Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525

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Journal of Constructional Steel Research

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Behaviour of axially-restrained tubular compression members exposed to varying
thermal loads
A. Cinitha a ,⁎ , V. Sampath b

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a
CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai 600113, India
b
Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history: This paper discusses the behaviour of tubular compression members subjected to elevated temperature. The struc-

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Received 30 April 2020 tural integrity of steel structures on exposure to elevated temperature is an important aspect to be considered.
Received in revised form 4 January 2021 In order therefore to understand the behaviour of tubular and joints made of tubular compression members sub-
Accepted 5 January 2021 jected to elevated temperature, studies were carried out. The experimental investigations were carried out on
Available online xxx
the compressive strength of axiallyestrained tubular and joints made of tubular compression members at room
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as well as elevated temperature (localised). With a view to analyzing the failure modes, microstructural analy-
Keywords sis was carried out on the samples extracted from the affected regions. The results reveal that the failure of the
Fire axially restrained compression members exposed to elevated temperature is attributed to localised axisymmetric
Stability imperfections apart from combined effect of temperature-induced thermal strains and material degradation.
Tubular members © 2021
Compressive strength
EC

Elevated temperature
Microstructure

______________________________________________________________________________. bers. Experimental studies on rotational restraint of steel compression

1. Introduction
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Steel tubular compression members are widely used in industrial
buildings, thermal and chemical plants, towers, bridges, offshore plat-
forms, and other structures. Such structures undergo degradation of
strength on exposure to elevated temperature and fire during their lifes-
pan. Steel tubular and joints made of tubular compression members lose
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members in fire have been investigated and reported by Ali and Con-
nor [3]. Poh and Bennetts [4] proposed the numerical procedure to
analyse load-bearing strength of compression members subjected to dif-
ferent heating rates and support conditions. Thermal restraint and fire
resistance of compression members by simple analytical models were
demonstrated by Cabrita et al. [5]. The axial restraints decrease with
the fire resistance of steel compression members and proposed Rank-

their strength and stiffness with increasing temperature and time, i.e.
on prolonged exposure. This leads to collapse when their stiffness and
other material properties degrade to such an extent that the steel com-
pression member are unable to support the load applied. The temper-
ature at which such a collapse occurs can be referred to as the fail-
ure temperature. Structural integrity is assured so long as the temper-
ature of the steel compression member on exposure to fire is less than
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ine approach for the determination of resistance against fire by Huang
and Tan [6]. Toniaz et al. [7] proposed an analytical procedure for the
critical temperature of steel compression members exposed to fire. Ex-
pressions developed for roofing and floor assemblies, walls, columns and
trusses have been discussed by Plank [8] and highlighted that the analy-
sis of buckling of compression members by fire is potentially more dif-
ficult than that of beams. Investigations on the response of steel com-

the structural critical temperature. This paper presents the results of
the studies on the behaviour of axially –restrained tubular and joints
made of tubular compression members exposed to thermal loads. The
behaviour of fire exposed compression, flexural and other structural
members has been reviewed by James [1]. Sakumoto et al. [2] studied
full- scale heat test on fire-resistant structural steel compression mem
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: cinitha@serc.res.in (A. Cinitha)
pression members subjected to elevated temperature and axial load have
been reported by Choe et al. [9]. Wang and Li [10] conducted experi-
mental investigations on the fire behaviour of steel compression mem-
bers undergoing partial loss of strength. Kodur et al. [11] studied the
response of steel compression members exposed to fire. Comparison of
failure stresses of H-section compression members under elevated tem-
perature with yield, elastic and nonlinear buckling stresses by using the
EC3 were reviewed by Kim et al. [12]. A finite element procedure to
assess the critical temperature of compression members that are veri-
fied by the EC3 and AISC member strength equations are discussed by
Takagi et al. [13]. Shephered and Burgess [14] reviewed expressions

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2021.106525
0143-974/© 2021.
2 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525

currently available in American and European Standards for axially re-

strained steel compression members exposed to fire. Investigations on
heat transfer behaviour of CFRP-strengthened and insulated steel com-
pression members have been made by Imran et al. [15]. Fire resistance
of T-joints under axial compression and failure mode such as local buck-
ling near the chord intersection, have been discussed by Gao et al. [16].

