Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228

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Engineering Structures
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engstruct

Behaviour of composite steel–concrete cellular beams in fire

G. Bihina a, B. Zhao a, A. Bouchaïr b,c,⇑
a
CTICM, Espace technologique L’Orme des Merisiers, Immeuble Apollo, F-91193 Saint-Aubin, France
b
Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, Institut Pascal, BP 10448, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
c
CNRS, UMR 6602, Institut Pascal, F-63171 Aubière, France

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The main results from an experimental and numerical investigation on cellular beams at elevated tem-
Received 11 February 2013 peratures are presented. Full-scale fire tests on four specimens are presented and used to analyse the
Revised 25 July 2013 behaviour of composite steel and concrete cellular beams with evenly spaced circular and/or elongated
Accepted 2 September 2013
web holes. The four beams were made of European hot-rolled sections. They were applied a two-point
Available online 5 October 2013
mechanical load. The beams were not fire protected and they were tested with an ISO fire or a bilinear
thermal curve representing the behaviour of a protected beam. The results were then used to calibrate
Keywords:
a non-linear 3D finite element model. The behaviour of the tested beams was simulated using two
Steel cellular beam
Composite beam
FEM codes (Cast3M and ANSYS). The first code was used for the thermal analysis and the second for
Fire resistance the thermo-mechanical analysis. A comparison between the experimental and numerical results high-
Fire tests lights the good accuracy of the model. The validated model was used in a parametric study varying geom-
Finite element modelling etry (span, steel cross-section depth, diameter and pitch of the openings, concrete or composite slab),
mechanical properties and loading conditions (line load only or combined to point-load). The results
were then compared to those from an analytical design method to check its validity. The results show
that the analytical design method is conservative, with little discrepancy when compared to the numer-
ical model.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction In normal conditions, as well as in a fire situation, two major

The growing interest of building designers in long span beams
with web holes can be explained by their aesthetical aspect and
the possibility for ducts to cross their openings, which reduces
the thickness of the floors, and hence the storey height. The cellular
beams are generally built from hot rolled sections with oxy-cutting
of the parent profile. Then the two parts of the parent profile are
separated, positioned and finally welded so as to get the cellular
beam. However, the presence of the openings in the web weakens
locally the beam and generates local failure modes around the
openings such as the well-known Vierendeel bending or the
web-post buckling.
In case of composite beams, the yield of the cross-section can
also be optimized by considering two different steel profiles form-
ing an asymmetrical cross-section with a much greater moment of
area than that of the original profiles (see Fig. 1). Using less steel in
the upper member of such beams than in its lower member can
lead to significant savings in terms of weight, and therefore in
terms of cost.
⇑ Corresponding author at: Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, Institut
Pascal, BP 10448, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France. Tel.: +33 473407521.
E-mail address: abdelhamid.bouchair@univ-bpclermont.fr (A. Bouchaïr).
specific failure modes can be observed on this type of beam: web-
post buckling and Vierendeel bending at the more stressed opening
position. Thus, with closely spaced openings, web-post buckling
appears as major local failure mode and the web-post shear appears
at the Tee junction between the upper and lower members mainly
with thin web-posts [1–16]. Between two adjacent openings, hori-
zontal shear and local bending can cause local instability in the
web, leading to web-post buckling failure, all the more likely for
slender web-posts. Besides, directly over an opening, a plastic hinge
can develop in a Tee-section in the upper or lower member by Vier-
endeel effect due to the combination of internal mechanical actions.
Also, in case of significant difference of thickness between the
upper web and the lower web, failure can arise in the web-post un-
der horizontal shear at the Tee junction.
However, despite the particular mechanical behaviour of beams
with web holes, and the continuous evolution of their shape [15],
little research has been carried out on them, especially at elevated
temperatures. Their mechanical behaviour is usually assessed by
both experimental [1,2,6,9,11] and numerical approach
[1–13,15,16]. In general, numerical models are calibrated on tests,
reducing the costs of purely experimental investigation. Some ana-
lytical models have also been developed, as a simplified manner to
design cellular beams [1,2,7–10,12,13]. In the analytical models,
the global shear force and the global bending moment are equili-

0141-0296/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2013.09.002
2218 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228

Htot

Fig. 1. Geometry of an asymmetrical cellular beam.

