sustainability and preservat
 ion of the environment. Participated in landmark investigations of WTC 1\,
  2 & 7 collapses\, Madrid Windsor Tower fire and Buncefield explosion and 
 fire as well as in unique building designs like the Heron Tower (London) o
 r the Space Shuttle Hangars in Florida.
LOCATION:GC C330 http://plan.epfl.ch/?room=GC%20C3%2030
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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