Morera and Design 96 (2012) 438-442 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Materials and Design journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matdes — Deterioration of mechanical properties of high strength structural steel S460N under steady state fire condition Xuhong Qiang*, Frans S.K. Bijlaard, Henk Kolstein Serucal an lng Engnerng. Deparment of Design ond Consacton, Fit of Ci Engineering an Geosciences, Deft University of Technolo, 2800 Gh Del, The Metherande ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT ‘tice sory Received 1 Rovember 2011 Fires one ofthe most severe conditions to which steel structures may be subjected to. n order to analyze the fire performance of stel structures, mechanical properties of steels at elevated temperatures are sig nificant flor practical design, The recommendations of current European, American, Australian and British ‘Standards were mainly obtained from mild steels, whose validity should be checked when ured to con- duct fre-resistance design of high strength steel structures. In order to reveal the deterioration of Kerwod ‘mechanical properties othe commonly wed high strength ste! SAGON ude tay state re condition, ‘Feros mei ant lly tensile ests wer conducted a varius elevated temperatures fanged frm 20°C 0200 The reduction factors of elastic modulus, yeld and ultimate strengths of S460N under steady state fire condition were ‘obtained and compared with current design standards and available literature. Is found the deteriora ‘don of mechanical properties of steels under steady state fire condition is dependent on steet grades. Hence the recommendations in curent design standards are not applicable to high strength steels, and ‘unique reduction factrs should be proposed for various high strength steels. The elevated-temperature properties reduction factors of S4GON presented herein can be used as input data to conduct safe fire~ 1 Peformance indices ‘esistance design of steel structures with high strength steel S4G0N. 1. Introduction The steel grade $355, which used to be considered as high strength steel (HSS) 20 years ago, is now the main structural steel in Europe. Currently the steels having a nominal yield stress not less than 460 N/mm? are called high strength steel, based on the implication of current European Design Standard Eurocode 3 (EC2) [1]. In recent years, high strength steel has been increasingly applied in many structures all over the world because of its eco- ‘nomial benefits in comparison to mild steels, which are hot-rolled carbon steels with normal strengths. Hence more and more atten- tion has been paid to investigating high strength steel for various applications Liu et al. stucied the effects of minute amounts of fer- Fite and cooling process on mechanical properties of HSS [2.3]. Kong et al. investigated the influence of Mo content on microstruc- ture and mechanical properties of high strength pipeline tee! [4]. In civil engineering, structural fie safety is one of the critical considerations in the design of high-rise buildings where steel is ‘usually employed. As a basi of evaluating the performance of stee! constructions in fire and even after fire, mechanical properties of Covtsponding author. Adie: PO. box SOAS, 2600 GA Delt, The Netherlands Tel: +30 15 2784752: 31 182783173. ‘Emaladieses: xalangotuclftal (X Qang) FSC Biaardonaceli al (ES, yard MLXolesindcuelea (Kata) (c261-2060)$- see rot mater © 2011 Hsevier Ln Al igs reserved. so: 101016)matdes201111.069, (© 2011 Elsovicr Lid. A ights reserved, some structural steels at elevated temperatures have been re- ported in literature. Outinen et al. conducted many tensile tests fon various structural steels at elevated temperatures (5-7), and developed fire design models for structural steels $355 and 420M [8.9]. Gunduz and Acarer studied the effect of heat treat- ‘ment on elevated-temperature mechanical properties of microal- Toyed medium carbon steel [10]. Kodur et a. reviewed available literature on elevated-temperature properties of steels and high- lighted the variations between currently published experimental results [11], However, the previous researches mainly focus on ‘mild steels For high strength structural steels, very limited infor- ‘mation has been reported by now. Lange and Schneider etal. con- ducted experimental research on S460 at elevated temperatures [12-15] and worked out some constitutive equations for calculat- ing ereep strain; Chen et al. investigated the mechanical properties of BISPLATE 80 under fire conditions [16] and reported the elevated-temperature reduction factors of mechanical properties for BISPLATE 80; Qiang etal. studied the residual mechanical prop- erties of $460 and S690 after fire and presented some recommen- dations for the practical evaluation and reuse of steel structures alter cooling down from fire [17]. In EC3 part 1-2 [1] itis assumed that the material properties of various structural steel grades un- der fice conditions can be evaluated uniformly. And the specitica- tions recommended by EC3 [1] are based on test results obtained from mild steels. However, pervious research showed that the2% lang aan an Design 36 (2012) 438-442 deterioration of HSS under fie conditions were