The results of the scientific study provide new findings for the realistic design of steel structures in the event of fire. The fire tests were carried out on HEB 320 steel profiles according to the unit temperature-time curve (ETK) - both with and without prior sooting. It was shown that sooted surfaces have a significantly higher emissivity. This change influences the thermal behaviour in the event of fire and should be taken into account when calculating steel temperatures in the future. "The results are an important contribution to the practical evaluation of hot-dip galvanized steel components under the influence of fire," explains Dr Sebastian Moschel, Chairman of the IGSB and co-author of the study. "Our investigations show that even seemingly secondary factors such as sooting have a measurable influence on structural fire protection."
Relevance for fire protection planning
The study emphasizes that taking sooting effects into account can lead to more precise design rules. It provides specialist planners and engineers with important points of reference for better assessing the thermal boundary conditions of hot-dip galvanized steel components in the event of fire. The full article entitled "Influence of Soot Formation on the Emissivity of Hot-Dip Galvanized and Non-Galvanized Steel Column Sections" is available online in the VDI-Verlag eLibrary.