Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525

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Numerical simulation of bolted steel connections in fire using explicit

dynamic analysis
Hongxia Yu a,∗ , I.W. Burgess a , J.B. Davison a , R.J. Plank b
a Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
b School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK

Received 20 July 2007; accepted 16 October 2007

Abstract

Behaviour of steel connections in fire is a multi-dimensional problem involving parameters such as temperature, tying forces and large
deformations. Investigation of this behaviour will remain one of the main subjects for fire engineering research in the coming years. Finite
element simulation plays an important role in the study of connections because fire tests are expensive to perform. Unlike normal structural
analyses, finite element simulation of bolted steel connections is a challenging task, as large numbers of contacts exist in the model. This leads
to convergence difficulties in static solvers. This paper explores the use of an explicit dynamic solver to analyse bolted steel connections. By
comparing the results with those from static analysis and tests, it is shown that the explicit dynamic solver, with proper control, gives satisfactory
predictions of the responses of steel connections up to post-failure deformations.
c 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Explicit dynamic analysis; Steel; Connections; Fire; Contact

1. Introduction of bolted steel connections is different from normal structural

Structural connection failures were observed in the collapse
of the WTC buildings [1] and full-scale fire tests at
Cardington [2]. They caused concern over the ability of
connections to maintain their structural integrity in fire and led
to subsequent studies of the high-temperature behaviour of steel
connections. A general understanding of the moment–rotation
characteristics of steel connections at ambient temperature
is insufficient in fire engineering because material properties
and stress states can be affected by temperature, and ultimate
resistance, rather than elastic stiffness, becomes the major
issue of concern. The University of Sheffield is performing an
investigation of the robustness of common steel connections
at elevated temperatures. As a large number fire tests will be
performed in the course of the investigation, finite element
modelling will also be widely employed, because it can extend
the range of the study. By providing the complete stress state of
the structure during its whole loading history, FE modelling can
help understanding of the failure mechanisms. FE modelling
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 114 222 5726; fax: +44 114 222 5793.
E-mail address: H.Yu@sheffield.ac.uk (H. Yu).
analysis in two respects. First, 3D solid elements are generally
used instead of structural beam and shell elements; second,
many contact relationships are usually involved. Contacts
impose difficulty for the numerical solution procedure because
the connection is not initially tied together, and does not provide
stiffness until contacts on the load transfer route are closed.
Several simulations of steel connections have been
reported previously. Liu [3] modelled two extended endplate
connections in fire using a self-developed program. Shell
elements were used to discretize the beam, column stiffeners
and endplate. A beam element having special characteristics
was used to simulate the behaviour of bolts and the contact
‘link’ between endplate and column flange. This was a fairly
simple treatment of the contact problem, but gave successful
predictions of the test results up to a maximum rotation of
0.1 rad. Bursi and Jaspart [4] discussed the modelling of
bolts in bolted connections at ambient temperature using the
general commercial program ABAQUS. A “spin” model, using
an assembly of beam elements, was proposed to represent a
bolt. This was verified against 3D solid models for simple
problems such as T -stubs, and then used in more complicated
endplate connections. Both models gave very close predictions

c 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

0143-974X/$ - see front matter

doi:10.1016/j.jcsr.2007.10.009
516 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
to the test results. Swanson et al. [5] modelled a test on
a T -stub using ABAQUS, incorporating contact relationships
between the bolts and the base materials, and between different
connection plates. However, details of the contact techniques
employed are not given. Spyrou [6] performed two-dimensional
modelling of T -stub tests at elevated temperatures in ANSYS
using 2D plane stress elements. The contacts were simulated
by point-to-surface contact elements. However, the results were
not very satisfactory, which seems to indicate that 2D models
are not appropriate. Maggi et al. [7] performed a numerical
study of the behaviour of bolted endplate connections using
ANSYS. They concentrated on the structural behaviour, and
gave little information on the modelling techniques employed.
Coelho [8] gave a very detailed description of the numerical
simulation of T -stubs using the commercial package LUSAS
with eight-node full-integration brick elements. The contact
was simulated using node-to-node nonlinear contact friction
elements, basically a kind of spring element that connects
two adjacent nodes, whose properties for the behaviour of
various degrees of freedom can be defined by the contact
properties of the surfaces. Al-Jabri [9] simulated a series of
fire tests on flush endplate connections in ABAQUS/standard
using eight-node brick elements with reduced integration.