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Talamona et al. [17] studied various factors influencing the behaviour
of steel compression members exposed to fire. Franssen et al. [18] re-
ported experimental evaluation of stability of steel compression mem-

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bers in case of fire. Yang et al. [19] presented local buckling of fire-re-
sisting steel compression members under fire load. Seval et al. [20] pre-
sented failure mechanisms of stepped-compression members under dif-
ferent loading conditions. Cinitha et al. [21] conducted experimental in-
vestigations on progressive collapse and buckling characteristics of tubu-
lar members subjected to elevated temperature. Joints are critical ele-
ments of any structural system and in a fire are subjected to forces that
are very different from those prevailing under ambient conditions. These

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regions are not heated to the same degree as other parts of the structure
because they have additional mass of material (bolts, plates, angles etc)
as investigated by Ian Burgess et al. [22]. However, there is paucity of
information in the published literature on the behaviour of the tubular
and joints made of tubular compression members exposed to elevated
temperature under axial load. The objective of this paper is therefore to
study the behaviour of tubular and joints made of tubular members sub-

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jected to axial compression and varying thermal loads.

2. Experimental studies
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2.1. Specimen dimensions and test procedure

The experiments were carried out on three cross-sections of tubu-

lar compression members made up of 65NB and 80NB sections and Fig. 1. The details of tubular joint studied.
joints made of tubular compression members consisting of both 65NB
and 80NB sections as per IS1161: 1998 [23]. D/t and slenderness ratio
EC

of 65NB compression member are 21.14 and 58.37 respectively, simi-
larly for 80NB compression member are 27.78 and 49.50 respectively.
65NB has a diameter of 76.1 mm and a thickness of 3.6 mm, while
80NB, 88.9 mm and 3.2 mm. The overall length of all the sections was
about 1.5 m and with an end plate diameter of 200 mm and thickness of
15 mm. The experimentally- simulated boundary conditions are consid-
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(STJ-9T, STJ-10T) and applied incremental axial load till collapse and
corresponding unheated control specimens were STJ-7UT and STJ-8UT.
Further to the test, one of the specimens was subjected to service load
of 110kN (for 80NB compression member as per IS: 800–2007) and ex-
posed to an elevated temperature of 600 °C (i.e STJ-11T) till collapse.
The specimen details are summarized in Table 1.

ered as constrained (axially-restrained) subjected to elevated tempera-

ture, which are similar to compression members in multi-storied framed
structures with intermediate members having stiff joints.
In each set of tubular compression members, three experiments were
carried out, for 65 NB sections, 65NB-1T and 65NB-2T (each subjected
to an elevated temperature of 600 °C) and 65NB-C is corresponding con-
trol specimen (unheated), similarly for 80 NB sections, 80NB-1T and
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2.2. Experimental procedure to simulate elevated temperature and
mechanical loading effects
A specially fabricated experimental set-up is used to simulate lo-
calised elevated temperature effect on tubular and joints made of tubu-
lar compression members. For the tubular members (both 65NB and

80NB-2T (each subjected to an elevated temperature of 600 °C) and
80NB-C is corresponding control specimen (unheated).
Studies on the joint made of tubular compression members consisted
of 65 NB (Normal bore) and 80 NB sections as shown in Fig. 1. The
overall length of the section is about 1.5 m and has an endplate with
a diameter of 200 mm and thickness of 15 mm. The upper part of the
member is made of a 65NB section of length 735 mm and the lower
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80NB sections), the mid-height of 250 mm was heated. For the joints
made of tubular compression member, 250 mm on either side of the
joint was heated. The heating of the specified region was carried out in
a controlled manner. The heating unit consists of thermocouples, con-
trollers, heating pads and relay switches. The temperature is gradually
increased from ambient to 600 °C in a controlled manner by fixing the
set point as 600o C.

portion with an 80 NB section of length 735 mm. The joint region is
established with 8 numbers of 16 mm diameter 4.8-grade bolts. In the
present study, the influence of elevated temperature on joints made of
tubular compression members was studied in two different ways. STJ-1,
STJ-2 and STJ-3 were used as control specimens. Three sets of joints
made of tubular compression members were subjected to an elevated
temperature of 1000 °C (with 5 °C/min) and cooled naturally to room
temperature and tested in compression (i.e STJ-4T, STJ-5T and STJ-6T)
under displacement control mode on a 2500kN UTM. Another three
sets of members were subjected to an elevated temperature of 600 °C
Glass wool capable of insulating temperature till 1200 °C, was used
as an insulator. For the initialization of the test, the specimens were
wrapped around with a ceramic heating pad with another layer of glass
wool over it. The wrapping with glass wool was carried out in such a
way that the regions covered with the ceramic heating pad were com-
pletely isolated from the atmospheric air, in order to prevent the dissi-
pation of heat. K-type thermocouples were used to detect the temper-
ature in the covered/insulated regions. A small strip of the region was
uncovered to detect the temperature distribution across the section us-
ing a pyrometer and an IR (Infrared) camera. To conduct these exper-
iments the joints made of tubular specimens were exposed to 600 °C
 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525 3

