Optimizing Building Rehabilitation through Nondestructive Evaluation of Fire-Damaged Steel-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete

Abstract

Fire incidents pose significant threats to the structural integrity of reinforced concrete buildings, often necessitating comprehensive rehabilitation to restore safety and functionality. Effective rehabilitation of fire-damaged structures relies heavily on accurate damage assessment, which can be challenging with traditional invasive methods. This paper explores the impact of severe damage due to fire exposure on the mechanical behavior of steel-fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) using nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. After being exposed to direct fire, the SFRC specimens are subjected to fracture testing to assess their mechanical properties. NDE techniques, specifically acoustic emission (AE) and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), are employed to assess fire-induced damage. The primary aim of this study is to reveal that AE parameters—such as amplitude, cumulative hits, and energy—are strongly correlated with mechanical properties and damage of SFRC due to fire. Additionally, AE monitoring is employed to assess structural integrity throughout the loading application. The distribution of AE hits and the changes in specific AE parameters throughout the loading can serve as valuable indicators for differentiating between healthy and thermally damaged concrete. Compared to the well-established relationship between UPV and strength in bending and compression, the sensitivity of AE to fracture events shows its potential for in situ application, providing new characterization capabilities for evaluating the post-fire mechanical performance of SFRC. The test results of this study reveal the ability of the examined NDE methods to establish the optimum rehabilitation procedure to restore the capacity of the fire-damaged SFRC structural members.