A Novel Structural Joint With the Potential of Fire-Tolerance Improvement

A new innovative ‘universal’ structural joint with multiple applications was devised. The two major conceived contexts for the use of this joint are ‘joining beams to columns,’ and ‘joining diagonal braces to horizontal ones.’ The main features of this joint are its high rotational capacity, its high shear deformation capacity, its high energy-dissipation capacity, its ability to contain damage, and its repalceability. Due to its geometry, it can well lend itself to protection measures against fire, normally practiced by the involving industries. This makes it a good candidate for being used in structures related to oil and gas industry, offshore or onshore. Through numerical modelling of the joint, also using mechanical properties of ‘mild steel,’ one of the best potential materials for the fabrication of the joint, at elevated temperatures, the ‘bending behaviour’ of the joint at various temperatures was studied. Additionally, the effects of using various thermal insulating materials, used for covering the joint, in reducing the temperature of various parts of the joint were investigated. Though not supported by any experiments, all these numerical analyses showed the potential of this joint for presenting improved behaviour during a fire scenario, as a result of using some insulating agents.