Table 1 der to realize the thermal restraint to the testing member. The load was
Specimen labels and heating details and types of testing.
applied by a hydraulic jack of 1000kN fixed to a reaction frame and con-
Specimen trolled by a load cell placed between top end plate of the 3D restrain-
ID Type of Testing Heating details ing frame and the head of the piston of the hydraulic jack. The specially
fabricated restraining frame ensures safety of testing members by pre-
65NB-C Force controlled Control specimen
venting damages in the experimental set-up in case of sudden collapse of
65NB-1T Force controlled Heated to 600 °C

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65NB-2T Force controlled Heated to 600 °C the compression member. The axial displacements of the testing mem-
80NB-C Force controlled Control specimen bers were measured by non-contact linear variable transducers. Load
80NB-1T Force controlled Heated to 600 °C cell were used to measure axial load due to thermal expansion as well.

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80NB-2T Force controlled Heated to 600 °C
A schematic diagram of the experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 2. The
STJ-1 Displacement Control specimen
Controlled
temperature vs. time plots observed for various specimens are shown in
STJ-2 Displacement Control specimen Fig. 3.
Controlled
STJ-3 Displacement Control specimen 3. Mechanical properties of low carbon steel subjected to elevated
Controlled
temperature followed by cooling to ambient temperature
STJ-4T Displacement Heated to 1000 °C and cooled to room
Controlled temperature
Prolonged exposure to fire load results in catastrophic damage to

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STJ-5T Displacement Heated to 1000 °C and cooled to room
Controlled temperature structures and hence the provision of adequate fire resistance of struc-
STJ-6T Displacement Heated to 1000 °C and cooled to room
tural members is a major safety requirement in building design. The fire
Controlled temperature
STJ-7UT Force controlled Control specimen resistance of structural members is dependent on the mechanical, ther-
STJ-8UT Force controlled Control specimen mal and deformation properties, of the materials at elevated tempera-
STJ-9T Force controlled Heated to 600°C ture.
STJ-10T Force controlled Heated to 600 °C One of the key properties needed for adopting retrofitting strategies
STJ-11T Force controlled Heated to 600 °C
for structural components made of steel and subjected to elevated tem-

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and 1000 °C, respectively, in the localised regions in the vicinity of the
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joint (as shown in Fig. 2).
A specially fabricated restraining frame was used for axial load trans-
fer to the test specimens. The restraining frame was composed of four
numbers of EN 8, 36 mm diameter threaded rods with top and bottom
end plates of dimension 1 m × 1 m × 0.04 m, arranged axially over
a pedestal. The connection between the restraining frame and flange
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perature is the stress-strain relationship of post-fire -affected steel. Al-
though steel has excellent strength properties at ambient temperature,
it loses its strength and stiffness at elevated temperature. The temper-
ature-dependent properties that influence the response of steel struc-
tures include thermal, mechanical and deformation properties. In order
to have an understanding of low carbon steel that is subjected to ele-
vated temperature, tensile tests were carried out on two different sets of
coupon extracted from 65 NB and 80 NB sections after cooling the steel
to room temperature.
Coupon specimens were extracted from parent specimens; they were

plates of test specimens were done by eight numbers of 24 mm diam-
eter 8.8- grade bolts. The threaded rods that connected to the com-
pression members of the 3D restraining frame to its top end plate,
were completely loosened during the application of load (force con-
trolled), allowing with this the transfer of the load to the testing com-
pression member and fastened before the starting of the heating in or
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machined in accordance with the ASTM E8M [24] specifications and
tested in accordance with the standard IS:2062–2006 []. The coupons
extracted from tubular sections were 250 mm long with a mid-gauge
length of 60 mm. The coupon specimens extracted from 65NB section
were named as 65NB-UH (unheated) and 65NB-H (Heated to 1000 °C
and cooled to ambient condition). Similarly specimens extracted from

80NB section were named as 80NB-UH (unheated) and

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Fig. 2. Schematic experimental set - up to simulate elevated temperature effect.

