Fire performance and design of LSF wall panels with 3D printed concrete and steel lipped channel sections

Purpose

Conventional plasterboard linings impose a hard limit on the fire resistance of light steel frame (LSF) walls because gypsum rapidly degrades at high temperature. This study analyses whether substituting those linings with 3D-printed concrete (3DPC) can enhance load bearing fire rating (LFR) and insulation fire rating (IFR) under both standard and severe hydrocarbon fire exposures.

Design/methodology/approach

Eighty-eight finite-element models simulated LSF walls combining steel lipped channels and 3DPC facings. Parameters varied were 3DPC thickness (25–100 mm), cavity-insulation type (rockwool or glass fibre) and infill ratio (20–100%). Critical outputs were time to reach steel temperatures of 320 °C, 490 °C and 640 °C (load ratios 0.6, 0.4, 0.2) and time to 160/200 °C on the unexposed face.

Findings

Replacing 25 mm panels (IFR = 18 min in hydrocarbon fire) with 100 mm 3DPC panels extended insulation fire resistance beyond the 240-min analysis window; under the standard curve, 50 mm panels already sustained the 0.2 load ratio for over four hours. Rockwool increased IFR by up to 55% and added more than 60 min to LFR. Regression models linking thickness, fill, fire severity and insulation type achieved R² values to 0.992.

Originality/value

This is the first systematic investigation of 3DPC-LSF walls under both rapid-rise hydrocarbon and standard fires. It supplies design-ready regression models and shows that 3DPC walls = 50 mm, especially with rockwool, deliver multi-hour structural and insulation fire resistance, up to 50% higher than plasterboard, making them a viable, fire-robust alternative for fire-safe LSF construction.