Int. J. Masonry Research and Innovation, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2021 285
Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Critical analysis of the use of international codes and
standards to design Brazilian structural masonry in
fire situation
Wallison Angelim Medeiros* and
Guilherme A. Parsekian
Department of Civil Engineering,
Federal University of São Carlos,
KM 235 Washington Luís Rd, São Carlos,
SP 13565-905, Brazil
Email: wamedeiros@ufscar.br
Email: parsekian@ufscar.br
*Corresponding author
Armando Lopes Moreno Jr.
Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Campinas,
224 Saturnino de Brito St, Campinas, SP 13083-889, Brazil
Email: armoreno@unicamp.br
Abstract: In Brazil, structural masonry is widely used in the construction of
tall buildings. As the country does not have its own standard for masonry in a
fire situation, the Fire Department recommends that the design of masonry
structures in a fire situation be carried out in accordance with the instructions of
Eurocode or similar international standard. This article critically analyses the
adoption of design procedures in use in the USA, Australia and Europe for a
typical Brazilian masonry structure, verifying the applicability of these codes
and taking into account the differences in aggregates used in blocks and
finishes, aiming to support discussions on Brazilian standardisation, in addition
to comparing the different ways of approaching each standard. The
results showed that it is possible to use international codes, but their
use will not always portray the real situation, requiring the sector and the
technical-scientific community urgently unite to address this issue.
Keywords: masonry; structures; design; fire; standards; codes; tall buildings;
standardisation; fire situation; Brazil.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Medeiros, W.A.,
Parsekian, G.A. and Moreno Jr., A.L. (2021) ‘Critical analysis of the use of
international codes and standards to design Brazilian structural masonry in fire
situation’, Int. J. Masonry Research and Innovation, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp.285–304.
Biographical notes: Wallison Angelim Medeiros received his Bachelor’s
degree in Civil Engineering from the UNINOVAFAPI (2015). He is a specialist
in Concrete’s Structures from UNICID (2016) and received his Master’s degree
with distinction in Structures and Civil Constructions from UFSCar (2018). He