Ozyurt, E.; Wang, Y.C.

This study examines the influence of chord pre-stress on the behaviour and load resistance of Circular Hollow Section (CHS) X-joints with High Strength Steel (HSS) at various temperatures. This investigation uses a total number of seven hundred and four Finite Element simulation results to evaluate the level of accuracy of current Eurocode and CIDECT design guidelines in predicting the high-temperature resistance of these joints. The numerical simulations investigate the effects of changing brace-to-chord diameter (β), chord semi-diameter-to-thickness (γ), and brace-to-chord thickness (τ) ratios, as well as different prestressing levels (np) and temperatures (θ). The γ and τ ratios have a limited effect on the normalised joint strength, but the β ratio, and the prestressing level are highly influential. At ambient temperature, the CIDECT design approach is a more suitable method for calculating the chord pre-stress reduction factors for S355 joints. For HSS X-joints, the constant modification coefficient of 0.80 is inadequate, and this paper has proposed a new modification coefficient as a function of the pre-stress level. At elevated temperatures, the ambient temperature resistance of CHS X-joints can be modified by the reduction factor of the Young's modulus for S355 steel and that of the yield stress for S960 steel.

Wang, Y.C.; Ozyurt, E.

This paper presents the results of a numerical investigation of the behaviour, and proposes a method to calculate the static resistance of axially loaded Circular Hollow Section Double K-joints (DKK) at elevated temperatures. This type of joints is widely used in building construction, but currently, there is no method to calculate their static resistance at elevated temperatures. The numerical investigations of this paper cover a wide range of design parameters, including brace axial load combination, joint temperature, angles between brace members, longitudinal and transverse gap sizes, chord diameter to thickness ratio and brace diameter to chord diameter ratio. The results of this paper indicate that the ratio of joint elevated temperature resistance to ambient temperature resistance may be lower than the reduction factor for the yield strength of steel at elevated temperatures. There are two joint failure modes, one for small and one for large transverse gap. These failure modes and the demarcation between small and large gaps are independent of joint temperature. For joints with large gap, the ratio of joint resistance at elevated temperature to that at ambient temperature is close to the average of steel yield strength and Young's modulus reduction factors at elevated temperature. For joints with small gap, the joint resistance ratio follows the steel Young's modulus factor variation at elevated temperature if all four braces are under compression, but the trend changes to the average ratio of steel Young's modulus and yield strength reduction factors if the axial brace loads are balanced (compression in two brace members equal to tension force in the other two brace members). Linear interpolation can be applied between these two different loading cases.

Ozyurt, E.; Wang, Y.C.

This study presents the results of a numerical investigation on static resistance of welded planar steel tubular joints under in-plane and out-of-plane bending moments at elevated temperatures. The numerical simulations were carried out using the commercial finite Element software ABAQUS v6.14-1 and the simulation model was validated by comparing against test results for CHS joints under brace in-plane bending at elevated temperatures. Extensive numerical parametric simulations were performed for CHS/SHS/EHS joints under in-plane and out-of-plane bending at elevated temperatures, to establish a database of results covering a wide range of geometrical parameters, including brace to chord diameter ratio, the angle between brace to chord members, and chord diameter to twice chord thickness ratio. The ratios of joint elevated temperature resistance to ambient temperature resistance were compared to the steel yield strength reduction factor, the steel Young's modulus reduction factor, and the average of the above these reduction factors at different elevated temperatures. Based on the comparisons, it has been found that using the reduction factor for the yield strength of steel to modify the ambient temperature equations will overestimate the resistance of joints at elevated temperatures. As a simplified and safe recommendation, the ambient temperature joint resistance equations can be modified by the average reduction factors for the Young's modulus and yield strength at elevated temperatures. This modification factor can be increased to the yield strength reduction factor when the brace and chord widths/diameters are the same.

Ozyurt, E.; Wang, Y.C.; Heidarpour, A.; Zhao, X.-L.

This paper presents the results of a numerical study to develop a method to calculate the ultimate load carrying capacity of welded Elliptical Hollow Section (EHS) joints at elevated temperatures. Extensive numerical simulations, using the non-linear finite element package ABAQUS v6.14-1, have been conducted on EHS T-and X-joints subjected to brace axial compression or tension, considering a wide range of geometrical parameters, pre-stress in chord member and different type of joint orientations. The FE simulation results indicates that the equivalent RHS method is not appropriate for calculating the load carrying capacity of EHS joints at ambient temperature. At elevated temperatures, for T-and X-joints with braces welded to wide sides of chord, replacing the ambient temperature yield strength of steel by the elevated temperature value overestimates the ultimate load carrying capacity of axially loaded EHS T-and X-joints with compressive brace. Alternative design methods have been proposed.

Ozyurt, E.; Wang, Y.C.

This study presents the results of a numerical study to develop a method to calculate the static strength of welded Elliptical Hollow Section (EHS) joints at elevated temperatures. Extensive numerical simulations using the non-linear finite element package, ABAQUS v6.14–1 on EHS T- and X-joints under brace axial compression or tension and pre-stress in chord member with different type of joint orientations at elevated temperatures over a wide range of diameter ratio have been conducted. The adjustments required to be made to the equations of joint resistance under ambient temperature conditions for estimating joint resistance at elevated temperature conditions are investigated in this study. The FE simulation results have been compared with the calculation results of a number of existing methods at ambient temperature. It has been found that the method proposed by Packer et al. gives the best agreement with the authors' simulation results at ambient temperature. At elevated temperatures, for T- and X- joints with braces in compression welded to the wide sides of chords, replacing the ambient temperature yield strength of steel by the elevated temperature value in the current design method overestimates the ultimate load carrying capacity of axially loaded EHS T- and X-joints due to inability of the ambient temperature calculation equations to take into consideration EHS flattening at high temperatures. For these cases, it is recommended to calculate the joint strength reduction factor at elevated temperatures according to the Young's modulus of steel.

Ozyurt, E.; Wang, Y.C.

This paper examines the effects of thermal restraint, caused by non-uniform temperature distribution in different members, on the failure temperatures of critical members of steel tubular trusses. Non-uniform temperature distribution develops in trusses exposed to localised fire attack. The truss member nearest to the fire source experiences the highest temperature, with reduced temperatures in the nearby members. The number of the nearby truss members being heated and their temperatures will affect the failure temperature of the critical truss member which has the highest temperature. The aim of this paper is to develop a simplified method to account for the effects of different numbers of members being simultaneously heated to different temperatures on the development of compression force and failure temperature of the critical member. Finite Element (FE) simulations were carried out for Circular Hollow Section (CHS) trusses using the commercial Finite Element software ABAQUS v6.10-1 which has previously been validated by the authors. The simulation trusses were subjected to constant mechanical loads and then increasing temperatures until failure. The elevated temperature stress-strain curves were based on EN-1993-1-2 [1]. Initial geometrical imperfections were included, based on the lowest buckling mode from eigenvalue analysis.The numerical study examined the effects of truss type, critical member slenderness, applied load ratio and axial restraint stiffness ratio on the failure temperatures of the critical truss members. The numerical simulation results were used to check the accuracy of a proposed simplified calculation method, combining linear elastic static truss analysis at ambient temperature and analytical equations to calculated the failure temperatures of thermally restrained truss members based on the regression equations of Wang et al. [2]. The calculation method was shown to be sufficiently accurate for fire resistant design purpose.