The fire resistance of structural steel hollow section (SSHS) columns can be enhanced through fire protective coatings or by filling the section with unreinforced, fibre-reinforced or conventional reinforced concrete. However, if hollow sections are specified for architectural reasons, it is unlikely that protection of the outside of the tube w ill be an acceptable means of achieving the required fire-resistance level. This technical note provides information to allow designers to assess the fire resistance of SSHS columns when filled with either plain or fibre-reinforced concrete, in order to determine their suitability as part of an alternative BCA solutution based on fire-engineering principles.
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