Evaluation of the finite control volume method in simulating thermal fire resistance of building elements

Application of the finite control volume method on simulating thermal fire resistance of building materials and elements was evaluated. Example was taken on studying the thermal responses of a concrete column under fire. By neglecting moisture transfer, the thermal conduction equation in concrete was solved numerically to get the temperature distribution. Results were compared with those calculated from other finite difference schemes including the forward difference, backward difference and central difference schemes. Methods on handling the transient term including the explicit method, the implicit method, the Crank- Nicolson method and the Alternating- Direction-Implicit scheme were considered. Numerical problems encountered in using those schemes were listed and quantified. Steady state results were compared with analytical solution. Recommendation was then made on selecting the appropriate finite difference scheme for simulating the thermal fire resistance of building element for design purposes.