For the contact areas, surface-to-surface contact was used.
Efforts to help numerical convergence included using a small-
sliding option and providing restraints to prevent rigid body
movements. The numerical analysis results agreed well with
test results, even though the meshing was surprisingly coarse
compared to general practice. Sarraj et al. [10] performed
modelling of steel fin-plate connections in fire using eight-node
hexahedral brick elements in ABAQUS/standard. Surface-to-
surface contact with a small sliding option was used to define
the contact relationships. Good agreement was achieved when
the simulation algorithm was validated against test results for
both ambient temperature and elevated temperatures. Again
it was mentioned that significant efforts were required to
make the numerical procedure converge. Lou and Li [11]
performed simulations of one ambient-temperature test and two
elevated-temperature tests on extended endplate connections
using ANSYS. They used SOLID45 elements with at least two
layers of elements through the thickness of the plates. Contact
elements TARGET170 and CONTA173 were used to simulate
the contact relationships. The simulated results were generally
good, with discrepancies observed for only one test.
Contact is a nonlinear and discontinuous phenomenon. In an
idealized hard-contact, when the contact is open the pressure
between the surfaces is zero. When the two surfaces come into
contact, the overpressure can reach very high values, but no
penetration of one surface into the other is permitted. Accurate
simulation of this behaviour is practically impossible due to the
discontinuity of the stiffness matrix. In the simpler treatments,
the contact relationships are established between relevant
nodes using spring elements. This method loses accuracy if
large deformations develop. A more general approximation is
surface-to-surface contact, but the contact property is softened.
The softer the contact pressure-gap over-closure relationship,
the easier it is for the solver to converge.
For simulations of steel connections in fire it is proposed
to use an explicit dynamic solver because this allows the
definition of very general contact conditions for complicated
contact problems, without generating numerical convergence
difficulties. Also, an explicit dynamic solver uses a consistent
large-deformation theory that can model large rotations and
large deformations. This is beneficial for the analysis of
structures in fire because they are generally subjected to large
deformations.
There are two major advantages of explicit dynamic
analysis:
• An explicit dynamic solver allows easy preprocessing.
Structural bolted connections usually involve bolts in
clearance holes, which are at least 2 mm larger than
the diameter of the bolts. Depending on the direction of
loads, a bolt can move freely in the hole until it finds
the bearing surface. In static analysis, the bolt surface
and the inner edge of the hole must be carefully brought
into initial contact, otherwise, the model will encounter
zero stiffness, and thus numerical singularity. For simple
contacts with obvious load-transfer routes this is easy to do.
However, for connections with multiple bolts and subjected
to more complex loading, the pattern of initial slip might
not be so obvious. Using an explicit solver, this is not of
concern, because the contact surfaces can be left in the
noncontact state, and the free components can have rigid
body movements under the applied load until they come into
contact with the target surface, at which point the structure
automatically starts to pick up the stiffness.
• The explicit dynamic solver also provides an easy solution
procedure. In a static analysis, for each load increment, the
continuity of the contact states is checked first. If any of the
contacts in the model changes state, the stiffness matrix is
adjusted on the basis of the changed state of contacts, and
this increment is reperformed. It is not until the continuity
of all contacts is satisfied that the force equilibrium can
be checked. This analysis algorithm imposes huge difficulty
when many contact pairs are defined in the model, especially
at the beginning of each analysis because it is difficult
for the solver to find a stable state for all the contact
pairs at the same instant. In a bolted connection, one bolt
generally requires the definition of four contact pairs; the
contact between the head and nut and the plate surfaces,
and the contact between the bolt shank and the holes of
the two connected plates. To analyse a bolted structural
steel connection could easily involve over 20 contact pairs
in the model, making it almost impossible for the static
analysis solver to converge. In an explicit dynamic solver,
a kinetic contact algorithm is used, in which the model
moves into a predicted configuration without considering the
contact conditions. The equilibrium state is then determined
by compensation to the forces and displacements of the
nodes on the contact surfaces according to the amount of
penetration. Several corrections may need to be performed to
remove the residual penetration, but no convergence check
is required. Stability is maintained by limiting the time
increment for each step to a very small value. The stability
 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
Fig. 1. Finite element model for the Hertz contact problem.
limit for the explicit time integration is approximately
estimated as the smallest transit time of a dilatational wave
across any of the elements in the mesh. It is proportional to
the smallest element dimension in the mesh.
