The safety of common steel beam/column connections in fire

This paper summarises recent experimental research on structural steel I-section beam/column connections for fire safety, based on a programme of research on robustness of different types of steel beam/column connections, carried out in collaboration between the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester. In this research project, two series of connection tests were conducted, one on isolated connections under different combinations of axial load, shear and moment at different elevated temperatures, and one on steel beam-to-column assemblies in fire, in which the resulting connection forces were varied during the fire exposure. This paper summarises the results and the main findings of these tests, focusing on connection failure modes, tying resistance, the rotation capacity of different types of connection and their potential influences on fire resistance of the connected members. The principal objective of this paper is to discuss the implications of this research project on integrating fire resistance into the design of steel-framed structures, firstly to highlight connection characteristics which contribute most to overall robustness, and to suggest how connection detailing might change to enable connections to possess such desirable characteristics.