Eurocode 5 - Design of timber structures against fire actions

Fire has always and everywhere been the disaster that mankind dreads. Serious disasters have periodically marked its history. The national authorities responsible for ensuring the protection and safety of the population against natural disasters must therefore lay down rules for prevention and protection, particularly with regard to fire. In the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA), it was decided in the Construction Products Directive (CPD) to draw up common technical standards in this field, as part of the objectives set for Eurocodes standards. This was also an opportunity to draw up and establish new rules for better assessment, both in terms of product performance and reliability, particularly in terms of fire resistance, and in terms of structures, with new design and calculation rules. The latter are revisited on the basis of recent knowledge, and include materials and techniques that have recently appeared on the market. In the case of timber constructions, the rules are set out in standards known as Eurocode 5, Part 1-2 of which is dedicated to the resistance of structures to fire.

In France, the application of these common texts was ratified by the publication of the Arrêté du 11 mars 2011, amending the previous Arrêté du 22 mars 2004 relative à la résistance au feu des produits, éléments de construction et d'ouvrages. After the transition period with the national regulations in force, as of March 11, 2014, only Eurocode 5 (part 1-2) remains applicable.

The purpose of this article is to present the standard, indicating :

• its main features;

• its objectives ;

• its field of application ;

• its new products ;

• new topics covered ;

• the corresponding calculation methods ;

• changes from previous rules.