Explicit dynamic analysis is less often used than static
analysis for structural problems. This paper discusses some
issues concerned with simulating steel bolted connections using
the explicit solver provided by the general commercial program
ABAQUS. Methods for justification of the analytical results
are proposed. The analysis method is validated by extensive
comparisons with static solvers and test results.
2. Validation of the contact algorithm
The contact algorithm in ABAQUS/Explicit is validated
against a classical contact problem in which an infinitely long,
solid elastic cylinder rests on a rigid plane. It starts to bear
against the rigid plane when it is subjected to a downward
concentrated load P at the peak point. The Hertz contact
theory gives the normal contact pressure between the elastic
cylinder and the rigid plane. The finite element model for
this problem is shown in Fig. 1. The infinitely long cylinder
is simulated by plane-strain 2D solid elements. Half of the
cylinder (represented by a disk in the plane-strain setup) was
analysed in the finite element model due to the inherent
symmetry of the problem. A refined mesh was used for the
contact region. The normal contact pressures taken from the
output for each node in the contact region are plotted in Fig. 2
as points. The theoretical solutions for this problem are given
by Ju and Rowlands [12], and are reproduced in Fig. 2 using
solid lines. The results agree extremely well except at the edge
of the contact region. However, the aggregate effect of this local
discrepancy is very small.
517
Fig. 2. Comparison of analytical results with classical solutions.
3. Effect of loading speed on response
Explicit dynamic analysis gives the transient response of the
problem analysed. It is computationally inefficient for quasi-
static problems if real time is used, because the time needed
to finish an analysis is proportional to its duration. However,
it is often possible to scale the real time to a very small
time period if the response of the structure remains basically
static. According to classical dynamic theory, when a dynamic
system is subjected to a linearly rising load, its response can
be approximately treated as static if the duration of the loading
stage is large compared to the natural period of the system. For
complex structures, this statement gives no direct advice on the
exact time duration to use, but provides a general implication
that a time duration which has been shown to produce a quasi-
static response for one problem will be suitable for another
with similar natural frequencies. In the following sections, two
simple connection problems are studied using a static solver
and an explicit dynamic solver with different loading durations,
to discover the appropriate time range for the complete loading
process.
3.1. Effect of loading speed on a simple bolt-contact problem
Bolts transfer forces through the connected plates by contact
with the bolt-hole edges or bearing of the head (or nuts) against
the steel plates. In most connections, the stress state for the bolts
is a combination of shear, tension and bending. In this section,
two simple bolt contact problems are studied using both static
analysis and explicit dynamic analysis. In the first example, the
bolt is subjected to pure tension and transmits forces by bearing
of the head against the plate. Fig. 3(a) shows the geometry.
The plate is supported at both ends and the bolt is pulled at
the shank. In the other example, the bolt is subjected to shear,
by bearing of the shank against the hole circumference. This is
shown in Fig. 3(b). The lower surfaces of both the plate and the
shank are restrained against normal movement to create pure
shear at the plate interface.
To make it easier for the static analysis to converge,
displacement-controlled analysis was employed. The cross-
section of the shank was moved downward in the tension
case and sideways in the pure shear case. The resultant
reaction forces at the supports are plotted against the applied
displacements in Figs. 4 and 5 for the tension and shear cases
518 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
(a) Model 1: The bolt in pure tension. (b) Model 2: The bolt in pure shear.
Fig. 3. Model to study simple contacts between bolt and plate.
Fig. 4. Comparison of results from static analysis and explicit dynamic analysis
for bolts subjected to tension.
Fig. 5. Comparison of results from static analysis and explicit dynamic analysis
for bolts subjected to shear.
respectively. Three loading durations, of 1, 0.1 and 0.01 s, were
used to assess the maximum viable loading speed. It can be
observed that, for both cases, loading times of 1 and 0.1 s give
smooth results which lie very close to those from static analysis.
