Failure behavior of unbonded bi-directional prestressed concrete panels under RABT fire loading

• PSC panel was tested under RABT loading to evaluate fire resistant capacity.
• PSC specimen showed 2.03 times more thermal spalling and damage than RC specimen.
• Residual strength of fire damaged specimen decreased due to severe PS relaxation.
• The test results can be used for future research on PSC structures under fire scenario.

Although the number of terror-and explosion-related incidents associated with military and terrorist activities is increasing globally, the existing design procedure for civil infrastructures does not consider a protective design for extreme loading scenarios such as blast, impact, and fire loading. Major infrastructure, for example bridges, tunnels, prestressed concrete containment vessels (PCCVs), and liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tanks are often constructed using prestressed concrete, because it enhances the structural capacity. Concrete is often used as a construction material because of its low thermal conductivity, which makes it a good fire resistant material. However, the fire-resistant behavior of the high-strength concrete (HSC) and prestressing (PS) tendons used in prestressed concrete (PSC) is different than that of ordinary reinforced concrete (RC). Also, there has been limited research comparing PSC to RC under extreme loading conditions. This study presents experimental testing of unbonded bi-directionally prestressed concrete panels with dimensions 1000×1400×300 mm3 that were tested under RABT fire loading to simulate a jet aircraft crash-fire accident. A prestressing force of 430 kN was applied to the PSC specimens using unbonded threaded bars. After a RABT fire test, residual flexural strength tests were performed on the fire-damaged PSC and on RC specimens for comparison. Results of the RABT fire and residual flexural strength tests indicated that the fire-damaged PSC specimens showed severe thermal spalling damage induced by PS relaxation and deterioration of strength/stiffness, respectively. These study results can be used as basic research data for future research in numerical simulation of fire and the design of PSC structures under the fire scenario.