Analysis of the residual yield (fy) and ultimate (fu) stress of steel reinforcing bars from concrete columns exposed to elevated temperatures

Abstract This paper presents results obtained in tensile tests performed in steel reinforcing bars with different diameters extracted from columns exposed for 240 minutes to the standard fire curve prescribed by ISO 834-1:1999. The square columns were 300 cm long and had a width of 25 mm. The longitudinal reinforcement consisted of 10 mm and 16 mm-diameter steel bars with a concrete cover thickness of 25, 30, 40, and 50 mm. Results showed that 16 mm-diameter bars presented lower yield (fy) and ultimate (fu) stress due to the larger spalled areas of concrete in those columns, which increased its exposure to elevated temperatures. Columns with higher concrete cover thickness (50 mm) presented larger volume of concrete spalling and were accounted to be 52 times higher than elements with cover thickness of 25 mm. It was verified that the residual yield stress was 29-56% lower than the original yield strength, highlighting the the need of a proper post-fire assessment of this type of structure after exposure to fire.