Fire performance of wood–steel hybrid elements: finite element analysis and experimental validation

Wood-steel hybrid (WSH) elements are gaining popularity in the construction industry due to their reduced environmental impact and high load capacity. However, fire resistance remains a crucial challenge for advancing wood as a construction material. The proposed WSH slab consists of a trapezoidal steel profile sandwiched between two laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beech panels. This research aims to numerically predict the fire performance of the proposed WSH slab element by generating heat transfer models that consider convection, radiation, and conduction. The objectives are to predict the temperature profile of the system's components, assess the charring rate of the LVL panels, and validate the results with experimental fire tests. Computed Tomography (CT) scanning was additionally used to detect the material density variation in the remaining LVL layers after fire tests. Simulations reveal that the size and shape of the internal cavity significantly influence heat flow within the system. Analysis of different thicknesses and heights of the steel sheet shows a substantial impact on the charring initiation time of the upper LVL layer. Temperature profiles of the components from numerical analysis exhibit similar behavior to that observed in the experiments. The experimental charring rate averages between 0.88—1.00 mm/min, while the numerical rate averages between 0.95—1.06 mm/min, with a 5–8% average deviation attributed to conduction interaction between LVL and the steel sheet. This variation may also be caused by the definition of generic thermal properties of wood according to EN1995-1-2, which may not accurately represent the behavior of the LVL element under fire.