Application of fire-resistant steel to beam-to-column moment connections at elevated temperatures

This paper presents a new method of using fire-resistant steel to improve the fire-resistance of beam-to-column moment connections in steel structures. Two full-scale beam-to-column moment connection specimens were tested at elevated temperatures according to the standard ISO-834 fire to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. In addition, a detailed 3-D finite element model was developed to simulate the structural behavior of the column-tree moment connection specimens in fire. The fire test results show that the proposed method can effectively extend the fire endurance time, reduce structural deformation, and raise the critical temperature to failure for the beam-to-column moment connections. The numerical results obtained from the 3-D finite element analyses for the two specimens successfully simulated the fire test results.