The effects of protected beams and their connections on the fire resistance of composite buildings

According to full-scale fire tests, it is noticed that tensile membrane action within the concrete floor slabs plays an important role in affecting the fire resistance of composite buildings. It is well known that the development of tensile membrane actions relies on the vertical support along the edges of the slab panel. However, there is at present a lack of research into the influence of vertical supports on the tensile membrane actions of the floor slabs. In this paper, the performances of a generic three dimensional 45 m×45 m composite floor subjected to ISO834 Fire and Natural Fire are investigated. Different vertical support conditions and three steel meshes are applied in order to assess the impact of vertical supports on tensile membrane action of floor slabs. Unlike other existing large scale modelling which assumes the connections behave as pinned or rigid for simplicity, two robust 2-node connection element models developed by the authors are used to model the behaviour of end-plate and partial end-plate connections of composite structures under fire conditions. The impact of connections on the 3D behaviour of composite floor is taken into consideration. The load-transfer mechanisms of composite floor when connections fail due to axial tension, vertical shear and bending are investigated. Based on the results obtained, some design recommendations are proposed to enhance the fire resistance of composite buildings.     

火灾下钢结构楼板的薄膜作用

通过对真实火灾中的足尺火灾试验和观察显示，合组合楼板和承载钢梁的建筑物的结构承载力比现行杭大设计方法的建议值高出许多。因此规范中规定所有承载钢梁都要添加被动防火保护是不必要的。现行设计方法和实际结构性能之间产生这种差异是由于设计方法中忽略了楼板的薄膜作用。本根据国外有关资料给出了几种简单计算方法，允许在钢结构杭大设计中考虑楼板的薄膜作用。从而可以更精确地评估火灾下建筑物的真实承载能力，在给定的耐火时间内能减少相当数量钢梁的防火保护。     

Experimental investigation on thermal and mechanical behaviour of composite floors exposed to standard fire

This paper presents experimental investigations on the thermal and mechanical behavior of composite floors subjected to ISO standard fire. Four 5.2 m×3.7 m composite slabs are tested with different combinations of the presence of one unprotected secondary beam, direction of ribs, and location of the reinforcement. The experimental results show that the highest temperature in the reinforcements occurs during the cooling phase (30–50 °C increment after 10-min cooling). The temperature at the unexposed side of the slabs is below 100 °C up to 100-min heating, compared to the predicted fire resistance close to 90 mins from EC4. For the slabs without secondary beams, the cracks first occur around the boundaries of the slab, while for the slabs supported by one unprotected secondary beam, concrete cracks first occur on the top of the slab above the beam due to the negative bending moment, and later on develop around boundaries. Debonding is observed between the steel deck and concrete slab. The secondary beam significantly impacts the deformation shape of tested slabs. Although a large deflection, 1/20 of the span length, is reached in the tests, the composite slabs can still provide sufficient load-bearing capacity due to membrane action. The occurrence of tensile membrane action is confirmed by the measured tensile stress in the reinforcement and compressive stress in the concrete. A comparison between measured and predicted fire resistance of the slabs indicates that EC4 calculations might be used for the composite slabs beyond the specified geometry limit, and the prediction is conservative.     

Nonlinear behaviour of unprotected composite slim floor steel beams exposed to different fire conditions

