Structural performance of cold-formed ferritic stainless steel perforated beams under post-fire conditions

Abstract

Perforated stainless steel beams have been increasingly adopted in engineering applications. Thus, evaluating their post-fire residual strength is critical for ensuring structural safety after fire hazards. A numerical investigation on the structural behaviour of cold-formed ferritic stainless steel perforated beams under post-fire conditions was performed. An extensive parametric study was carried out to assess the influence of temperature and geometrical parameters on the flexural capacity of rectangular and square hollow section (RHS and SHS) ferritic stainless steel (EN 1.4003) perforated beams under post-fire conditions. Bending capacities of beams obtained from numerical analysis were compared with design strengths predicted by North American Specification, design rules in the literature and the European Code. A modified design equation was proposed based on the numerical and test results, which was shown to provide a more accurate prediction for ferritic stainless steel perforated beams under post-fire conditions.