Numerical evaluation of the effects of fire on steel connections; Part 1: Simulation techniques

Steel connections are used to connect between beam and column in steel moment frame structures. As of present time, there is a huge lack of understanding of the performance of steel connections and their response to fire especially the uncontrolled fires. Therefore, in this paper, by using a finite element program ABAQUS and with the static analysis of coupled temperature- displacement and to fully understand the behavior of such connection under the fire scenario, developed a temperature-dependent models for different types of steel connections are implemented. Finite Element Analyses (FEA) of selected experimental models are performed to verify the implementation of these models. Fully detailed, field-variable-dependent conductivity element models of the connections are developed, and analyses are performed to determine the effects of heat on the behavior of the materials in the elastic and plastic areas are considered. Moreover, severe deformation in the nonlinear region was investigated. Keywords: Temperature, Steel connections, Non-linear analysis, Finite element method