An efficient nonlinear 3D finite element model has been developed to investigate the structural performance of composite slim floor steel beams with deep profiled steel decking under fire conditions. The composite steel beams were unprotected simply supported with different cross-sectional dimensions, structural steel sections, load ratios during fire and were subjected to different fire scenarios. The nonlinear material properties of steel, composite slim concrete floor and reinforcement bars were incorporated in the model at ambient and elevated temperatures. The interface between the structural steel section and composite slim concrete floor was also considered, allowing the bond behaviour to be modelled and the different components to retain its profile during the deformation of the composite beam. Furthermore the thermal properties of the interface were included in the finite element analysis. The finite element model has been validated against published fire tests on unprotected composite slim floor steel beams. The time–temperature relationships, deformed shapes at failure, time–vertical displacement relationships, failure modes and fire resistances of the composite steel beams were evaluated by the finite element model. Comparisons between predicted behaviour and that recorded in fire tests have shown that the finite element model can accurately predict the behaviour of the composite steel beams under fire conditions. Furthermore, the variables that influence the fire resistance and behaviour of the unprotected composite slim floor steel beams, comprising different load ratios during fire, cross-section geometries, beam length and fire scenarios, were investigated in parametric studies. It is shown that the failure of the composite beams under fire conditions occurred for the standard fire curve, but did not occur for the natural fires. The use of high strength structural steel considerably limited the vertical displacements after fire exposure. It is also shown that presence of additional top reinforcement mesh is necessary for composite beams exposed to short hot natural fires. The fire resistances of the composite beams obtained from the finite element analyses were compared with the design values obtained from the Eurocode 4 for composite beams at elevated temperatures. It is shown that the EC4 predictions are generally conservative for the design of composite slim floor steel beams heated using different fire scenarios.     

The behaviour of asymmetric slim floor steel beams in fire

Computer software has been developed to predict the structural response of asymmetric slim floor steel beams, used with composite concrete floor slabs consisting of deep profiled steel decking. Comparisons between predicted behaviour and that recorded in standard fire tests, showed that the software is very accurate. By including the rotational stiffness of the beam-to-column connections, the fire resistance of the beam is significantly enhanced. This is mainly due to the connections retaining most of their strength during a fire, since they are fully encased in concrete as a consequence of this type of construction. The analyses presented in this paper indicate that it may be possible to increase the fire resistance of the steel beams from 60 to 90 minutes, by including the connection behaviour. The software has also been used to aid the design of a future large-scale fire test on the asymmetric slim floor system. Predictions of the structural response have been presented. These will enable the fire load and ventilation conditions in the test to be designed. In addition the software has been used to identify the minimum amount of fire protection that is required for the supporting columns.     

The tensile membrane action of unrestrained composite slabs simulated under fire conditions

Following a major fire test programme on a full-scale, steel-framed building it was found that the composite flooring system, comprising lightweight concrete, anti-crack mesh reinforcement and steel deck, had a greater inherent fire resistance than suggested by current codified design methods. It was felt that this was due to tensile membrane action occurring in the slab at large displacements. This led to an independent test being conducted at the Building Research Establishment where a 9.5 m×6.5 m composite slab, with nominal horizontal restraint to its edges, was tested to failure. To simulate the behaviour of the slab in fire, the steel deck was removed, leaving the concrete and anti-crack reinforcement, before load was applied. Tensile membrane action was shown to occur, with the failure load being approximately double that calculated using the classic yield line theory.     

压型钢板组合楼板耐火性能的试验研究

本文通过对５块规格不同的压型钢板组合楼板的耐火试验，研究组合楼板在１５～２０小时的耐火时限中的背温和变形发展规律。试验结果表明，由于压型钢板与混凝土的共同工作，压型钢板本身不会独自升温，且混凝土具有较好的吸热和散热功能，所以能保证压型钢板组合楼板的防火安全性。     

钢-混凝土组合楼板实用抗火设计方法

利用钢-混凝土组合楼盖抗火性能非线性有限元分析程序对不同荷载大小、不同压型钢板厚度、不同配筋的压型钢板-混凝土组合楼板进行了抗火性能分析,找出了火灾影响下组合楼板结构性能的因素,给出了计算组合楼板耐火时间的拟合公式,得到了一些适用于压型钢板-混凝土组合楼板抗火设计的结论和建议。     

Composite steel-framed structures in fire with protected and unprotected edge beams

