Component-Based Modeling of Timber Beam–Column Moment Connection Exposed to Fire

Abstract

A computationally efficient and simplified numerical modeling approach, component-based method, is proposed for timber beam–column connection exposed to standard fire. A two-dimensional heat transfer model is developed to quantify the temperature field of the section, and a simplified mechanical model is established to simulate the corresponding structural response. For the simplified mechanical model, the shear plane of the connection is simplified into component-based nonlinear springs with temperature-dependent properties derived from the analytical resistance model. First, the heat transfer analysis results and structural response of the high-fidelity models are calibrated against experimental results. Subsequently, the strength degradation of the simplified model under elevated temperature is calibrated with the high-fidelity model. Finally, the sequential analysis results of calibrated simplified models are validated against experimental results. The proposed component-based modeling approach efficiently captures the behavior of beam-column connections exposed to fire while significantly reducing computational costs compared to high-fidelity models. Furthermore, a parametric study is carried out to investigate the influence of the relative thickness of side members on fire resistance time and failure modes of the connection.