The results from t = 0.01 s exhibited vibration, especially in
the initial range when the structure was elastic and stiff.
These two examples are very simple contact problems. In
the tension case, only one contact between the base material
and the head of the bolt was defined. In the shear case, two
contacts were defined; the interaction between the steel plate
and the head of the bolt and the interaction between the hole
circumference and the shank of the bolt. To make the results
comparable, hard-contact was used for both static and dynamic
explicit analyses. However, convergence difficulties were found
in the static analysis, as a result of which the increment size had
to be reduced to 1.0E−7 mm to achieve convergence.
(c) Upper view of the geometrical
model.
Fig. 6. Comparison of results from static analysis and explicit dynamic analysis
for a lap joint test.
3.2. Effect of loading speed in a lap joint test
In this section, a lap joint test [13] is simulated in explicit
dynamic analysis with various loading speeds. The test involved
two plates, 9.525 mm thick and 12.7 mm thick, connected by
one bolt of 19 mm diameter. The bolt’s grade was ASTM A325
and the steel plates were A36. The two plates were clamped to
a testing rig and pulled against each other. Sarraj et al. [10]
simulated this test using ABAQUS/Static. A comparison of
different simulation results against the test results is shown in
Fig. 6. For the explicit analysis, if the loading is applied in
1 s or 0.1 s, the result is smooth and very close to the static
analysis result by Sarraj. When the loading is applied in 0.01 s,
the response shows minor vibration in the initial linear phase,
but becomes close to the static analysis in the elasto-plastic
response phase.
3.3. Discussion
The previous two sections have shown that, by controlling
the loading speed, explicit dynamic analysis can be used to
simulate quasi-static problems. There are two potential pitfalls:
one is when too rapid an increase of load is applied, the
structural response will basically be dynamic; the other is
that the post-failure resistance may be overestimated because
inertial force helps to balance the applied load. Neither problem
can be resolved simply, and a pragmatic approach needs to
be taken. For the first problem, it may be concluded from
the previous two studies that, for normal steel connections, a
 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
Fig. 7. Parameters to validate a quasi-static analysis.
loading time between 0.1 and 1 s should be appropriate for
most applications. The softer the structure analysed, the longer
should be the loading time.
For the second problem, two methods can be used to
check if the structure has failed and the analysis is continuing
simply as dynamic motion. The first is to check the ratio of
kinetic to internal energy. It is stated in the ABAQUS/Explicit
manual [14] that the procedure is quasi-static if the ratio of
the kinetic energy to the internal energy is less than 10%. Any
responses which have an energy ratio larger than this should
be treated as dynamic and removed from the results. Another
method is to check the equilibrium of the applied load and the
reaction force. When the response is static, the reaction force
should be approximately equal to the applied load. When the
structure reaches failure, the reaction force will drop because
the structure has become too weak to transfer the applied load
to the boundary. A plot of these parameters for the analysis of
Fig. 13 mesh 1 (the details of the analysis are given later in
Section 4.1) is shown in Fig. 7. The estimated ultimate load P0
of 50 kN is applied in 0.1 s. The horizontal axis shows the step
time. The analysis stopped at 0.0759 s due to structural failure.
The dashed line shows the ratio of kinetic energy to internal
energy. Some disturbance is noted before 0.04 s, probably due
to contact noise. According to the criterion that the analysis
can be classified as quasi-static if the ratio of kinetic energy to
internal energy is less than 10%, the analysis result is valid up to
0.0745 s. The ratios of the applied load and the reaction force to
the ultimate load P0 are also plotted in the figure. Comparison
of these two curves gives similar results to the energy ratio
curve. The reaction force, after some disturbance, starts to drop
at 0.0745 s. The deformed shape of the structure at step time
0.074 s is inset in the figure. At 0.075 s, the structure has been
torn apart at the root of the T -stub.