The structural behaviour of a steel-concrete composite frame subject to a natural fire is analysed using a numerical model. The behaviour is compared when fire protection is applied to only the external beams and when no beams are fire protected. The behaviour of the structure in the two cases is significantly different. When the edge beams are protected the floor slab tends to span in 2 directions because the edge beams provide sufficient support around the perimeter of the floor for tensile membrane action to develop. When the edge beams are unprotected the slab tends to span in only one direction in a manner similar to a beam in catenary action. Catenary action is a weaker load carrying mechanism than tensile membrane action. As a consequence of the weaker mechanism, when the edge beams are unprotected, the columns displace inwards towards the end of the fire indicating the possibility of imminent runaway collapse.The pattern of mechanical strains in the floor slab reinforcement depends on the load carrying mechanism and therefore on whether edge beam protection is included. Although the average mechanical tensile strains are higher when the edge beams are protected the highest strains occur when the beams are unprotected. Conversely, an instability in the primary beam occurs at much lower temperatures when the edge beams are protected.It is concluded that fire protecting the edge beams of the structural layout studied has a number of effects on the fire resistance of the structure, some beneficial, some detrimental, however, in general, fire protecting the edge beams provides an increased level of fire resistance.     

Non-linear structural modelling of a fire test subject to high restraint

The computer code VULCAN has been developed for the three-dimensional structural analysis of composite and steel-framed buildings in fire. In this paper, the main features of the program are outlined, with particular emphasis on the most recent development to the layered procedure for modelling of concrete floor slabs. This development has introduced geometric non-linearity into the modelling of slabs, whose layer structure already allowed temperature distributions and change of material properties through the thickness, as well as modelling the effect of the ribs at the bottom of composite decking slabs. The capabilities of the model are firstly tested at ambient temperature for a uniformly loaded ribbed reinforced concrete slab with simply supported edges, and this is followed by a very detailed modelling of the Cardington restrained beam fire test. In both cases the development of membrane action is demonstrated and the structural behaviour is compared with the geometrically linear case. A number of studies are carried out to demonstrate the influence of the major floor slab details on the behaviour of the structure in fire conditions. These studies provide evidence that when exposed steel temperatures are less than 400°C the concrete slab has little influence, other than to play a part in generating thermal curvature to composite beams. For temperatures higher than about 500°C the effect of the slab progressively becomes much greater, and it is very important to model concrete slabs correctly. The influence of membrane action cannot be ignored, particularly when the fire compartment is subject to high restraint because it is surrounded by cool, stiff structure. At very high temperatures the floor slab becomes the main load-bearing element and the floor loads above the fire compartment are carried by the membrane forces developed in the slab, with tension being carried mainly by the steel anti-cracking mesh or reinforcing bars. However, the effect of the very high in-plane restraint to thermal expansion in the particular Cardington test considered is to enhance the peripheral zone of compressive membrane force and to reduce the extent of the central area of tensile force compared with more usual cases.     

火灾中有保护和无保护边梁的组合钢结构框架

采用数字模型分析了钢混组合框架在火灾中的结构性能。两种情况下结构的性能是显著不同的。对只带防火保护的外梁与没有任何梁受保护两种情况的结构进行了比较,当边梁被保护时,底板趋向两个方向延伸,因为边梁对板周界应力的发展提供了足够的支撑;当边梁没有被保护时,板只朝一个方向延伸,其受力方式类似于悬链线。与拉伸膜相比悬链线梁为较弱的荷载载运机制。这种弱机制的结果是当边梁无保护时,柱位移向内预示出临近坍塌的可能性。混凝土楼板的应变模式取决于其承载机理,因此与边梁是否保护有关。当边梁有保护时尽管平均拉应变较高,但是最高拉应变都发生在边梁无保护时。反之,当边梁有保护时,在很低的温度,原梁就失稳。研究结论是边梁的结构布局在结构防火等方面具有一定的效果,有些有利,有些有害,然而,一般情况下,有保护边梁可以提供较高的防火等级。     

A fire test on continuous reinforced concrete slabs in a full-scale multi-story steel-framed building