4 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525

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Fig. 3. The temperature vs. time plot.

80NB-H (Heated to 1000 °C and cooled to ambient condition), respec-

tively. The specimens were heated in stress-free condition at a constant
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heating rate of 5 °C/min inside a furnace till it reached the target tem-
perature of 1000 °C. Subsequently the furnace temperature was main-
tained to the desired target temperature and was held at that temper-
ature for 60 min to attain the steady state at the center of the speci-
men. The heated specimens were cooled in air. The tension tests were
carried out on such coupons to have an understanding of post–fire-af-
fected mechanical properties as shown in Figs.4-5. It has been ob-
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served that in both the cases the yield strength has been reduced, with
40% reduction in 65 NB section, and 50% reduction in 80NB sec-
tion. The post- fire- affected 80 NB coupons have undergone larger
strain than its unheated counter parts. And uniaxial isothermal tests
for samples extracted from 65NB and 80NB sections were carried out
at target temperature of ambient and 600 °C with a strain rate of
0.001S−1 as shown in Figs. 6-7, in order to understand the thermo-me- Fig. 4. Stress vs. strain behaviour for 65NB steel specimen.
chanical characteristics and the details are summarized in Table 2.
The coupon specimens extracted from 65NB section were named as
65NB-UH-IT (unheated) and 65NB-600-H-IT (Heated to 600 °C). Sim-
ilarly specimens extracted from 80NB
 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525 5

Table 2
Mechanical properties of steel at ambient and elevated temperature.

Specimen ID t(mm) Fy(N/mm 2) Fu(N/mm 2) Δ

65NB-UH 3.6 240.27 330.69 9.42

65NB-H 3.6 188.87 297.30 10.30
65NB-UH-IT 3.6 389.82 416.21 15.53

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65NB-600-H-IT 3.6 149.07 157.71 45.21
80NB-UH 3.2 352.56 412.24 19.24
80NB-H 3.2 174.41 268.41 21.40

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80NB-UH-IT 3.2 281.02 315.04 12.13
80NB-600-H-IT 3.2 80.42 89.54 61.48

Note: t-thickness of the coupon; Fy-yield strength; Fu-ultimate tensile strength; Δ-elonga-
tion

Fig. 5. Stress vs. strain behaviour for 80NB steel specimen.Note: NB-H: Specimens sub- Table 3
jected to elevated temperature conditions followed by cooling to ambient temperature. Chemical composition of structural steel in wt% after exposure to elevated temperature.

PR
Details Element,wt%

C Mn S P Si Ni Cr

80NB 0.324 0.256 0.004 0.016 0.045 0.004 0.009

Reference
80 NBH 0.269 0.256 0.004 0.015 0.045 0.004 0.008
(heated to
600 °C)

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80NBH 0.222 0.256 0.004 0.011 0.043 0.003 0.004
(heated to
1000 °C)
65NB 0.333 0.954 0.004 0.016 0.066 0.005 0.018
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Reference
65 NBH 0.318 0.954 0.004 0.014 0.048 0.004 0.014
(heated to
600 °C)
65NBH 0.304 0.954 0.004 0.013 0.045 0.004 0.013
(heated to
1000 °C)
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Fig. 6. Stress vs. strain behaviour for 65NB steel specimen under uniaxial isothermal test.

sis) of structural steel under a metallurgical microscope point out that

the variations in structural steel properties are due to variations in
chemical composition and conditions of heating and cooling treatment
adopted [27]. The microstructural analysis was carried out under the
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metallurgical microscope at 500× and the images obtained are shown

in Fig. 8.
The microstructural features, such as the size, morphology, size and
shape distribution and orientation of the grains as well as the different
phases and inclusions have a large influence on the mechanical prop-
erties of the steel used. As per the Hall-Petch relationship the yield
strength varies inversely with the square root of grain size. As per
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the iron‑carbon equilibrium diagram, on heating to 723 °C, the pearlite

Fig. 7. Stress vs. strain behaviour for 80NB steel specimen under uniaxial isothermal test.
section were named as 80NB-UH-IT (unheated) and 80NB-600-H-IT
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phase transforms to austenite. And at 920 °C, the complete transforma-
tion to austenite takes place. The austenite is further transformed to
ferrite and pearlite by cooling to ambient temperature. In the present
study, microstructural analysis of the structural steel specimens exposed
to 600 °C and 1000 °C and cooled naturally, show an increase in grain
growth.

