Experiments for the verification of the predictability of structural fire resistance of heavy hardwood (Zelkova) columns

A series of experiments are conducted for the establishment of the predictive method of the structural fire resistance of heavy hardwood (Zelkova), column normally used for traditional temple buildings. The experiments consist of (1) Measurement of the Young's modulus of Zelkova at elevated temperatures (2) Measurement of charring velocity and internal temperature of large size Zelkova column exposed to IS0834 Standard Time temperature curve. (3) Full scale tests for the validation of the predictive method of collapse time. The experiments reveal only minor difference of the mechanical and fire-resistive performance between Zelkova and conventional softwood. The validation test has resulted in the predictability of the structural fire resistance of Zelkova column at roughly 10% over-estimate.