Rectification of ‘Restrained vs. Unrestrained’ Within Structural Fire Protection Design - Encore Presentation

 

This is a live, repeat presentation of a webinar that was originally offered on 05/05/2020, 06/02/2020, and 07/07/2020. Attendees of the previously offered presentations, will not receive CEU for attending the 08/04/2020 presentation.

 

When incorporating fire resistant assemblies into structural systems, project stakeholders must judge whether a “restrained” or “unrestrained” classification is appropriate for the application. It is critical that this assumption be carefully considered and understood, as many qualified listings permit a lesser thickness of applied fire protection for steel structures (or less concrete cover for concrete structures) to achieve a certain fire resistance rating if a “restrained” classification is confirmed, as compared to an “unrestrained” classification. The "restrained vs. unrestrained" paradigm remains one of the most controversial and often confused aspects of structural fire protection design. This presentation will examine this paradigm in terms of its paradoxical nature and its controversial impact on the industry. Also, potential solutions toward industry rectification of this controversial paradigm will be discussed in the context of contemporary industry standards.