Fire Protection of High-Strength Steel Columns Using an Innovative Fly-Ash-Based Spray-Applied Material
Time
2:00 PM, March 25, 2026 (Beijing)5:00 PM, March 25, 2026 (Sydney)
Contact Us
Email: jbdejournal@sciexplor.comSpeaker
Prof. Zhong Tao
Centre for Infrastructure Engineering, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia.
Professor Zhong Tao is currently a Professor at the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering, Western Sydney University, Australia, and a recipient of the inaugural Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship. His research focuses on innovative construction materials and steel–concrete composite structures, particularly their mechanical behaviour and design methodologies. He has led and participated in more than ten ARC-funded projects, published over 170 SCI-indexed journal papers and two academic monographs. His research outcomes have been incorporated into several engineering standards, including the Australian AS/NZS 2327 Composite Structures Design Standard. With more than 21,000 Google Scholar citations and an h-index of 80, he has been widely recognised in the field. Professor Tao has been invited to deliver keynote lectures at many international conferences. Several of the novel materials and structural systems developed by his team have been patented and successfully applied in industry. He is currently Associate Editor of Structures, a journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), UK.
Introduction
High-strength steel (HSS) columns can sustain large loads with relatively small cross-sections; however, unprotected HSS columns are highly vulnerable to fire. The authors recently developed a cost-effective and environmentally friendly fly ash-based spray-applied fire-resistive material (SFRM) for structural fire protection. This study examines the feasibility of using the developed SFRM to improve the fire performance of HSS tubular columns. Eleven square HSS columns with a measured yield strength of 767.7 MPa were tested under fire conditions. Unprotected columns failed within 23 min, whereas columns protected with a nominal 30 mm thickness of SFRM achieved fire resistance periods of 167–216 min under load ratios of 0.26–0.50. The results confirm the effectiveness of the developed SFRM in enhancing fire resistance. Finite element models were also established and validated against the experimental results and published data. Based on parametric analysis, critical temperatures for protected HSS tubular columns with varying slenderness and load ratios are proposed.
