Behavior of bolted angle connection under catenary condition in fire

Abstract

SUMMARYThe behavior of bolted angle connections under the combination of shear and tensile forces is studied in this paper to simulate the force applied on a connection in a real fire. First, ansys is used to develop a 3D model of these connections. These models are analyzed in a similar condition to experimental tests, ignoring the tensile force, and the results are compared with those of the experimental tests. Having assured of the accuracy, we studied the connection models in several conditions under the combination of shear and tensile forces. The results show that the strength of connection is rapidly decreased when the temperature is increased, and the decrease pattern of connection strength is similar to decrease pattern of bolts used in the connection. Moreover, investigation of strength reduction value of these connections by the increase of temperature under shear and tensile forces obviously shows that it is possible that the failure of steel frames at elevated temperatures occurs at the connections, and thus utilization of catenary action to enhance the fire resistance of structural steel beams requires investigation of the capacity of steel connections to resist the tying forces generated at the ends of the beams. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.