Concrete Repair, Rehabilitation and Retrofitting II – Alexander et al (eds)

© 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-46850-3

Assessment of post-fire reinforced concrete structures: Determination

of depth of temperature penetration and associated damage

C. Alonso
Institute of Construction Science Eduardo Torroja, Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT: The assessment of concrete structures affected by the fire should allow understanding what
happened during fire and developing rational criteria for the evaluation of the security of the structure. The
result of the assessment should be used to take the decision on further repair, partial or total demolition of the
structure. Two main goals to be answered during the assessment analysis are: 1) The determination of the depth
of concrete exposed to temperatures that produce irreversible alteration of concrete components, and 2) the
mechanical strength decay of concrete that can affect the load bearing capacity of the element or the structure
itself. The assessment of the integrity of a concrete structure in the post fire situation involves addressing the
damaged of each component. To differentiate between concrete chemically affected by the fire or physically
damaged is an important issue. In this paper the depth of concrete of a structure exposed 48 h in fire and a tall
building, >100 m (Windsor Tower) 18 h exposed to fire are used as examples of real fires. In-situ inspection
and laboratory tests of concrete components have been performed. The heterogeneity in the distribution of the
damage is identified and the depth of concrete affected by the fire is determined.

1 INTRODUCTION at each specific temperature. Due to these reasons

Reinforced concrete is considered a material that
shows an acceptable resistance to high temperatures,
which allows using concrete elements without the
need of any additional protection. However, long
periods of exposition of reinforced concrete to high
temperatures introduce physical-chemical changes in
its properties that lead to mechanical strength decay
which produces losses in the safety of the structure,
(Piasta et al (1984a), Alonso & Fernandez-Municio,
(2004, 2008) .
The assessment of deteriorated concrete structures
after fire is needed in order to identify the level of
damage induced by the chemical and physical proc-
esses taking place, in all the components at high tem-
peratures and also during cooling, which contribute
to the loss of mechanical strength, Tay & Tam (1996),
Khoury (1992), Chan et al (2000). The residual struc-
tural capacity has to be accurately addressed when the
safety of the structure is in risk, in order to define
the best strategy for repairing or to decide on its
demolition.
The low thermal diffusivity of concrete guarantees
a slow propagation of the chemical transformations
of the components of concrete, paste and aggregates,
which also need time for fully developing conversions
strong thermal gradients appear, that induce internal
mechanical pressures in the concrete mass, which
allows the development of cracks both during heat-
ing and cooling, Chan et al (2000). Besides, when the
temperature gradients are high, the pressures accumu-
lated inside the pores increase due to the water vapour
evolution, so the risk of spalling of external concrete
layers is possible, leaving new surfaces of concrete
exposed directly to the external high temperatures of
the fire, Bazant & Kaplan (1996).
The physical-chemical transformations that take
place in concrete components during fire are well
known and also very well addressed when the charac-
terisation is made in the laboratory in concrete sam-
ples that have been allowed to reach the steady state at
each temperature; an acceptable correlation with loss
of mechanical properties is found, Rostasy et al (1987).
It is more difficult to assure a good correlation of
real fire scenarios using equivalent time curves from
codes and the level of damage in concrete, Schneider
(1990). However, it is more complicated when the
fire takes place in a real structure, as many factors are
contributing to the damage and no clear relationship
can be found between the maximum temperature and
the residual concrete strength or load bearing capacity
of the structure.

