Filling of closed profile or structural hollow sections with concrete is a well-known practice in the structural design of buildings.

Filling hollow sections with concrete offers several advantages over unfilled hollow sections, such as cost versus strength optimisation, durability and aesthetics, increased fire resistance and much more. This method has been used in the construction industry for decades.

On occasion, it is necessary to fire protect these types of sections in order to meet construction code fire resistance requirements that filling with concrete alone will not meet.

This article discusses the benefits of this practice and - more importantly - aspects of testing the process that everyone involved in engineering and passive fire protection should be aware of.

The Trafalgar technical manual for shaft wall penetrations covers tested systems that are approved to maintain the fire resistance level of service penetrations through shaft wall systems that have been constructed using Shaftliner panel, laminated plasterboard and more.

Systems covered include FyreBOARD Maxilite, FyreBOX Cast-in, FyreBOX Maxi, FyreBOX Mini, FyreBOX Slab-Mount, FyreCOLLAR Conduit, FyreCOLLAR Mixed Services, FyreCOLLAR Premium Retrofit, FyreFLEX, FyreSHIELD, TWRAP.

Maintaining structural adequacy on load-bearing steel is critical to the fire safety of building occupants, fire fighters and the surrounding built environment. Here's how limiting steel temperatures to maintain structural integrity relates to intumescent paint coatings.

In the Australian structural steel passive fire protection market, product manufacturers and applicators face a difficult battle to ascertain the required LSTs on structural elements for every project. Structural fire design is not commonly included in the training of young structural engineers which in turn creates a gap within the industry from the very beginning.

This includes the lack of understanding on passive fire protection and building compliance in regards to the BCA.

This document explains the importance and role that intumescent paint coatings play in maintaining the structural adequacy of steelwork... download it now and read how it's not as difficult to achieve as you may think.

There are many means through which heat can move from the fire side of a barrier to the non-fire side of a barrier, including via small openings (which form during the effects of the fire exposure), radiant heat, and, of course, heat conduction along the ductile or metallic materials pertaining to any services passing through an opening in a fire barrier.

The fire barrier and/or the fire stopping material(s) themselves can (and do) get hot on the non-fire side in a fire, so choice and construction of fire barriers are important and differ depending on the fire rating duration.

This article assists in making those choices.

A look at the legal or regulatory requirements for passive fire protection of steel structures in Australia, written by John Rakic, Managing Director of Trafalgar Fire.

John discusses the requirements of our own National Construction Code (NCC) encompassing fire testing requirements of AS1530 Part 4 or an equivalent fire test method, along with the strict requirements contained in AS4100 for data analysis and calculation of the thicknesses of fire protection materials required to provide a compliant FRL.