different from that of mild steels. Hence, using the recommendations from EC3 [1] 10 conduct fire-resistance design of structural members made of HSS ‘might run a risk, Not only European standard but also American, British and Australian standards, no current design standard for steel structures have specified recommendations for HSS under fre condition. Therefore, accurate elevated-temperature material properties of various HSS grades are urgently needed in practice, to keep pace with the development of numerical modeling tech- rhiques for predicting the fire performance of steel structures. ‘S460 is the most normally used high strength structural steel for the time being. However, the researches on deterioration of ‘mechanical properties of HSS $460 under fie conditions re- pported in English are very limited and focus on two types, SAGON and S46OM. The difference between these two types is delivery condition; S460N is normalized rolled while S460M is thermo-mechanical rolled. Lange and Wohifeil [12] conducted tensile tests on both S460N and S450M under transient state fire condition: their stress-strain relationships at elevated tempera tures up to 3% strain were reported. They pointed out the ele- vated temperature performance of S460M was better than SSABON. Schneider and Lange [13-15] extended the above exper- imental investigation to 7 commercial HSS $460 with diferent chemical compositions and delivery conditions, using, both stea~ dy state and transient state fie test methods. They pointed out that EC3 overestimated the elevated-temperature yield strengths if used for $460. Based on various heating rates, they developed. aan empirical equation for ereep strain of S460 under fire condi tions. Outinen et al [5,6] conducted test on S460M under tran- sient state fire condition, and compared his experimental results on elastic modulus and yield strength with that recom- ‘mended in EC3 [1]. However, a considerable discrepancy exists between the data available in literature given by different Fig 1 Test devce-leeble 3800 system, PS aeaen (a) Test coupons. researchers, because of the variations in test methods, heating conditions and data collection techniques. The discrepancy pre- sents a challenge to a structural designer wishing to analyze the response of steel structures under fire condition and might result in safety-compromise. For revealing more knowledge on the behavior of HSS S460N under fire conditions and validate the available research results, an experimental research was conducted, using steady state test ‘method at various temperatures ranged from 20 to 700°C. Based. fon the tensile test results, the deteriorations of elastic modulus, yield and ultimate strength of S460N at elevated temperatures un- der steady state were presented and compared with current design standards and available literature. 2. Experimental investigation 2uL Test device The tensile tests were conducted using a Gleeble 3800 System, which isa fully integrated digital closed loop control thermal and mechanical testing system, as shown in Fig. 1, The direct heating system of the Gleeble 3800 can heat specimens at rates of up to 10,000°Cjs, or can hold steady-state equilibrium temperatures, Gleeble 3800 has a digital control system, which provides all the signals necessary to control thermal and mechanical test vari= ables simultaneously through the digital closed-loop thermal and mechanical servo systems. The Gleeble 3800 mechanical system is an integrated hydraulic servo system capable of exerting a5 much as 100 KN statie force in tension. In this study, 3 pairs of thermocouples provided signals for accurate feedback control of specimen temperatures, see Fig. 2b. The air temperature inside the furnace was obtained by Gleeble 3800 System. A non-contact laser extensometer was used to measure the strain of the speci- mens. The experimental process was controlled by predefined programming options using Quiksim Sofware. All data obtained Irom the tests were recorded and could be monitored during testing. 22. Test material and specimen Al test specimens were cut from a SAG0NL steel sheet ordered {or this study with a nominal thickness of 5 mm. S460NL is weld- able normalized steel for steel constructions, with high yield strength and high toughness, produced in compliance with EN 10025-3 [18]. S460 is the grade designation abbreviation of this steel, where 5 means structural steel; 460 is its minimum yield strength; N means normalized rolled delivery condition; and L means low notch toughness testing temperature. The chemical composition of the high strength steel S450N was presented in Table 1. The geometry and dimension of the specimens were pre- a 3] a 30 [10 J (b) Dimensions Fig. 2. Teale west coupon and dimensions40 Xanga Matera and Design 26 (2012) 428-482 ‘abet Chemica composition of HSS 54508 mati (3) € a 5 ce @ 017 aati 1500 op? 00S aga) 0025 pared in accordance with EN 10002-5 [19] and ASTM standard £21-08 (20) 2.3. Test method and procedure ‘To obtain the mechanical properties of steels, the normally used ‘method is to conduct tensile tests under steady state or transient state fire condition. Comparing to transient state test method, the steady state test method is used more commonly 2s