Assessment of Concrete Susceptibility to Spalling in Fire

The development of modern, dense, concretes has seen the increased occurrence of spalling in cases of fire exposure.  The often violent occurrence of explosive spalling typically leads to a loss of cover concrete, resulting in loss of cross section and exposure of reinforcement to fire.  In severe cases this can lead to a loss of structural integrity.  As such, the phenomenon of concrete spalling in fire is becoming a more relevant risk to be considered by structural engineers.

The often interrelated factors influencing the occurrence of spalling makes it difficult to predict in practice.  It has subsequently been suggested that the aim in practice should be to avoid the occurrence of spalling rather than to predict its extent.  Unfortunately there is currently limited guidelines and no practical assessment method for engineers to evaluate the susceptibility to spalling of concrete in fire based on parameters commonly used in practice.

This study aims to develop such an assessment technique as well as parameter limit values by investigating correlations of parameters used in engineering practice to the occurrence of spalling.