471
 The most common requirement for in-situ
investigation is the estimation of concrete strength,
through the assessment of defined properties, adopt-
ing the criteria that variations in strength are taking
place between non affected and damaged concrete.
The assessment of the residual capacity of concrete
structures exposed to fire is a quite complex task,
mainly due to the heterogeneity of the concrete, but
also associated with the irregular distribution of the
damage induced by the fire. The possible approach
is to find an average response of the concrete cover
both using destructive and non destructive analysis, in
order to interpret the overall response of the concrete
after fire, Feliceti (2008).
In-situ non-destructive techniques are widely
employed for distinguishing between damaged and
apparently non affected areas of concrete elements,
such as resilience, hammer-tapping, ultrasonic pulse
etc. Benedeti (1998), Benedetti & Mangoni (2004a),
Fellicety (2004), Calavera et al (2005), Colombo &
Felicetti (2006).
However, the determination of the penetration
of the damage and the differentiating between the
type of damage (chemical, physical or mechanical)
are important to ascertain the consequences of the
thermal gradients, which require the use of concrete
cores for laboratory testing, usually for mechanical
strength, petrography analysis and thermal alteration
of cement paste.
More feasible methods are being adopted, includ-
ing infra-red thermal imaging, digital camera colori-
metric etc., Fellicety (2004b), Colombo & Felicetti
(2006), Short & Purkiss (2004), Zhang et al (2002).
Chemical analysis of cement paste, e.g. thermo-
gravimetric, TG and X Ray Diffraction tests, are
also employed in order to determine the alteration of
hydrated cement paste components that are related to
mechanical strength decay, Alonso (2006a,b), Alonso
& Fernandez-Municio (2007). Also, attempts have
been made to assess cracking using petrographic
thin sections and Scanning Microscopy, SEM, Tay &
Tam (1996), Rilley (1991), Piasta (1984b), Cioni et al
(2001). Alonso et al (2005). In Alonso (2006a) the
identification of indicators of damage to assess rein-
forced concrete structures affected by fire is consid-
ered, and a protocol to identify the level of damage in
the concrete is given.
However, the isolated use of any method does not
give reliable results because of the gradient and non-
homogeneity of the damage that cause differences
between the external and internal strength. In addition
the assessment of post-fire reinforced concrete struc-
tures is complex due to the overlapping of chemical
and physical phenomena inducing different type of
damages, Alonso (2006a,b).
In this paper the assessment of damage of concrete
in post-fire structures that have suffered different
472
scenarios of fire are considered, one underground
structure 48h in fire and a tall building, Windsor
Tower, 18h in fire. In-situ inspection and labora-
tory tests have been performed. The heterogeneity in
the distribution of the damage is identified, and the
depth of concrete affected by the fire is determined,
that has allowed identifying the gradient of tempera-
tures reached in the concrete. The depth of concrete
for the critical temperature of 500°C has been deter-
mined. Finally, a protocol for assessment of con-
crete structures affected by fire is given including
non destructive and destructive methods and micro-
macrostructure analyses of the damage.
2 DESCRIPTIONS OF THE STRUCTURES
The Windsor Tower in Madrid, >100 m tall, was
involved in a major fire on the 13th of February 2005,
of 18 hours duration. The fire caused an extensive
structural damage of the upper floors of the building.
The fire of this building caused intense interest
among researchers seeking a better understanding
of the performance of concrete structures under fire,
due to the nature of the construction of the building,
a large concrete frame with steel perimeter columns.
The standard structure of the tower was built around
a central reinforced concrete core, with columns of
50 × 220 and 50 × 180 cm size, that housed lifts and
stairways, Calavera et al (2005), Fletcher et al (2006).
The other type of building construction considered
was an underground power station for distribution of
electricity, containing three basements. The roof of
the first basement was built with prestressed beams.
A reinforced concrete slab 3 m thick was constructed
between the second and third basement. Each floor
has columns with different dimensions, 250 × 30 × 35
and 250 × 30 × 50 cm, spaced 4 to 5 m. Some inter-
secting concrete beams, 35 × 30 × 600 cm, complete
the structure. The fire was initiated in the first base-
ment and reached the second and third basements.
The duration of the active fire in the third basement
was 48 hours.
3 IN-SITU INSPECTION OF POST-FIRE
CONCRETE STRUCTURES
3.1 Visual inspection
Visual inspection was used to assess apparent dam-
age, for instance the distribution of zones of explod-
ing concrete, as those shown in figure 1, in beams and
slab of the underground structure. Also the corners of
the columns are weak points for explosion, as shown
in figure 2.

