Case study of a reinforced concrete industrial warehouse exposed to fire: Post fire investigation and retrofitting

This paper reports on the post fire investigation and on the retrofitting of a real Reinforced Concrete (RC) industrial warehouse damaged by fire. A complete set of assessment techniques has been merged to obtain a modern integrated approach. The main aim of this method was to evaluate the structural residual safety and consequently the maximum temperature distribution. The information collected was of paramount relevance to design the retrofitting of the structure. It was developed using unidirectional sheet made of ultra- high-strength galvanized steel micro-cords fixed to a fibreglass micromesh. In this way the refurbishment was convenient and efficient. The design methods and many technical details are presented in this paper in order to show what can be considered a state of-the-art approach for post fire structural assessment.