Parametric study on temperature distribution of square hollow section joints

The resistance of a steel joint is one of the most crucial elements of a structure under fire conditions. The aim of the study was to investigate the temperature distribution within the square hollow section (SHS) joints with different geometric parameters under fire conditions. The commercial finite element (FE) software, Abaqus/Standard CAE, was used to simulate the behaviour of the SHS joints. Extensive numerical research was conducted on different joint types (T-, Y-, and K-joints) to examine the influence of the joint configuration on the temperature distribution within the joint. To provide reliable observations, a model was validated against the experimental results. The FE simulation results were compared to the predictions of Eurocode equations. The FE simulation results showed that the simulated temperatures are different from the temperatures determined using the Eurocode method. The β parameter was found to have hardly any influence on the temperature distribution within the joint area, whereas different joint configurations strongly influence the distribution.