(Heated to 600 °C), respectively.

The chemical composition of the structural steel was carried out
to determine the composition of elements in the steel before and af-
ter heating [26]. The results of the composition analysis are given in
Table 3. From the chemical composition analysis, it can be observed
that 17% and 31% decomposition of carbon occurred in post-elevated
temperature affected 80 NB section at 600 °C and 1000 °C respectively
as compared to the control specimen. And it can be observed that 4.5%
and 8.7% decomposition of carbon occurred in post-elevated tempera-
ture affected 65 NB section at 600 °C and 1000 °C respectively as com-
pared to the control specimen. Microscopic examination (microanaly
4. Strength prediction
AISC 2005 [28], BS EN 1993-1-2 (2005) [29], IS:800–2007 [30]
standards and Rankine Gordon's method were used to calculate the the-
oretical capacity in compression of the elevated temperature affected
steel tubular members based on the stress-strain characteristics mea-
sured in the laboratory for ambient conditions. For elevated tempera-
ture condition the respective reduction factors were considered for yield
stress and Young's modulus as per the provisions of BS EN 1993-1-2
(2005). AISC proposes the nominal column strength, Pcr, at the am
6 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525

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D Fig. 8. Microstructural analysis of samples exposed to various temperature conditions.
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bient temperature and is given by: (6)

(1)
(7)
(2)
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Where a = .
Where,
The EC3 column strength equations, predict the column strength Pcr
at ambient temperature as.
(3)
(8)

where, Fy and E are the yield stress and elastic modulus respectively,
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(9)
Fe is elastic buckling stress, given by Eq. (3) and A, r, and K are the
cross-sectional area, the minimum radius of gyration, and the effective
buckling length factor, respectively. The AISC equations for calculating (10)
the critical load at elevated temperatures, Pcr(θ), are identical to Eqs.
(1)–(3), but that the elastic modulus and yield strength are given in (11)
terms of the temperature-dependent counterparts, E(θ) and Fy(θ), which
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are determined using the BS EN 1993-1-2 (2005) [EC3] reduction fac-
tors.
4.1. Rankine Gordons formula
Buckling load calculated using Euler's formula is valid only for very
long and slender columns. But for intermediate columns which have
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where α is an imperfection factor, which varies from 0.13 to 0.76 de-
pending on the properties of the structural member, such as buckling
orientation (i.e. about the weak axis or strong axis), web height to flange
width ratio, flange thickness, and yield stress. λ is the slenderness ratio
and is given by Eq. (11) for stocky sections (i.e. Class 1, Class 2, or Class
3 cross-sections, as defined in EC3) and the other parameters are as de-
fined previously. One of the notable differences between the AISC and

been considered for the present study, Rankine Gordon's formula will EC3 equations is that the critical load in EC3 depends on the slenderness
give valid results and can be expressed as, ratio, buckling axis, and cross sectional area, whereas the AISC strength
varies with respect to the slenderness ratio, KL/r only. The same equa-
(4) tions can be used at elevated temperatures but with the temperature-
dependent parameters.
PR= Rankine Gordon's buckling load.
(12)
(5)
 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525 7

the case of the 65NB-2T specimen subjected to the localised tempera-

(13) ture of 600 °C for duration of 30 min, a prominent outward ring for-
mation along with buckling was observed at mid-height nearer to the
heated region. The maximum load was found to be 105.23kN with a cor-
(14) responding axial shortening of 19.47 mm and a lateral displacement of
22.4 mm. Similarly in the 80NB-C specimen, it was observed that buck-

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where Ky(θ) and KE(θ) are the reduction factors of yield strength and ling occurred exactly at the mid-height for a maximum load of 192.7kN
elasticity, respectively. and the maximum lateral displacement at the mid-height was found
IS 800:2007 proposes the compressive strength as given by. to be 71 mm. The 80NB-1T specimen subjected to 675 °C for duration

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of 30 min underwent buckling at mid-height nearer to the heated re-
(15) gion. Along with buckling, alternate ring formation was observed in the
heated region. The maximum load was found to be 147kN with a cor-
where.
responding axial shortening of 10.04 mm and a lateral displacement of
Ae= Effective sectional area (mm2).
51 mm. The 80NB-2T specimen subjected to an average elevated tem-
fcd= Design compressive stress (N/mm2).
perature of 700 °C for duration of 30 min underwent an outward ring
formation along with buckling at mid-height nearer to the region sub-
jected to elevated temperature. The maximum load was found to be

