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Experimental and Numerical Study on High Strength Steel Endplate Connections after Fire
Abstract
In order to reveal more information and understanding on performance and failure mechanisms of high strength steel endplate connections after fire, an experimental and numerical study has been carried out. Firstly, full-scale tests on seven endplate connections were carried out after cooling down from fire temperature 550°C. The moment resistance, rotation capacity and failure mode of high strength steel endplate connections after fire were obtained and compared with those of mild steel endplate connections, as well as with their performance at ambient temperature without fire exposure. Moreover, the provisions of Eurocode 3, which were mainly obtained based on the mild steel structures, were validated with the test results of high strength steel endplate connections. Furthermore, a numerical study via ABAQUS is reported and validated against the experimental results. It has been demonstrated that this finite element analysis gives reasonable accuracy compared with the experimental results, providing an efficient, economical, and accurate tool to assess the post-fire performance of high strength steel endplate connections.