4. Effect of mesh size on the calculation time and structural
response
Another factor that significantly affects the calculation time
and accuracy is the mesh size. An explicit dynamic solver is
more sensitive to the mesh size than other methods because
refined mesh not only increases the number of degrees of
freedom, but also decreases the size of elements, which in
519
Fig. 8. T -stub for parametric study on mesh size.
consequence will reduce the required time increment so that
more steps are needed to finish the analysis. In this section, a
parametric study will be performed on the effect of mesh size
for bolted connections. In steel connections, the deformation
is generally concentrated into three parts: the bolt deformation,
the inter surface between the bolt and the connected plate holes,
and the yield lines of the connected plates. A T -stub is a typical
component used in bolted endplate connections. It can be used
as an example, and parametric studies will be performed on the
mesh sizes of the bolt, the contact area around the hole and
through the thickness of the bending plate.
Fig. 8 shows the model for the parametric study. Due to
symmetry, only half of the T -stub is shown. The symmetry
plane, the middle plane of the web of the T -stub, is restrained
by symmetry about the x axis (designated by S–x in Fig. 8). A
rigid plate, fixed in space, is put below the T -stub to simulate
the existence of another T -stub. A bolt is used to connect these
two T -stubs. In this model, only half of the bolt is modelled,
with the middle plane of the shank restrained by symmetry
about the z axis (S–z in Fig. 8). A Grade 8.8 M20 bolt within
a 22 mm diameter hole is used. Three contact interactions are
defined: the bearing of the back of the T section against the
rigid surface, interaction between the hole and the bolt shank,
and the interaction between the bolt head and the surface.
Interaction between the washer and head is ignored, and the
diameter of the washer (36 mm) is used as the head size. The
T -stub is pulled by its web until failure at a rate which would
achieve 50 kN in 0.1 s. Element type C3D8R is used for all the
elements.
4.1. Element numbers through the thickness of the T -stub
flange
This study is designed to test the number of elements
through the thickness of the plate required to simulate
accurately the bending of plates and capture the formation
of yield lines. Fig. 9 shows the mesh for the T -stub when
four layers of elements are used through the thickness of the
flange. For different cases, the number of layers of elements
was changed from one to six. Meshing for the bolt was the same
as Mesh 2 in Fig. 13. Comparison of the T -stub deflections and
the time needed to finish each analysis are shown in Fig. 10.
The response of the T -stub with increase of load can be divided
520 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
Fig. 9. Meshes in study of the effect of number of elements through the plate
thickness.
Fig. 10. Comparison of the deflections of the T -stub when different layers of
elements are used through the flange thickness.
approximately into three phases. After the first linear phase, the
second phase starts when two yield lines have formed. In the
third phase the yield lines have reached ultimate stress. One
layer of elements obviously gives inaccurate results, whereas
n = 2 to n = 6 give nearly the same results for the linear phase
and very close results in the third phase. In the second phase,
n = 2 and n = 3 give slightly lower resistance than n = 4 and
n = 6. Considering the time need to finish each analysis, it may
be concluded that n = 2 is the minimum requirement for the
number of elements through the plate thickness, but n = 3 or
n = 4 is the optimum choice, and n > 4 will be unnecessarily
time-consuming.
4.2. Mesh in the contact zone
The contact zone is the 50 mm × 50 mm area around the
bolt hole. It is subdivided into four equal trapezoidal areas by
four lines extending from the centre of the bolt hole to the four
corners of the square. In this study the mesh for each trapezium
was changed as shown in Fig. 11. Each mesh is designated by
two numbers, the first being the number of elements along the
side of the outer square, and the second being the number of
elements from the inner circle to the outer square. The bolt
mesh remains as Mesh 2 in Fig. 13. Three layers of elements
are used through the thickness of the T -stub flange. The mesh
Fig. 11. Different meshes for the contact zone.
Fig. 12. Comparison of the deflections with various meshes for the contact
zone.
size in this area would affect both the formulation of the yield
line adjacent to the bolt hole and the contact between the plate
and the bolt head. Fig. 12 shows that all four results are very
close. Meshes 4 × 3 and 6 × 4 give about 5% higher ultimate
resistance than 8 × 6 and 12 × 8. While 8 × 6 will generally
give good enough results, 4 × 3 will give a satisfactory solution
if the requirement for accuracy is not very high.
