Numerical study on buckling capacity of steel H-beams under non-uniform temperature distribution
Journal of Structural Fire Engineering
ISSN: 2040-2317
Article publication date: 18 July 2022
Issue publication date: 16 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The strength and stiffness of steel deteriorate rapidly at elevated temperatures. Thus, the characteristics of steel structures exposed to fire have been concerned in recent years. Most studies on the fire response of steel structures were conducted at uniformly distributed temperatures. This study aims to evaluate the buckling capacity of steel H-beams subjected to different loading conditions under non-uniform heating.
Design/methodology/approach
A numerical investigation was conducted employing finite element analysis software, ABAQUS. A comparison between the numerical analysis results and the experimental data from previous studies was conducted to verify the beam model. Simply supported beams were loaded with several loading conditions including one end moment, end equal moments, uniformly distributed load and concentrated load at midspan. The effects of initial imperfections were considered. The buckling capacities of steel beams under fire using the existing fire design code and the previous study were also generated and compared.
Findings
The results showed that the length-to-height ratio and loading conditions have a great effect on the buckling resistance of steel beams under fire. The capacity of steel beams under non-uniform temperature distribution using the existing fire design code and the previous study can give unconservative values or too conservative values depending on loading conditions. The maximum differences of unconservative and conservative values are −44.5 and 129.2% for beams subjected to end equal moments and one end moment, respectively.
Originality/value
This study provides the buckling characteristics of steel beams under non-uniform temperature considering the influences of initial imperfections, length-to-height ratios, and loading conditions. This study will be beneficial for structural engineers in properly evaluating structures under non-uniform heating conditions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Sangmyung University for the support to conduct this research.
Funding: This research is supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Science and ICT) (No.2019R1F1A1060708).
Citation
Nguyen, T.Q., Nguyen, X.T., Nguyen, T.N.M., Bui-Tien, T. and Park, J.S. (2023), "Numerical study on buckling capacity of steel H-beams under non-uniform temperature distribution", Journal of Structural Fire Engineering, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 254-268. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSFE-01-2022-0002
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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