Figure 1. Damage in concrete elements after fire, spalling
in prestressed and reinforced beams and in concrete slab.
Figure 2. Damage in a corner of the columns of the Wind-
sor Tower. Changes in colour and break of aggregates, oxide
layer covering the external bars and brittle fracture in a stir-
rup (Calavera et al (2005)).
One concern in the inspection is to identify the
moment of the different explosions, if they occurred
during fire, at high temperature, or during cooling.
Although this is not an easy task from a simple obser-
vation, some aspects in the concrete can help: The
pink colour change in the paste and siliceous aggre-
gates of the concrete of Windsor Tower suggested a
temperature in the area around 800–900ºC, Alonso
(2006b). Besides, the explosion zones can leave the
reinforcement exposed, if it is fully covered with a
layer of oxide of brown-red or black colour, is typical
of corrosion induced at high temperature, >500ºC.
The pretressed beams, which are very sensitive to
fire and temperature gradients, can be subjected to
explosions that partially or totally destroy the beams,
including breaking the presetressed wires. The explo-
sion could develop in several steps: 1) first a concrete
explosion due to thermal and pore pressure stresses
in concrete that leaves the wires exposed directly
473
to the fire, 2) followed by a sudden increase of the
temperature of the wire, and 3) breaking some wires
due to loss in ductility of the steel. Also some brit-
tle fracture in reinforcements, as shown in figure 2,
indicates that the temperature has reached values
>500°C.
3.2 Non-destructive in-situ testing
The most employed ND method for assessing the
extension of the damage of concrete structures after
fire is the ultrasonic pulse velocity. The ultrasound
pulse test performed on the columns of the under-
ground structure pointed out the heterogeneities in
the damage within the column itself and between col-
umns, as shown in figure 3. The ultrasound rate varies
with: a) the height of the column, indicative of the
heterogeneous distribution of the damage, b) the pres-
ence of cracks and c) the distance to the crack. These
measurements put in evidence that sharp variations
in cracking intensity correspond well with low ultra-
sound rate measurements, however, the penetration of
the damage and the depth of chemical alteration com-
ponents due to fire cannot be deduced directly from
these measurements.
3.3 Concrete and reinforced samples
Cores of concrete in the selected zones defined from
in-situ test should contribute to the final determina-
tion of the damage penetration. The extraction of a
full core is, in most of the cases, quite complicated
due to the gradient of damage, chemical alteration
and generation of cracks. The observation inside the
hole of the column, after the core extraction, can help
to identify the propagation of cracks, as those shown
in figure 4-left.
The carbonation depth should be also determined
in-situ at different points of the structure and in the
cores, using phenophtalein indicator, in order not
to misunderstand with portlandite transformation
induced by the fire, Alonso (2006a,b).
4000
3500
3000
Rate (m/s)
2500
2000 1-Heavy cracked
1500 3-cracks<0.1
4-No cracks
1000
2-cracks<0.1
500
5-heavy cracked
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Column Height (cm)
Figure 3. Ultrasound pulse velocity variation in columns
of the underground building. Effect of cracking and height.

Figure 4. Concrete core from a column and hole showing
cracks (left). Steel wire covered with oxide and brittle frac-
ture due to high temperature exposition (left).
Reinforcement samples should be obtained to
determine the loss of mechanical properties and the
embrittlement, as shown in figure 4 (right).
4 MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL
CHANGES IN CONCRETE SAMPLES
Concrete samples should help to determine the
mechanical strength and to identify the temperature
depth penetration that has induced chemical changes
in concrete components.
4.1 Mechanical strength losses
The determination of the mechanical losses due to the
action of fire is a complicated task, as the damage
does not distribute homogenously. Besides, a gradient
of concrete with different levels of alteration of chem-
ical components exists. In addition, most of the time
it is not possible to get a full core, as the case shown
in figure 4, with the external zone broken; however
the inner part can be used for the determination of
mechanical strength of the mass of the concrete not
affected by the fire.
4.2 Methods for the determination of chemical
and physical transformations in cement paste
The CSH gel of hydrated cement paste is the main
component and responsible for mechanical strength,
Alonso & Fernandez-Municio (2008). The dehydra-
tion of CSH identified with the TG test at a weight
loss between 100 to 350°C does not take place at
ambient temperature, as happens with portlandite
transformation due to carbonation, Alonso (2006a,b).
The CSH transformation allows identifying the depth
of concrete exposed to temperatures up to 350ºC, as
shown in figure 5 for columns of the Windsor Tower
of different floors, given a maximum depth for CSH
transformation up to 3 cm, while in the underground
building up to 7 cm, Alonso (2006a,b).
474
5
Floor P12
Floor P13
4 Floor P19
Floor P14
3
% CSH
2
1
0
0 5 10 15
Depth (cm)
Figure 5. Depth of cement paste alteration at several con-
crete depths, from TG tests.
Figure 6. Microscopy of cement paste and aggregate alter-
ation due to fire.
SEM was used to confirm the type of damage. In
the case of the concrete from the prestressed beams
of the underground building, intense micro crack-
ing in the mass of the concrete was observed, both in
aggregates and cement paste, figure 6 (left); but the
cement paste did not show chemical alteration. These
damages are attributed to the explosions due thermal
and pore pressures accumulated inside the concrete
(Alonso, 2006a).
The Backscattering Microscopy allowed identify-
ing the degradation of cement paste and aggregates;
loss of density of the material and bond between
paste and aggregates are indicative that the depth of
the concrete has been exposed to temperatures above
350°C, figure 6 (right). The presence of ettringite
crystals indicate that the temperature reached values
below 100°C at a specific depth, Alonso (2006b).
The micro-hardness measurements in cement
paste have allowed differentiation between different
damaged zones and quality of concretes. The poros-
ity has contributed; although to a lesser extent, to dif-
ferentiating between levels of damage. Increases in
porosity are generally associated with dehydration
processes, but also due to the formation of microc-
racking, Alonso (2006a,b).
5 ANALYSES OF THE METHODOLOGIES 1000
FOR ASSESSMENT OF FIRE CONCRETE 900
DAMAGE
800