4.3. Mesh in the bolt
In previous studies, this T -stub failed by plasticity of the
flange under bending, and the bolt was not critical. Hence, two
models were used to study the effect of mesh size on bolt
performance. In one model the thickness of the flange was
t p = 9.6 mm and the thickness of the web was tw = 3.3 mm
as shown in Fig. 8; this model would fail by forming yield lines
in the T -stub flange. In the other model, the thickness of the
flange was t p = 20 mm and the thickness of the web was
tw = 6.6 mm, so that failure of the bolt would happen. For
each study, three mesh sizes were used for the bolt, as shown in
Fig. 13. For these two models, comparisons of the deflections
given by different meshes are shown in Fig. 14. For Model 2, it
is clear that Mesh 1 and Mesh 2 give very close results, but
Mesh 3 is far from being accurate. For Model 1 the failure
is controlled by the T -stub, and differences in effect between
different bolt meshes are not so obvious. Mesh 2 is very close
to Mesh 1 until the last phase, in which it gave slightly larger
resistance. The time needed to finish each analysis is also shown
in the figure. Considering both accuracy and efficiency, Mesh 2
would be the optimum choice.
5. Verifications
In this section, the validity of using an explicit dynamic
solver to analyse the behaviour of steel connections is verified
 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
Fig. 13. Three mesh sizes for the bolt, and the mesh of the T -stub when
t p = 9.6 (when t p = 20, four layers of elements are used through the thickness
of the flange).
(a) Model 1, t f = 9.6 mm.
(b) Model 2, t f = 20 mm.
Fig. 14. Comparison of deflections of the T -stub for various bolt mesh sizes.
by simulating several types of connection tests. In all the
models, the solid element C3D8R has been used. The contacts
are defined as surface-to-surface contact with a finite sliding
option. ‘Hard contact’ is used for the normal contact behaviour.
In the tangential direction, a friction coefficient of 0.3 is used.
No prestress to the bolts is considered. It has been found that,
521
within a contact pair, setting both contact surfaces as master
surfaces can cause “contact noise”. Therefore, the surfaces with
coarser meshes and less expected deformations are generally set
as the absolute master surfaces.
5.1. Verification against T -stub tests at elevated temperatures
A T -stub is a simplified model which is usually used to
represent the tension zone of an endplate connection. In a
typical T -stub model, two T -sections are placed back to back
and connected by several bolts. When the tees of the two
T sections are pulled apart, the bolts are pulled. There are
interactions between the contact surfaces of the two T -sections
and between the bolts and the T -sections. An extensive number
of tests have been performed on T -stubs, both at normal
temperature and in fire. Here, a group of tests with the same
geometry, but tested at various temperatures, performed by
Spyrou [6] are simulated.
The test setup and specimen geometries are shown in Fig. 15.
Due to symmetry, only one-eighth of the whole T -stub model,
as shown by the dashed lines, was subjected to finite-element
analysis. The two cutting surfaces were given symmetrical
boundary conditions. A rigid plane was placed at the back of
the T -stub to simulate the bearing from the other. The bolt
was cut across the middle of the shank, and the cut surface
was restrained by symmetry about the y axis. Three contact
interactions were defined: the bearing of the back of the T
section against the rigid surface, interaction between the hole
and the bolt shank, and the interaction between the bolt head
and the surface. Interaction between washer and head was
ignored and the diameter of the washer was used as the head
size in the finite element model. For all four analyses, the total
loading time was 0.1 s.
The properties of the structural steel at normal temperature
are given in Fig. 15. The stiffness and strength decrease at
elevated temperatures. However, the reduction rate is very
complicated, depending on the temperature, heating rate, strain
rate, thermal creep, etc. Basically, there are two kinds of
tests which are used to determine the properties of structural
steel in fire. One is to load the specimen and then to heat
it at a prescribed rate; this is named a transient test. The
other is to heat the specimen to a specified temperature and
then to load it; this is called a steady-state or isothermal
test. The stress–strain relationships obtained from these two
types of testing could be significantly different. Within these
test categories, the stress–strain relationships may also differ,
depending respectively on either the heating rate or the loading
rate. The material model generally used for structural steel
in fire is according to EC3: Part 1.2 [15] which is based on
transient tests. The series of tests to be modelled are steady-
state tests, in that the specimens were heated to a constant
temperature, and then loaded to failure. A trial series of
simulations using the EC3: Part 1.2 material model found that
they did not agree with the test results. A series of steady-
state test results for S275 steel performed at the University
of Sheffield [16] was used. The stress–strain curves at various
temperatures, normalized with respect to the yield strength at
522 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
Fig. 15. Geometries and material properties of the T -stub test.
