Acquisition of a High-Temperature Testing Facility for Materials and Structural Components

2001年9月11日的悲惨事件之后，美国建筑设计专业人员越来越多地被要求设计建筑物、桥梁和其他结构，以应对五年前还没有考虑到的危险。这些新认识的危险之一是火灾。对世界贸易中心倒塌的正式调查（FEMA 2002）确定了工程界的一些关键问题，因为没有足够的信息来预测火灾期间结构的反应。工程师需要进行更多的研究，以了解结构部件和系统在高温下的行为。本提案中所要求的设备将是满足基础研究需求的重要资源。拟议的设施包括四个主要组成部分：（1）三个闭环试验框架，（2）两个高温炉，（3）一个数字控制系统，（4）一个液压电源。该设施被设计为测试各种标本，从小规模的材料试样到全尺寸的结构连接，各种负荷的历史，从静态到脉冲，和各种热剖面从等温到温度梯度和模拟火灾的历史。基本材料测试可以在小载荷框架中进行，以评估现有材料和新材料在暴露于火灾的建筑物中使用的性能和适用性。新材料，如FRP和热机械加工钢可以评估。两个更大的负载框架和大型熔炉提供了测试结构装配和连接的能力。拟议的设施在美国是独一无二的，并提供无与伦比的高温测试能力。该设施不限于进行标准的基于代码的火灾测试。拟议的设施将为制定合理的设计规格和引进新的建筑材料提供基础，以减少火灾的危险。拟议设施的更广泛影响远远超出了购买设备的范围。拟议的设施将大大提高土木和机械工程系内的教育能力，并将补充工程学院内正在进行的努力，以发展火灾-结构相互作用领域的多学科研究推力。研究成果将被整合到建筑，土木和机械工程的研究生和本科课程。结构设计课程的本科生将通过实验室演示介绍大规模测试和研究机会，比较结构部件在室温和高温下的行为。与拟议的设施相关的教师目前担任规范委员会的钢，混凝土，砖石，木材和消防提供了一个渠道的研究成果传播到工程界，并最终进入设计规范和模型建筑规范在整个美国使用。

ABSTRACTAcquisition of a High-Temperature Testing Facility for Materials and Structural ComponentsAs a result of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, building design professionals in the US areincreasingly being asked to design buildings, bridges and other structures for hazards that were not considered just five years ago. One of these newly-recognized hazards is fire. The formal investigation of the collapse of the World Trade Center (FEMA 2002) identified a number of critical concerns within the engineering community because insufficient information was available to predict the response of structures during a fire. Engineers need to conduct more research to understand how structural components and systems behave at elevated temperatures. The equipment requested in this proposal will be an important resource for meeting the basic research needs.The proposed facility includes four primary components: (1) three closed-loop test frames, (2) two high temperature furnaces, (3) a digital control system, and (4) a hydraulic power supply. The facility was designed to test a variety of specimens ranging from small-scale material coupons to full-scale structural connections, a variety of loading histories ranging from static to impulsive, and a variety of thermal profiles from isothermal to temperature gradients and simulated fire histories. Basic material tests can be performed in the small load frame to evaluate the behavior and suitability of existing and new materials for use in buildings exposed to fires. New materials such as FRP and thermo-mechanically processed steel can be evaluated. The two larger load frames and large furnace provide the ability to test structural assemblages and connections. The proposed facility is unique within the US and provides unparalleled capabilities for high-temperature testing. The facility is not restricted to conducting standard code-basedfire tests. The proposed facility will provide the basis for the development of rational designspecifications and introduction of new building materials to reduce the hazards in a fire.The broader impacts of the proposed facility extend far beyond the acquisition of equipment. Theproposed facility will greatly enhance the educational capabilities within the Departments of Civil and Mechanical Engineering and will complement on-going efforts within the College of Engineering to develop a multidisciplinary research thrust in the area of fire-structure interaction. Research results will be integrated into graduate and undergraduate courses in Architectural, Civil, and Mechanical Engineering. Undergraduate students in the structural design courses will be introduced to large-scale testing and research opportunities through laboratory demonstrations that compare the behavior of structural components at room and elevated temperatures. Faculty members associated with the proposed facility currently serve on specification committees for steel, concrete, masonry, wood, and fire protection which provide an avenue for the dissemination of the research results to the engineering community and ultimately into the design specifications and model building codes used in throughout the US.