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(16)
155.15kN and the corresponding axial shortening was 15.64 mm, while
the lateral displacement 41 mm. Fig. 9 shows the test set-up to simulate
both elevated temperature effect and mechanical loading. Comparison
(17)
of experimental results with control specimens for 65NB and 80NB spec-
imens are shown in Figs. 10-11.
The joints made of tubular compression members were subjected to
(18) three different series of testing. In the first series, the specimens were

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raised from room temperature to 1000 °C and naturally cooled in air,
following which they were axially loaded in an incremental fashion till
collapse took place. This particular series of tests were conducted to un-
where. derstand the behaviour of post-fire affected joints made of tubular mem-
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fy= Yield stress of steel (N/mm2) bers. The controlled (i.e. not exposed to elevated temperature condi-
E = Young's modulus of section (N/mm2). tions) specimens were named as STJ-1, STJ-2 and STJ-3, while those ex-
α = Imperfection factor posed to elevated temperature and cooled to room temperature, were
L = Length of member named as STJ-4T, STJ-5T and STJ-6T [31], respectively. The specimens
r = Radius of gyration were subjected to static axial compression under displacement control
γmo = 1.10 Partial safety factor for material strength. by a hydraulically operated compression testing machine of 2500kN ca-
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5. Results and discussion
In the present study, compression tests were performed on steel tubu-
lar and joints made of tubular compression members subjected to ele-
vated temperature effect. Table 4 shows a comparison of codal, Rank-
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pacity. The specimens were placed in such a way that the 80NB tube
represented the lower portion of the compression member. In all nine
strain gauges were used in the joint region with 5 of them in 80 NB
tube (with 3 gauges placed in the region exposed to elevated tempera-
ture, while 2 of them in the unexposed region) and four of them (with
2 gauges placed in the region exposed to elevated temperature, while 2

ine-Gordan's for intermediate columns (by considering the reduction
factors as per BS EN 1993-1-2(2005) provision for elevated temper-
ature), and experimental results for tubular compression members of
65NB and 80NB. In 65NB-C specimen during compression test, it was
observed that buckling occurred exactly at the mid-height for a maxi-
mum load of 281kN and the corresponding maximum lateral displace-
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of them in the unexposed region) in the 65 NB tube. In addition, they
were instrumented with three LVDTs, viz., one at the top of the speci-
men, while the other two at mid-height of the specimen and are orthog-
onal to each other to capture lateral displacements. An axial load was
applied to the specimens under displacement control mode.
In the second series, the compression test was conducted by force
control method using a specially- fabricated experimental set-up. The

ment at the mid-height was 78 mm. For the 65NB-1T specimen sub-
jected to the elevated temperature of 650 °C locally for duration of
30 min underwent buckling with alternate ring formation in the heated
region. The maximum load observed was 175kN with a corresponding
axial shortening of 11.44 mm and lateral displacement of 50 mm. In
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control specimens were STJ-7UT and STJ-8UT. The specimens STJ-9T
and STJ-10T (second series of testing) were heated from room temper-
ature to 600 °C at a heating rate of 15 °C/min. Incremental axial loads
were applied soon after the localised regions attained 600 °C. The spec-
imen STJ-11T (third series of testing) was subjected to a service load of

Table 4
Comparison of compressive strength of tubular compression members under elevated temperature conditions.

AISC EC3 Experimental studies

Specimen ID Boundary condition IS:800–2007 (kN) (kN) (kN) Rankine-Gordan (kN) (Ultimate load, kN)

65NB-C Fixed-Fixed 247.56 266.79 359.21 243.199 281

65NB-1T Fixed-Fixed 112.68 120.48 121.27 105.77 175
65NB-2T Fixed-Fixed 112.68 120.48 121.27 105.77 105.23
80NB-C Fixed-Fixed 268.27 289.27 365.65 264.52 192.7
80NB-1T Fixed-Fixed 122.26 130.84 139.31 115.33 147
80NB-2T Fixed-Fixed 122.26 130.84 139.31 115.33 155.15
8 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525

eral displacement of about 25 mm was reached. The specimens were

found to fail by flexural buckling at mid-height. It was also observed
that local buckling on the compression side had occurred in the form
of rings after attaining the ultimate load. The strain at the ultimate
load ranged from 2000 μm/m to 2250 μm/m, [31] as shown in Figs.
12 and 13. The load vs. axial displacement plot is shown in Fig. 14.