Although there are several techniques to determine 700

the depth of concrete altered by the temperature, their 600

Tª ºC
use alone do not allow accurately determining the 500
depth of concrete affected by the fire, and some of
400
them are not able to discriminate between the type of
damage, physical or chemical. None of the methods, 300
neither NDT nor DT is able to determine the loss of 200
mechanical strength even with the direct measure-
100
ment of the strength, because of the presence of a
gradient of damage in the concrete elements. 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Measurement of the ultrasound velocity has the Depth (cm)
advantage of a NDT technique able to differentiate
among damaged and non-damaged zones. However, Figure 7. Mean temperature depth in concrete columns
the determination of the depth of concrete cover exposed to fire of Windsor Tower.
affected is difficult from this method, as the ultra-
sound velocity variation in a fired concrete structure
400
changes not only due to the dehydration of cement
paste, but also because of the crack formation; how- 350
ever, the presence of cracks does not necessarily mean
900
a fire alteration of the concrete components; in fact, 300 700
most of cracks are due to the thermal stresses during
fire, Alonso (2006a). 500
250
Ultrasound velocity measurements taken in Calavera
Cover (mm)

et al (2004) in Windsor Tower showed that the direct
ultrasound velocity measurement data did not always
allow discriminating with respect to the depth of
damage, and laboratory tests on cores were needed
to calibrate the measurements on-site to give an over-
estimation (up to a depth of 10 cm) of the depth at
which the compressive strength of the concrete was
considered irreversibly affected.
Microscopic techniques allow differentiating bet-
ween the microstructure changes in the paste, aggre-
gates, the interface bonding loss and the cracking,
but experience is needed to identify the origin of the
damage.
Thermo-gravimetric tests are able to identify
the local chemical changes in cement paste and the
level of dehydration of CSH, which is the compo-
nent responsible for concrete strength development.
Variations in CSH transformation and microstructure
changes in concrete elements from different floors of
the Windsor Tower indicated that the alteration of con-
crete due to fire penetrated up to a maximum of 3 cm,
Alonso (2006b), which did not agree with the values
predicted in Calavera et al (2005). Figure 7 shows the
concrete depth of temperature penetration determined
from microstructure testing.
Relationships have been found between several
indicators of concrete damage, including micro-
hardness, porosity and CSH transformation. A transfor-
mation of at least 55% CSH is needed to induce
relevant changes in the other properties, Alonso (2006).
300
200 100
150
100
50
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
Cover (mm)
Figure 8. Isotherm in concrete columns of Windsor Tower
exposed to fire. Determination of the depth of isotherm
500°C.
The damage induced by the fire in the concrete
elements is very heterogeneous; the reason is attrib-
uted to the fact that in a real scenario the fire is not
homogenous within the structure, and even within the
same floor or column. The surface temperature varies
between one place and another and also the duration
of the intensity of the fire, so that the effect of the
concrete damage also will be different. In the case of
Windsor Tower the extension of the damage varied
from one floor to another, i.e. in floors 12 to 19 the
differences were very relevant and the results showed
that in the higher floors the depth of concrete affected
by the fire did not penetrate more than 1.5 cm, while
in the lower floors the penetration of damaged reached
a depth of 3 cm.

475
 Finally the isotherms of the temperature depths
inside the concrete columns were drown (figure 8),
and in particular the isotherm for the depth of 500°C
was determined, which can be used for further calcu-
lation of residual load bearing capacity.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The use of a set of tests allows differentiating between
several levels of damage and to identify indicators of
damage in post-fire structures.
• The use of ultrasound pulse as a non destructive
technique allows identifying damaged areas of the
structure, but does not give the penetration of the
damage.
• The TG test is an accurate method to determine
the chemical degradation of the cement paste,
The determination of % of CSH transformation in
cement paste allows discriminating between damage
and undamaged depths of concrete, Tª < 350°C.
• The microscopy analysis allow differentiating
between sound and altered zones due to fire and is
a good method to identify the presence of cracking
and its distribution in the mass of the concrete.
The depth of the damage is identified with this
technique.
• The isotherm for 500°C can be determined from
microstructure tests.
• The penetration of the damage inside the concrete
in a real fire is heterogeneously distributed.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wants to thank MEC of Spain for the
financial support of this work, PSE 11, HABITAT
2030, PSS-380000-2008-14.
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