Fig. 16. Stress–strain relationships for structural steel at elevated temperatures.
ambient temperature are shown in Fig. 16. Properties of bolts
at elevated temperatures were defined according to tests on
Grade 8.8 bolts reported by Theodorou [17]. The four tests were
performed at 200 ◦ C, 420 ◦ C, 570 ◦ C, and 745 ◦ C respectively.
The results from the finite element model are compared to
the test results in Fig. 17. The simulation and the test results
are generally in good agreement. The major reason for the
difference observed at 200 ◦ C is probably due to uncertainty
in the material properties of steel at low, elevated temperatures.
5.2. Verification against web cleat connection tests at ambient
temperature
Double-angle web cleat connections use two angle sections
to connect a beam to a column. Bolts are generally used to
connect the angles to both the beam web and the column
flange/web. 11 tests were performed on this kind of connection
by Owens and Moore [18]. Various sizes of beam and column
sections were tested with between one and seven rows of bolts.
These connections were subjected to pure tension forces that
were in line with the centroids of the bolt groups. Web cleat
connections use a large number of bolts, and finite element
models become huge when more rows of bolts are used. In this
Fig. 17. Comparison of the analytical results with T -stub test results.
section, only the tests with one bolt row (Test A1) and three
bolt rows (Test A3) are simulated. The column section was
UC253 × 73, and the beam was UB203 × 25 for Test A1 and
UB305 × 25 for A3. The angle cleats were L100 × 8. In A1,
two rows of bolts were used to connect the angle to the beam
web. Descriptions of the test setup and the specimen geometries
can be found from Owens and Moore [18]. The finite element
models for the two tests are shown in Fig. 18. The steel
beam length was 650 mm, but only 200 mm is simulated. The
upper and lower flanges are neglected in the model, because
in regions close to the connection they are basically stress-free.
The distributed tensile force is applied to the beam web with the
resultant force in line with the centroid of the bolt group. The
column section is represented by one flange only. This column
flange is restrained along its vertical centre-line, simulating the
restraint provided by the column web. It was observed from the
test photos that washers were not used on the side of the bolt
head that connected the angle to the column flange. Therefore,
the hexagon shape of the bolt head is modelled explicitly.
Comparison of the finite element analysis results with the test
results is shown in Fig. 19. Two identical tests were performed
within each category, and the test results were very close. Here,
the finite element analysis results are compared to A1/2 and
A3/2. Except for the initial phase, in which the amount of
prestress in the bolts and the properties of contact friction had
important effects on the behaviour, the predicted responses are
very close to the test results. Fig. 18 shows the deformations of
these two connections. In both cases, the web cleat underwent
significant bending deformations. In A1, the connection failed
by the bolt head on the column side punching into the web
cleat. For A3, the connection failed by bearing of the beam web,
which is also shown in an exploded view in Fig. 18. These are
in agreement with the test observations.
5.3. Verification against flush endplate connection test at
elevated temperature
Al-Jabri [19] performed three groups of tests on steel flush
endplate connections. The test setup was the same for all three
groups, but each group used a different combination of beam
and column sections. The test setup, beam and column sizes
and connection details for Al-Jabri’s Group 1 tests are shown
 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
Fig. 18. Finite element models and failure modes for two web cleat connections.
Fig. 19. Comparison of the analytical results to the test results.
in Fig. 20. In the tests, the connections were loaded to a
certain load level and then heated until failure. The moment
capacity of this connection was calculated to be 20.9 kNm. A
total of four tests were performed, in which the connections
were respectively loaded to 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% of
this calculated moment capacity. They were then heated at a
constant rate of 10 ◦ C/min. During the heating procedure, the
temperatures of the column web and flange, beam web and
flange, endplate and bolts were monitored. Temperatures of the
parts of the connection were fairly uniform, lying within a range
between that of the beam lower flange and 14% higher.
To build the finite element model for all the members and
connections in the test setup needs a large number of elements.
