Numerical model of heat transfer for protected steel beam with cavity under ISO 834 standard fire

The temperature distribution of a member is an essential factor in determining the structural behavior at high temperatures. This paper presents a methodology for predicting the temperature distribution of a steel beam with a membrane enclosure type of protection under the ISO 834 standard fire conditions using an Abaqus finite element model. In this research, to enhance the reliability of the Abaqus simulation model, the Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) was used to simulate the convection process within the cavity between the protection cover and the steel beam. Thermal properties of steel and protection cover were adopted from Eurocode 3 and manufacturer`s datasheets. The effects of damage to the fire protection cover on the beam at elevated temperatures were also discussed. It was found that using Abaqus in conjunction with FDS to consider the convective heat transfer within the cavity would predict the steel beam temperature more accurately than without considering the convective heat transfer.