ABSTRACT
The attempt made to correlate the effects of a natural fire and the furnace test on a temperature base was first made by Law. Law calculated the time taken for an insulated steel member to reach a specified temperature of 550°C by being exposed to a natural fire, modelled by assuming its peak temperature to be maintained throughout the fire and the equivalent time taken to reach the same temperature when exposed to the standard furnace test. Law found that the required fire resistance was a function of the fire load, internal area of the compartment and the ventilation area. Unlike the temperature-time response in a furnace test which is imposed by the standard to which the test is being carried out, the temperature- time response in a fire compartment is a function of the compartment size, the type of compartment together with the available combustible material and the air supply available for combustion.