It can be seen from Fig. 20 that most parts of the steel
beams and columns were fire-protected, and the temperatures
of these protected members were recorded as around 37% of
the temperature of the fire-exposed connection. As the fire-
protected parts remained relatively cool and strong compared
523
to the connection as a whole, it was decided that only the
fire-exposed parts, including the connection region and the
adjacent 100 mm of each of the two beams and the column
would be constructed in the finite-element model. Because of its
inherent symmetry, the finite-element model included only one
quarter of the connection and connected region, and the meshed
model is shown in Fig. 21. Boundary conditions and loads were
carefully applied to ensure that the connections were subjected
to the same actions as in the tests. The bottom of the column
was vertically supported. The middle of the column web was
restrained against displacement U1 in the direction shown as
“1” and the symmetry plane normal to “2” was restrained
against U2 . The test loads, which were applied 1.5 m from the
axis of the column, were represented as three components at the
beam end, a tension force applied to the upper flange, an equal
compression force applied to the lower flange and a shear force,
equal to the applied load, applied to the web. To ensure that the
end cross-section of the beam remained plane, a thick plate was
attached to the end.
All steels used in the tests were Grade 43. The Young’s
modulus, yield stress and ultimate stress are given in Fig. 20.
Since these were transient tests, the stress–strain relationships
recommended by EC3: Part 1.2 were used for the material
properties at elevated temperatures. The material properties
of the bolts at elevated temperatures were those defined by
Theodorou [17]. For Tests FB11 and FB12, 0.02 s was used
to apply the initial static loading and 0.1 s was then used to heat
the model to 800 ◦ C (or 700 ◦ C for FB12). For FB13 and FB14,
the initial static loading was applied in 0.04 s. A comparison
of the connection rotation–temperature relationships is shown
in Fig. 22. In the tests, the rotations of the connections
524 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
Fig. 20. Setup and details for steel flush endplate-connection test Group 1.
Fig. 21. Indicative drawing of the finite-element model and 3D view of the
meshes.
were measured both by displacements of the beams and by
clinometers. At the same temperature, the difference between
the different measurements and the difference between the
rotations of the left and right beams both reached a maximum
of 5 millirads in the linear response phase and 20 millirads in
the failure phase. An average of the different measurements
is used for the test results in Fig. 22. It can be seen that
the finite-element model gives a good prediction of the initial
deformation under static load, and the linear response. At
higher temperatures, the finite-element simulation seems to
provide slightly higher resistance than the tests in all four cases.
This could be due to some uncertainty about the exact material
properties at elevated temperatures. Using a thick endplate
instead of simulating the whole beam length may also make
the model appear stronger.
6. Conclusions
Understanding the behaviour of connections in fire is now
becoming very important, because connections are increasingly
subjected to complicated loadings in fire, as fire protection
schemes are optimized, and their failure can conceivably lead
to progressive collapse of the whole structure. Finite-element
analysis is an efficient and cost-effective tool to supplement
experimental investigations of connection behaviour. However,
finite element simulation of bolted steel connections is
challenging because large numbers of contacts exist in the
models, and these cause discontinuities to the stiffnesses, which
lead to numerical convergence problems for normal structural-
analysis solvers.
This paper has explored the use of an explicit dynamic
solver to analyse the behaviour of bolted steel connections.
It has been suggested that, for typical steel connections, a
loading duration of 0.1–1s in the explicit dynamic analysis
should ensure a quasi-static response. The effects of varying
mesh sizes representing the bolts and the connected plates have
been studied. The responses were generally not very sensitive
to the mesh size unless extremely coarse meshes were used.
Finally explicit dynamic analysis was used to simulate three
sets of connection tests at ambient and elevated temperatures.
The analytical results were found to be in close agreement with
the test results. Given that use of an explicit dynamic solver
allows the definition of very general surface contacts with large
deformations and avoids numerical convergence difficulties, its
application to analyse the behaviour of bolted steel connections
is recommended.
 H. Yu et al. / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 64 (2008) 515–525
(a) FB11.
(c) FB13.
Fig. 22. Comparison of the numerical-+analysis results to test results.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the
Engineering and Physics Sciences Research Council of Great
Britain under Grant EP/C510984/1.
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