Determine the critical temperature of a steel beam protected against fire with intumescent painting

Did you know that you could use Consteel to determine the critical temperature of a steel beam protected against fire with intumescent painting?

To perform this calculation, you first need to create a Fire load group and include at least one fire load case.

For critical temperature determination, the analysis must be set to room temperature material properties, because the objective is to find the exact temperature at which the steel section can no longer resist the applied loads while the intumescent coating reacts.

The key step is to assign reactive fire protection to the beam. This activates Consteel’s intumescent coating model, which calculates the temperature at which the reduced cross-section resistance equals the internal forces from the applied load combination. The software accounts for tension, compression, bending, and combined loading using Eurocode reduction factors, including interaction checks for complex load scenarios.

Results are available in the Predesign Parameters, where the critical temperature is visualized per member. You can also inspect detailed information in the Section Module, including the applied fire curve, the steel temperature profile, and the achieved versus required fire resistance.

Additionally, Consteel can optionally determine the required thickness of the intumescent coating from product tables based on the calculated critical temperature, considering the environmental exposure and structural element type.

After completing the fire design, you can also include an intumescent paint design in the documentation. This report can list each cross-section selected for painting, along with the section name, fire protection surface to be painted, A/V ratio, and the critical temperature for each member.

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