itis easier to perform and provides the stress-strain curves directly. Thus steady stale test method was conducted in this experimental study, In steady state test. the specimen was heated up to a specified temperature then loaded until it filed while maintaining the ter- perature constant. In this study, the heating rate was 50 °C/min, ‘and the preselected temperatures were 100°C, 200°C, 300°C, 350°C, 400°C, 450 °C, 500°C, 550°C, 600°C, 650°C and 700°C ‘After ‘reaching the preselected temperature, approximately 10 min was required for the temperature to stabilize, to ensure a uniform temperature within the central part of specimen, And then tensile load was applied to the specimen until failure. In the steady state tests, strain-control was used. The strain rate used herein was (0.005/min, which satisfied the requirement of ASTM Standard E 21-09 20}, In order to compare the deterioration of mechanical properties of S460 at elevated temperatures, tensile tests were conducted at ambient temperature as well, 3, Results and discussion 3.1. Elastic modulus ‘As an important factor influencing the stiffness of steel struc- tures, the deterioration of elastic modulus with temperature increasing affects load-bearing capacity of steel structures evi- dently. Thus, itis significant to understand the deterioration of ‘elastic modulus under fie conditions quantitatively for evaluating the fie performance of steel structures and correspondingly con- ‘ducting safe fre-resistance design Under fire conditions the elastic modulus of ste! is determined, from the stress-strain curve at the corresponding temperature, based on the tangent modulus of the intial elastic linear curve. table? Baste modulus and reduction factors of SON ue steady state fire condition Temperate CO) asic modulus (PS) Reduction ee 2 2a28i2 0 00 13s21 850 450 nas asi 600 sa019 ba9t 550 50300 o2ss ‘The deterioration of elastic modulus under fire conditions is repre- sented by reduction factor at corresponding temperature. Reduc- tion factor of elastic modulus is determined fiom the ratio of elastic modulus at some elevated temperature to that at ambient temperature. In current European, American and Australian stan- dards, reduction factors are recommended for fire-resistance de- sign and fire evaluation of steel structures because of their simplicity. Herein the reduction factors of elastic modulus of S460N under various steady state fire conditions were obtained ‘and presented in Table 2 “The reduction factors of elastic modulus under steady state fire condition obtained from this experimental study were compared with some current design standards (i.e, EC3 1], AISC [21] and ‘AS 4100 [22)) and the available researches on HSS 460, as shown in Fig. 3. It confirmed the conclusion that the elastic modulus of 460M at elevated temperatures was higher than that of S460N. For S4GQN the results from Lange and Wohifeil|12] agree well with this experimental study. Moreover, AS 4100 |22| is generally non- conservative for HSS $460, except the results trom Lange for 460M below 500°C [12]. EC3 [1] and AISC [21] are conservative Tor S460M, but nonconservative for SAGON. [t means using the ree- ‘ommendations of EC3 [1] and AISC [21] for S460M is appropriate but not safe for S460N. The recommendations of AS 4100 [22] on clastic modulus under fire conditions are not applicable to HSS 5460, neither S4GOM nor SA6ON. 3.2. Veld strength “The reduction factors of yield strength recommended by EC3 [1] are based on the strain levels of 02% and 2.0%, and in BS 5950 [23], different reduction factors are given according to three strain levels (05%, 1.5% and 2.0%. In AISC [21], ASCE [24] or AS 4100 [22], no specification on strain level accompanies the recommended reduc- tion factors for yield strength. The yield strength under fire condli- tions used herein was defined based on a total strain 2.0%, to agree with the commonly used method at ambient temperature. The reduction factors of yield strength under fire conditions were cal- culated via the ratio of yield strength at elevated temperatures to that at ambient temperature. The yield strengths and reduction factors from steady s(ate fie test were shown in Table 3. ‘The reduction factors of yield strength were compared with those given by Outinen et a. (5,6), Lange and Wohlfel [12], and Schneider and Lange [13-15], as shown in Fig. 4, and the recom- ‘mendations of current design standards for steel structures were also included. It was validated that the yield strength-reduction .” ayaa 108 a ty 2 Santsuane Eos 1 tatgesacon 5 ah + tee se 3 | sel Pos a Sa istotn é * 0 am wo alo am 100 1200 temperature (6) ig. 3. Comparison of eduction factors of E-modulus tclevated temperatures.2% lang aan an Design 36 (2012) 438-442 a ‘rate? “Viel strength and seduction factors of SSN ander steady tat fe condition Temperature CO) Yi strength (MPa) Reduction factor 20 “0 1.000 a0 am 0989 50 158 033 Steady sate 3260 to Scanider SAGON 1 (1 Semneer 45002] Senne S4OON 3] os Lange S408] Lange sas0u (5) Outi S450 oa]. [team 8s 5960 18) AIST 02} | —-Asce 1a) 48 410017 Yield strength reducton factor Eo in eo a0 «000200 temperature (°C) Fi. 4 Comparison of ye strength reduction factors with current standards and salable research