ABSTRACT
Post-fire damage assessment is one of the key methods for retrofitting and reconstructing the structure after fire. This chapter introduces different damage assessment techniques including destructive and nondestructive assessment methods for concrete and steel structures. Consequences of fire damage can include dramatically reduced strength of the steel reinforcement, prestressing or post-tensioning tendons; partial or total loss of the strength of concrete; and delamination of the concrete cover, which reduces its ability to protect the embedded steel. A Schmidt hammer can be used to determine estimated equivalent cube strengths of concrete members and assess the differences between fire-damaged and unaffected areas. Reinforcement samples are taken from the buildings after fire for yield strength and metallurgical testing. Thus, the residual strength of the reinforcement is determined. The method for testing the residual strength of steel after fire includes on-site coupon tensile testing, chemical composition analysis method, and surface hardness method.
