Quantifying the structural safety of concrete slabs subjected to the ISO 834 standard fire curve using full-probabilistic FEM

Finite Element Models (FEM) allow to incorporate the structural interaction between different sections and possible stress redistributions, enabling a more economic (performance-based) design. However, the uncertainty with respect to material and geometrical properties can have a significant influence on the obtained safety level, especially when the structure is exposed to accidental loads such as fire. Using a Latin Hypercube Sampling procedure (LHS) and the Finite Element software package ATENA, the safety level of a simply supported concrete slab exposed to fire is assessed. The structural fire resistance time is calculated, and a comparison is made with results obtained from a simplified full-probabilistic cross-section calculation method developed by the authors in a previous contribution.