Fire resistance of wooden floor-beam assemblies of Japanese traditional post and beam construction

Fire resistance tests have been conducted to develop wooden floor-beam assemblies of 45 minutes lire resistance for design loading conditions based on Japanese traditional post and beam construction. The tests were initiated with a 2m × 3m floor specimen consisting of six 1m × 1m small specimens of different specifications including four designs with beams exposed to the lower floor and two designs with ceiling panel beneath the beam to verify the integrity and thermal penetration through the floor panels. Beams to bear with the standard loading for domestic use and assemblies for 45 minutes standard fire exposure were then designed with the vertical deflection as the temporary index for compliance with the fire resistance standard. Large scale loaded fire tests were conducted on two designs, one with bare beam and another with ceiling panel, resulting in the achievement of 45 minutes prevention of flame and thermal penetration or buckling.