Temperature distributions in unprotected steel connections in fire

Four unloaded unprotected steel beam to column connections including a composite slab at the top of the steelwork have recently been fire tested at the University of Manchester as part of a research project to investigate the behaviour and robustness of connections in steel framed structures in fire. The connection types were flush endplates, flexible endplates, fin plates and web cleats. This paper presents an analysis of temperatures in the steel members and joint components, using the FE package ABAQUS and the simple design calculation method in EN 1993-1-2 (2005). The objectives of this analysis are (1) to check whether the design calculation method is appropriate and (2) to propose appropriate heat transfer coefficients and section factors to be used in the simple design calculation method. © 2007 Taylor & Francis Group.