Investigation of fire performance of modular wall panels with various parameters

The 7.6 and 7.7 magnitude earthquakes that occurred in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey, in 2023 resulted in significant loss of life and left many people homeless. This unfortunate event highlighted Turkey's position within a seismic zone and underscored the severe negative impacts that can result from improper construction techniques. Earthquakes that occurred in previous years have also proven this point. Similarly, during the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, the inadequacy of hospital facilities became evident, leading to the construction of modular hospitals in just a few days, aimed at quickly establishing durable healthcare centers. Modular structures bring numerous conveniences to our lives. It is essential to explore proper and appropriate techniques to ensure comfortable living for people. Particularly during such challenging times, modular light steel structural systems come to mind due to their durability, cost-effectiveness, mass production capabilities, and rapid installation. In this study, potential parameters that could affect the performance of modular wall panels under fire conditions were identified. These parameters include the cross-sectional shape of the steel element (square hollow section (SHS) or C type section (CC)), steel element thickness, the type of fire-resistant material within the modular element, and the types and thicknesses of fire-resistant coatings on the exterior parts of the modular element. The impact of these parameters on the performance of modular steel structural elements was assessed under different fire conditions (Standard, Fast, Slow, and Smouldering). During the analysis, thermal properties from Eurocode standards were utilized, and optimum numerical models were developed using the ANSYS software.