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The heated specimens were cooled by exposing them to the atmospheric
air. Specimens STJ-4T, STJ-5T and STJ-6T were tested under axial com-
pression load. The specimens failed by flexural buckling at mid-height.

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The maximum load and the corresponding displacements for STJ-4T,
STJ-5T and STJ-6T were 162 kN and 8 mm, respectively. The strain at

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Fig. 9. Experimental test set-up to simulate elevated temperature effect and mechanical
loading.

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Fig. 12. Typical strain in unheated specimen under compression.
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Fig. 10. Comparison of compression behaviour of unheated and heated specimens of 65NB
sections.
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Fig. 13. Typical strain in heated and naturally- cooled specimen under compression.
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Fig. 11. Comparison of compression behaviour of unheated and heated specimens of 80NB
sections.

110kN, prior to heating it to 600 °C till complete collapse. In the sec-

ond and third series testing, the axial deflections were measured using
non-contact LVDTs fixed to the specially-fabricated test set- up.
From the experiments, it was found that the average ultimate load of
the unheated stepped- column members (STJ-1, STJ-2 and STJ-3) (con-
trol specimens) was about 228.33 kN with the corresponding axial dis-
placement of 4 mm. The loading was continued till attaining the lat Fig. 14. Behaviour of heated and naturally -cooled tubular joints.
 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525 9

ultimate load ranged from 400 to 550 μm/m. The specimens exposed to
elevated temperature conditions and cooled then after, showed around
28% reduction in yield strength compared to that for the control spec-
imens. A drastic reduction in elastic strain was observed for the heated
specimen's compared to that for the control specimens. The strain hard-
ening region was found to commence at a strain six times the yield

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strain for STJ-4T, STJ-5T and STJ-6T as compared to the control speci-
mens STJ-1, STJ-2 and STJ-3. Diamond buckling was observed in STJ-4T
followed by strain hardening. The specimens tested in the second se-

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ries, under constant temperature of 600 °C (i.e. specimen raised from
the ambient to the elevated temperature of 600 °C and applied incre-
mental load till collapse) showed a drastic reduction in strength (STJ-9T
and STJ-10T) whereas the specimen under constant load with increasing
temperature from the ambient temperature to 600 °C and maintained
at 600 °C until collapse, a higher load-carrying capacity (STJ-11T) was
observed, as shown in Fig. 15. This may be due to the combined ef-
fect of temperature-induced thermal strains and material degradation

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along with mechanically-induced restraints under a constant tempera-
ture of 600 °C. Further to the above observation, the microstructural
analysis shows an increase in grain size. The heated sample of 65NB sec-
tion underwent grain coarsening from 10.9 μm to 11.9 μm at 600 °C and
15.4 μm at 1000 °C. Similarly the heated sample of 80NB section under-
Fig. 16. Failure mode of unheated and heated tubular compression members.
went grain coarsening from 8.7 μm to 10.9 μm at 600 °C and to 16.8 μm
at 1000 °C.

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6. Modes of buckling of tubular and stepped- tubular columns

For both control specimens of 65NB–C and 80NB-C, it was observed

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that buckling occurred exactly at the mid-height. The buckling mode of
65NB-1T and 65NB-2T differed by formation of ring formation at the
heated region and similar behaviour were observed for 80NB-1T and
80NB-2T specimens. The failure mode of unheated and heated tubular
compressions members were shown in Fig. 16.
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In the case of joints made of tubular compression members, the con-

trol specimen (displacement controlled) had undergone overall buck-
ling, while the specimen subjected to an elevated temperature of
1000 °C and cooled in air (STJ-5T) localised buckling (“diamond buck-
ling”) at the region nearer to the joint in 80 NB section, as shown in Fig. 17. Localised buckling of STJ-5T specimen.
Fig. 17. The specimen subjected to a constant temperature of 600 °C
and tested under compression had a drastic reduction in strength due to
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prominent outward ring formation in regions nearer to the joint in 80

NB section, while mild ring formation in 65 NB section due to softening
of the material as shown in Fig. 18, whereas the specimen, STJ-11T,
buckled at the 65 NB region. Comparison of experimental results of
the different samples with those of the with control specimens are
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Fig. 18. Ring formation due to Softening.

