Post-fire performance of high-strength steel plate girders developing post-buckling capacity

Fire is a frequent disaster, which has lasting effects on mechanical properties of high-strength steel (HSS). For HSS structures after fire, it is important to assess if the structure can continue to service, should be repaired or demolished. The experimental and numerical investigations are performed to investigate the effects of exposure temperature on residual resistance of Q690 HSS plate girder considering the post-buckling capacity. In this study, the post-fire mechanical properties of Q690 HSS are investigated experimentally. The appearance characteristics of Q690 HSS with different exposure temperatures are obtained. The effects of exposure temperature on mechanical properties of Q690 HSS were discussed. To investigate the residual resistance of Q690 HSS plate girder after fire, the post-fire mechanical properties of Q690 HSS are introduced in the plate girder model, which has been strictly validated. Based on numerical results, the effect of exposure temperature on the initial stiffness of HSS plate girder can be ignored. The nonlinear properties of the Q690 HSS have the certain effect on the nonlinear characteristics of resistant curve of Q690 HSS plate girder considering the post-buckling capacity, which are influenced by the exposure temperature. The effect of exposure temperature on the buckling resistance of Q690 HSS plate girder is relatively small. With the raise of exposure temperature, the postbuckling capacity of Q690 HSS plate girder decreases. Effects of exposure temperature on the resistant properties of Q690 HSS plate girder were investigated, which were quantified by a suggested equation. The increase of exposure temperature has an adverse effect on the proportion of safety reserve of the Q690 HSS plate girder with post-buckling capacity.