A structural analysis of the Cardington British Steel corner test

Abstract

This paper presents a structural analysis of the Cardington British Steel corner test. The test is a analyzes using ABAQUS, the commercial finite element program. The results of the analysis indicate that the response of the structure is dominated by the effects of thermal expansion and that material degradation and gravity loading are of secondary importance until very late in the test. It is noted however that at extreme temperatures a significant load carrying mechanism is tensile action in the reinforcement mesh and that gravity loading can effect the magnitude of the tensile forces produced. The results suggest that one method of helping maintain structural integrity in composite structures during extreme fires is to ensure that a significant amount of ductile reinforcement is present in the concrete floor slabs.