To further understand the fire behavior of concrete floor slabs, this paper examines the results of a fire test on continuous concrete floor slabs in a full-scale three-story steel-framed building. The case under experimental study models the reality of fire conditions more closely than previous tests and involves the construction of a special furnace on the building's second floor to heat four panels (two by two) and steel beams on the third floor. The experimental results are investigated in detail and consider the furnace temperature, temperature distribution, vertical and horizontal deflections, and failure patterns of the structural elements during the heating and cooling phases. The testing data indicate that the number and locations of the heated panels in the floor also have a considerable effect on the continuous concrete floor's fire behavior, apart from the boundary constraint conditions provided by the adjacent structural members. In addition, the steel beams exhibit better fire-resistant performance than that observed in standard fire tests depending on their structural integrity and the interaction between structural members. In contrast to its high-strength bolt connections, the building's welded-bolted connections do not cause local buckling of the steel beams subjected to fire.     

收缩对混凝土组合板长期应力与变形的影响

混凝土板和钢面板组合而成的单向板常作为永久模板在建筑结构中得到广泛应用。钢面板在浇筑混凝土时作为模板,待混凝土凝固后作为外部加固构件。这类板的使用性能具有时间依赖性,目前对其研究较少,在计算长期变形时为结构工程师提供的指导也较少。众所周知,板底部的不透水钢面板对沿组合板板厚分布的混凝土干燥收缩特性有着重要影响,但该影响尚未被量化。通过试验测定了沿组合板板厚非均匀分布的收缩特性,考虑了该结果对这类板长期变形的影响。组合板的应力与变形随时间变化而变化,该文描述了确定组合板应力和变形的分析过程,通过所测量的收缩特性,给出几种常见板型的分析结果。     

对组合钢梁-预制空心板中栓钉连接件的性能分析

在钢-混凝土组合梁中,剪切连接件的机械作用使得纵向剪力转移到钢翼缘/混凝土板的接合处。这种转移能力取决于剪切连接件的强度和混凝土板抵抗由剪力高度集中所导致的纵向开裂的能力。大多数对组合结构的分析都集中在传统的钢筋混凝土和金属面板结构,而对预制空心板中栓钉的剪切能力研究很少。本文对带栓钉的预制空心板组合梁结构提出标准的推力试验方法。一共进行7组测试性试验,试验结果显示新方法符合钢筋混凝土楼板规范要求。在确定这个新的标准方法后,对栓钉进行了72个足尺推力试验,确定了该类型连接件的性能,通过分析试验结果,还指出了各类参数对连接件强度和延性的作用。本文还提出了这种剪力连接件的设计公式。     

Experimental and numerical study on restrained composite slab during heating and cooling

In this paper, a series of fire tests on restrained composite slabs, carried out at the University of Manchester, is presented. A total of six composite slabs were tested under different fire scenarios, with different load ratios. The tests were particularly concerned with the variation of internal forces within the slabs during both heating and cooling phases. In addition to the testing programme, two separate nonlinear finite element models have been developed to simulate the thermal and mechanical behaviour of composite slabs during heating and cooling, which is introduced in detail in this paper. In the thermal analysis model, plane elements were adopted to obtain a detailed thermal behaviour. In the structural analysis model, the concrete, steel deck and mesh were simulated by solid elements, shell elements and truss elements respectively. The interaction between the concrete and steel sheet was simplified to spring elements. According to the experimental results and FE modelling, the behaviour of composite slabs was analysed in detail. At last, the parametric study was performed where the effect of concrete strength, steel deck thickness and mesh size was analysed.     

