The collapse analysis of steel columns in fire using a finite strip method

An elasto-plastic finite strip method is used to analyse the behaviour of steel columns at increasing temperature. The degradation in structural properties of the material is fully accounted for by representing the stress-strain-temperature relationship as a series of Ramberg-Osgood equations. An existing algorithm is then used to ensure convergence on the critical buckling load at a particular temperature. The efficiency of the computational process enables results very readily to be obtained over a range of temperatures. Comparisons with available experimental data demonstrate the accuracy of the method and some illustrative results are given to show the influence of slenderness, residual stress and eccentricity of loading.