ABSTRACT
Accurate and appropriate information on the ways in which materials of construction are affected by high surrounding temperatures is clearly an important prerequisite to performance-based re engineering design of structures. It allows the designer either to model the structural behaviour under different scenarios of re development and protection or to strike a balance between specifying materials with inherently favourable reresistant properties with the need for economical construction. The relevant material properties are usually grouped into two categories; thermal properties, which control the temperatures achieved by elements of structure, and temperature-dependent mechanical properties, which control the structural response.