加热和冷却过程中约束复合板的试验及数值研究

在曼彻斯特大学,对约束复合板进行一系列耐火试验。在不同火灾场景下,对6块不同荷载比下的复合板进行试验,观察加热和冷却过程中板内力的变化。设计试验方案,建立两种不同的非线性有限元模型,模拟复合板在加热和冷却过程中的热学和力学性能。在热分析模型中,采用平面单元模拟。在结构分析中,混凝土、钢板、锚钉分别采用实体单元、壳单元、桁架单元模拟。混凝土和钢板间的连接简化为弹簧单元。根据试验结果和有限元计算结果,详细分析了复合板的性能。最后,进行参数研究,分析了混凝土强度、钢板厚度和锚钉尺寸的影响。     

钢-混凝土组合扁梁楼盖承载性能有限元分析

钢 混凝土组合扁梁楼盖的采用可以降低结构层高,改善钢结构的防火性能,形成无柱大空间与“无梁楼盖”的建筑效果;组合扁梁楼盖具有良好的力学性能,在多高层结构中,既能做框架梁受力,又能承载楼面的作用荷载;同时深肋压型钢板的采用可以降低楼板自重同时可作为永久模板使用,大大提高施工速度,带来很好的经济效益,在多高层钢结构建筑中有广阔的应用前景。论文采用有限元软件ANSYS建立钢－混凝土组合扁梁整体楼盖三维实体模型。对组合扁梁楼盖在竖向荷载作用下的承载性能、变形特点以及楼板自振频率进行了分析,同时对组合扁梁的有效宽度及肋部混凝土的影响进行了计算分析。分析结果表明：钢－混凝土组合扁梁楼盖具有良好的承载性能并能较好地满足正常使用的要求;肋部混凝土及配筋对楼盖的承载力有较大的影响;楼盖主梁的有效宽度分析应建立在整体模型和试验的基础之上。     

采用粒子群算法优化钢楼板

采用粒子群优化方法,对组合或普通钢楼板进行优化设计。根据加拿大S16设计规范,进行优化设计,使钢楼板质量最小,造价最低。对跨度不同的3种楼板进行分析。输出梁几何尺寸、钢板剖面、混凝土板厚、梁数目、每根梁上的锚栓数目等参数。结果表明:在满足所有设计标准的前提下,采用粒子群优化方法进行设计,可使楼板总质量最小,造价最低。     

Performance of insulated FRP-strengthened concrete flexural members under fire conditions

This paper presents the results of fire resistance tests on carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthened concrete flexural members, i.e., T-beams and slabs. The strengthened members were protected with fire insulation and tested under the combined effects of thermal and structural loading. The variables considered in the tests include the applied load level, extent of strengthening, and thickness of the fire insulation applied to the beams and slabs. Furthermore, a previously developed numerical model was validated against the data generated from the fire tests; subsequently, it was utilized to undertake a case study. Results from fire tests and numerical studies indicate that owing to the protection provided by the fire insulation, the insulated CFRP-strengthened beams and slabs can withstand four and three hours of standard fire exposure, respectively, under service load conditions. The insulation layer impedes the temperature rise in the member; therefore, the CFRP–concrete composite action remains active for a longer duration and the steel reinforcement temperature remains below 400°C, which in turn enhances the capacity of the beams and slabs.     

Capacities of headed stud shear connectors in composite steel beams with precast hollowcore slabs

In steel-concrete composite beams, the longitudinal shear force is transferred across the steel flange/concrete slab interface by the mechanical action of the shear connectors. The ability of the shear connectors to transfer these longitudinal shear forces depends on their strength, and also on the resistance of the concrete slab against longitudinal cracking induced by the high concentration of shear force. Most of the research in composite construction has concentrated on the more traditional reinforced concrete and metal deck construction, and little information is given on shear capacity of the headed studs in precast hollowcore slabs. In this paper, a standard push test procedure for use with composite beams with precast hollowcore slabs is proposed. Seven exploratory push tests were carried out on headed studs in solid RC slabs to validate the testing procedures, and the results showed that the new test is compatible with the results specified in the codes of practice for solid RC slabs. Once a standard procedure is established, 72 full-scale push tests on headed studs in hollowcore slabs were performed to determine the capacities of the headed stud connectors in precast hollowcore slabs and the results of the experimental study are analysed and findings on the effect of all the parameters on connectors’ strength and ductility are presented. Newly proposed design equations for calculating the shear connectors’ capacity for this form of composite construction are also be given.