Introduction to Performance-Based Structural Fire Design (PBSFD) for Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) Officials

Introduction to Performance-Based Structural Fire Design (PBSFD) for Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) Officials

Current building codes, provisions and specifications such as AISC (2016), ASCE7 (2022), NFPA 5000 (2021) and IBC (2021) provide requirements for designing building structures under fire loading. The developed approaches include: (i) prescriptive, and (ii) performance-based design methods. Prescriptive design methods have been around for several decades, and are well known to architects, engineers, and Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).

However, performance-based structural fire design (PBSFD) is relatively new and somewhat unknown to architects, engineers, and AHJ. This project will develop educational / training materials to introduce AHJ to the topic of performance-based structural fire design (PBSFD). These materials will assist AHJ to gain an understanding of the goals, objectives, fire scenarios, thermal and structural analyses for PBSFD. After completing the training, AHJ will be able to review PBSFD designs along with their assumptions, limitations, and caveats. They will be able to effectively manage relationships between the engineering team and the peer review panel and make final decisions based on building codes for steel, concrete masonry and wood structures.

• Grant Details

  Project

  Introduction to Performance-Based Structural Fire Design (PBSFD) for Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) Officials

  Grantee

  Purdue University

  Category

  Performance-Based Design

  Subcategory

  Fire

  Grant #

  05-22

  Award Amount

  $131,917

  Grant Period

  July 2022 - May 2024

  Grant Status

  Active

  Principal Investigators

  Amit Varma, Professor; Lisa Choe, Sr. Research Scientist, Purdue Applied Research Institute; Ataollah T. Anvari, Post-Doctoral Research Associate

  Industry Champions

  Rob Chmielowski, Magnusson Klemencic Associates; Robert Solomon, SLS Consulting, Inc.

  CPF Allies

  American Institute of Steel Construction, International Code Council, Society of Fire Protection Engineers

  Supporters

  American Institute of Steel Construction, Magnusson Klemencic Associates Foundation

• Resources / Downloads

  • Introduction to Performance-Based Structural Fire Design (PBSFD) for Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) Officials (UNDER REVIEW)

    This project developed educational and training materials to introduce authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ) to the topic of performance-based structural fire design (PBSFD).

• Related Research

  • 04-18 Advancing Performance-Based Structural Fire Engineering Design in the U.S. through Exemplar Procedural Guidance