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presented in Table 5. The failure mode of unheated and heated joints

made of tubular compressions members were shown in Fig. 19.

7. Conclusion

This paper discusses a set of experimental studies conducted on

Fig. 15. Behaviour of tubular joints under constant temperature and constant load condi-
tions.
steel tubular and joints made of tubular compression members. Ana-
lytical studies were carried out based on AISC 2005, BS EN 1993-1-2
(2005), IS:800–2007 standards and Rankine Gordon's method and val-
idated with experimental studies for tubular compression members ex-
posed to elevated temperature load. In all 17 tubular compression
10 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525

Table 5 capacity with respect to the control specimen. This better load carry-
Comparison of experimental results and characteristic features.
ing capacity at elevated temperature performance can be due to redis-
SL Specimen Pmax Δ @ ultimate % reduction in tribution of externally applied forces under the combined effect of tem-
No ID (kN) (mm) strength perature-induced thermal strains along with mechanically-induced re-
straints.
1 65NB-C 281 Limited experiments conducted to investigate the rate of heating and
2 65NB-1T 175.00 11.44 37.72

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3 65NB-2T 105.23 19.47 62.55
duration of exposure on mechanical properties of steel. Based on the
4 80NB-C 192.7 present studies, it is observed that a drastic reduction in strength takes
5 80NB-1T 147.00 10.04 23.72 place in the coupons subjected to thermo-mechanical load.

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6 80NB-2T 155.15 15.64 19.49 Microstructural analysis indicates a uniform distribution of ferrite
7 STJ-1 233.83 4.03
and pearlite in the control sample, whereas the sample extracted from
8 STJ-2 224.29 3.13
9 STJ-3 226.89 3.98 the specimen subjected to elevated temperature and subsequently
10 STJ-4T 160.15 8.56 29.86 cooled had more amount of ferrite than pearlite and larger grain size. It
11 STJ-5T 158.39 6.896 29.86 is observed that the grain diameter of the reference sample varies from
12 STJ-6T 164.3 8.02 28.04
8.7 to 10.9 μm, whereas for the heated sample the grain diameter varies
13 STJ-7UT 212.53 4.22 6.92
14 STJ-8UT 206.49 3.04 9.57 from 15.4 to 16.8 μm for the heated sample. Apart from microstructural

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15 STJ-9T 49.97 7.425 78.11 analysis, chemical analysis was also carried out and revealed that 31%
16 STJ-10T 52.05 2.95 77.21 and 8.7% decarburization occurred in the post-fire- affected 80 NB and
17 STJ-11T 189.47 3.522 20.51
65 NB sections respectively, as compared to that in the control spec-
Note: Capacity of joints made of tubular compression member at ambient condition: imen. The increase in grain size of heated sample may be attributed
228.33kN to the decrease in strength. Hence, both microstructural and chemical
analyses strengthen the evidence for strength reduction in the case of
specimens subjected to elevated temperature effect.
members were tested, consisting of 3 sets of 65NB compression mem-
bers, 3 sets of 80NB compression members and 11 sets of joints made

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of tubular compression members. Drastic reduction in strength was Declaration of Competing Interest
observed in specimens subjected to elevated temperature effect. The
marked difference in deformation mode was observed for 65NB and The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest of any kind.
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80NB compressions members than the joints made of tubular compres-
sion members exposed to varying thermal loads. The duration of ex-
posure and rate of heating has significant influence on the behaviour Acknowledgement
of tubular compression members, which is evident from test results of
65NB-2T specimen. The joints made of tubular compression members This work is supported by CSIR-SERC as part of an in-house R&D
exposed to an elevated temperature of 1000 °C and cooled naturally work. The technical assistance rendered by the technical staffs, M.Ku-
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had an average ultimate strength loss of 29.26%, whereas those mem- marappan and S.Muraleeswaran and project assistants of Steel Struc-
bers exposed to 600 °C and subjected to an incremental load till col- tures Laboratory, is greatly acknowledged.
lapse, had an average ultimate strength loss of 77.66%. In all these
cases it was observed that the heated regions deformed as soon as the
temperature reaches beyond 600 °C. Moreover, the restrained compres- Appendix A. Supplementary data
sion member STJ-11T, had 20.51% reduction in ultimate load carrying
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
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org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2021.106525.
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Fig. 19. Failure mode of unheated and heated tubular compression members.
 A. Cinitha and V. Sampath / Journal of Constructional Steel Research xxx (xxxx) 106525 11

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