Local buckling of stainless steel plates in fire

The local buckling behaviour and design of stainless steel plates in fire are investigated in this paper. Finite element models of stainless steel plates able to mimic their response in fire are created and validated against experimental results from the literature. Parametric studies are then performed and the results are utilised to assess the current design provisions set out in the European structural steel fire design code EN 1993-1-2; shortcomings in the prediction of the local buckling response of stainless steel plates in fire are revealed. A new effective width based design approach able to reflect the variation in strength and stiffness of stainless steel at different temperature levels in the determination of the local plate slenderness and thereby the ultimate resistances of stainless steel plates in fire is put forward. The proposed approach is shown to provide significantly higher levels of accuracy and reliability relative to the current provisions in EN 1993-1-2 for a wide range of plate slendernesses, elevated temperature levels, stainless steel grades and loading conditions. The design rules proposed for the local buckling assessment of stainless steel plates at elevated temperatures in this paper are due to be incorporated into the upcoming version of the European steel fire design standard EN 1993-1-2