on $4650, factors of S460M at elevated temperatures were higher than that of SAGON, which was also confirmed by Lange and Wohlfel [12]. ‘There were good agreements between this experimental study ‘with that given by Schneider and Lange on S4GON | 13]. The reduc tion factors recommended in EC3 [1], BS 5950 [23] and AISC [21] ‘were similar to each other, but they were generally nonconserva- {ive for SAGON in comparison to this experimental result and liter ature. Fig. 4 showed that the predictions of ASCE [24] and AS41100, [22] were not applicable to SA60N, either. The reduction factors of yield strength for S460N obtained from this study were also compared with that of several typical mild steels given by Makelainen et al. (9| as shown in Fig. 5, the results {or $460M given by Outinen et al [5-7] and the predictions of EC3 [1] were also involved as reference. This comparison showed that there was a considerable discrepancy in the reduction factors for different steel grades a elevated temperatures. It seemed that only ‘mild steels S235 and $355 could be predicted accurately by EC3 | “This is because the recommendations of EC3 [1] were mainly ob- tained according to mild steels. Hence, ECS [1] is confirmed not applicable o all structural steel grades. Similar to EC3 [1] none cur rent design standard has any specifications on the difference of ‘mechanical properties lor different steel grades, which might raise risks to conduct fre-resistance design of steel structures with high strength steels 2.3, Ultimate strength ‘The ultimate strength reduction factors were calculated based fon the ratio of ultimate strength at a specified elevated tempera- im 1 - > Satya si prbeeerg | t cambctate i TTA | Feeney 2 > heen sed 5 2 tien east Bos 7 Bot Las ° ao oo aon om wo ta temperature (°C) ig. 5. Comparson of yield suength reduc factors with avalable research on ‘ile ele Unate strength seduction tars of SA60N under steady sate re anda Temperature CO Reduction ctr 100) oses ‘ure to that at ambient temperature. The ultimate strengths reduc- tion factors oblained under steady state fire condition were given in Table 4. They were compared with the recommendations of ‘American design standard AISC 21}, a8 presented in Fig. 6. The redluction factors of ultimate strength for S460N were generally be- low the recommendations of AISC |21].In AISC [21] the recommen- 42 temperature (*C) ig. 6. Comparison of ulmate strength reduction facts with Ameen design nacd a.ae Xanga Matera and Design 26 (2012) 428-482 ig. 7. flue modes of S460 specimens 2 various elevated temperatures dations for ultimate strength reduction factors obtained mainly from mild steels are uniform for all stel grades, which are proved ‘ot safe for evaluating HSS S460N under fire condition. Therefore some unique recommendations are necessary for S460N as well ‘as other high strength steel grades, to accurately predict the dete Floration of their ultimate strengths under fire conditions. 3.4 Typical failure modes ‘Typical failure modes of high strength steel S46ON tensile spec- mens under various fire conditions obtained from steady state tests were shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen that for all specimens necking appeared before failure. No brittle failure was observed under all tested fie conditions from 20°C up to 700°C. 4. Conclusions ‘This paper has presented a detailed experimental study on the deterioration of mechanical properties of high strength steel SS4GON under steady state fire condition. The elevated-temperature ‘elastic modulus, yield and ultimate strengths and typical failure modes of S460N were obtained from steady state tensile tests. ‘he reduction factors of mechanical properties of HSS S46ON ob- tained from this study were compared with current European, ‘American, Australian and British design standards. tis found that ‘no current design standard can be safely used to conduct fire-resis- tance design or evaluation of stee! structures with high strength steel SAGON. The experimentally obtained reduction factors of ‘mechanical properties of HSS S460N presented herein can be used as input data for numerical modeling to evaluate the performance ‘of steel structures with HSS S460N under fire conditions, and they Offer proof for structural engineers to conduct sae fire-resistance ‘design as well. Further, the comparison of HSS S460N with HSS 460M and mild steels showed the deterioration of mechanical properties of sieels under fire conditions is dependent on steel ‘grades. Thus, more unique reduction factors of mechanical proper~ ties for various specified high strength structural steel grades (ie, ‘9690, $890, $960 and so on) at elevated temperatures should be proposed in future research for safe practical design and analysis. References |i) CEN. Eucode 3. Design of ste structures ~ Part 1-2: General ules — Structural ve aesign rusts! CEN; 2005 [2] uc, Wy Lis YC Mechanical properties of high strength quenched eo ‘th minute amounts offre, Mater Des 198 1249-82. [B) Ue & Lu Wf CT, Zhu Ob Zhang JK. cooling process and mechanical Properties desig o high carbo he rl high seg (HRS) secs Mater Dew 9819-1757 Fa] Kong J, Zen 1, CoB, Li FH Wang AN, Xie. 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