Solutions for repairing and rehabilitating steel structures - Conformity facing fire

The repair of metal structures, some of which date back to the 18th century, is a frequent operation to bring them up to a satisfactory level of safety or to make them durable. It is an integral part of building maintenance operations, which must be orchestrated by the client.

The article gives an overview of these operations, and for further details, readers are invited to consult the references given in the bibliography, particularly and .

The repairs described here involve several materials, such as cast iron and puddle iron. They also deal with the different types of steel, which appeared successively as techniques evolved between the 19th and 20th centuries. Over the course of these two centuries, the development of metallic materials and new assembly techniques enabled metal constructions to reach a very high level of performance.

The end of the article is devoted to bringing steel structures into compliance with fire regulations. The available protection solutions are summarized, illustrated by examples of repairs to structures that have been subjected to fire.