Structural fire engineering study on unprotected long span steel trusses

This paper presents a structural fire engineering study on the thermal and structural performance of a 33.6 × 33.6 m space truss comprising of 8 longitudinal and 4 transverse unprotected steel trusses. Details of the finite element modeling are thoroughly described, and both non-linear thermal and structural analyses are presented to illustrate the general modelling procedures. Moreover, a number of general principles on data analyses and interpretation of the numerical results are discussed whilst specific failure criteria for the long span trusses in terms of various stress and deformation levels in members and in supports are also proposed. It is envisaged that the experiences gained from the present study will contribute to the wide application of structural fire engineering study in steel building structures.