brated by the internal forces representing the local bending mo- either symmetrical or asymmetrical, and a composite slab. The
ments and normal forces. These internal moments and forces are steel beam was connected to the composite slab via one row of
compared to the resistances of the openings. Many studies pro- headed shear studs.
posed design rules to predict the load carrying capacity of steel A two-point mechanical load was applied until a constant value
beams with multiple circular openings. The work of J.K. Ward corresponding to 30% of the mechanical strength of the specimen
based on a curved beam theory and finite elements results pro- calculated from steel and concrete nominal strengths. The furnace
vided substantial results used to define a reliable design method was used to heat up the beam from beneath. Measure devices were
for cellular beams [3]. The study showed that the best way to pre- set to record temperatures and displacements during the fire test.
dict the local resistance around an opening is to check the resis- The temperatures were recorded in the furnace with plate pyrom-
tance of each inclined section around the opening. Thus, a first eters, along the beams and through the slab depth with thermo-
analytical model based on the approach of inclined sections, ini- couples, while the deflections of the beams were measured with
tially proposed in the SCI publication (Ward). Thus, from the transducers at mid-span.
mid-length section, the normal and shear internal forces are used
to evaluate those in each inclined section (normal force, shear force
and local bending moment). Thus, for each inclined Tee section, the 2.1. Geometrical data
local internal forces are compared to its plastic resistance.
Usually, both analytical and numerical models are first devel- The geometrical properties of the beams are shown in Table 1,
oped under normal conditions [17,18], then extended to fire situa- where the dimensions are given in mm. All four beams were made
tions [10,19,20], taking into account the thermo-mechanical from European standard profiles. Beam 1, beam 3 and beam 4 had
properties of steel (and concrete in case of composite beams). the very same steel upper member. In addition to point load stiff-
As very little fire test results are available, a European research eners, one-side 15-mm thick stiffeners were also welded to each
project was carried out on the thermo-mechanical behaviour of web-post of beam 4, but not to the flanges, as an alternative way
cellular beams. In the scope of this project named FICEB (FIre resis- to avoid web-post buckling on this particular beam. Owing to very
tance of long-span CEllular Beams made of hot-rolled profiles), a series slender end web-posts, beam 2 had its two end openings semi-in-
of four full-scale fire tests was carried out on composite beams filled to avoid any local failure (see Fig. 2).
with evenly spaced circular holes, and is dealt with in this paper. The 120-mm deep, 2.2-m wide composite slab was made of
The beams were heated from beneath and were not applied any normal weight concrete reinforced with an isotropic A252 mesh,
fire protection. and a Cofrastra 40Ò dovetail steel deck perpendicular to the beam.
The test results, in terms of failure modes and critical tempera- Evenly spaced Nelson studs provided a shear connection between
tures, were then used to calibrate a numerical finite element model the steel profile and the slab. Each composite beam had an 8.8-m
presented in this paper. The thermo-mechanical model is devel- span and 2.2-m slab width corresponding to the effective width
oped combining ANSYS code for the mechanical behaviour and according to EN 1994-1-1 [22].
Cast3M code for the temperature distribution inside the beams
components (steel and concrete) [21]. A good correlation was
established between the numerical and experimental results.
A parametric study based on the validated model was then run Table 1
to investigate the impact of geometry – span, cell diameter and cell Geometrical properties of the fire-tested beams (in mm when needed).
spacing, type of slab (solid or composite) – and of material Beam 1 Beam 2 Beam 3 Beam 4
mechanical properties on the behaviour of an unprotected cellular
Upper member
beam subjected to a 30 min ISO fire. Like in the above mentioned
Section IPE 360 IPE 450 IPE 360 IPE 360
standard fire tests, this fire exposure duration corresponds to the Depth, hup 255 275 255 255
lowest standard fire rating commonly defined by the fire regula- Lower member
tions. The results of the parametric study were also compared to Section IPE 450 IPE 450 HEB 450 IPE 450
Depth, hlow 300 275 300 300
an existing analytical method, highlighting the overall conserva-
Openings
tiveness of the latter. Number, n 13 13 13 14
As the first results of this experimental and numerical investi- Number of circular openings 12 11 12 14
gation were presented in Ref. [19], this paper aims at completing Number of elongated ones 1 2 1 0
the latter by providing more detailed data and modelling assump- Number of semi-infilled ones 0 2 0 0
Cell diameter, a0 375 335 357 375
tions, especially regarding Cast3M code.
Cell pitch (centre-to-centre), e 600 600 600 600
e/a0 ratio 1.60 1.79 1.60 1.60
Connection
2. Experimental investigation Number of shear studs 59
Diameter 19
Height, hsc 100
The series of tests were carried out on four simply supported
Spacing, s 150
composite beams. Each beam comprised a steel cellular beam,
 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228 2219

Fig. 2. Elevation and cut view of the steel beams.

Table 2 2 900 mm (2) 3 000 mm (2) 2 900 mm (2)

Material properties of the fire-tested beams (in N/mm2). 3 200 mm 2 400 mm (1,3 and 4) 3 200 mm
Beam 1 Beam 2 Beam 3 Beam 4 (1,3 and 4) (1,3 and 4)

Upper member
Flange yield strength, fay,f,2 460 432 451 460
Web yield strength, fay,w,2 480 454 478 480
Flange ultimate strength, fau,f,2 558 553 563 558
Web ultimate strength, fau,w,2 568 555 570 568
520 mm
Lower member
Flange yield strength, fay,f,1 438 432 – 438
Web yield strength, fay,w,1 475 454 – 475
Flange ultimate strength, fau,f,1 466 553 – 566
Web ultimate strength, fau,w,1 574 555 – 574
Concrete 7 750 mm
Compressive strength fck 31.0 33.0 33.5 29.5 8 800 mm

Fig. 3. Configuration of the fire tests.

2.2. Mechanical properties

The four specimens were made of S355, C25/30 and S500 grades
for structural steel, concrete and reinforcement steel respectively.
The headed studs had nominal shear strength of 84 kN. Tensile
and compressive specimens were tested at ambient temperature
in order to get the actual strength of both structural steel and con-
crete, given in N/mm2 in Table 2.
2.3. Boundary and loading conditions
A mechanical load was applied through a 400-mm hydraulic
jack, and then distributed via a short steel beam to two horizontal
steel cylinders, providing two loading lines. At both loading points
and supports, a 20-mm thick stiffener was welded to the flanges
and the web, in order to prevent local failure. The overall mechan-
ical load corresponded to 25% of the beam strength calculated with
the real mechanical characteristics deduced from coupon tests for
the steel profile and cylinder compression tests for the slab
(Table 2).
Once the mechanical load was stabilized, the heating started,
provided by twelve gas burners. The thermal load was applied
from beneath: therefore, the steel profile was fire-exposed on 3
sides, while only the lower side of the slab was fire-exposed (see
Fig. 3). None of the four beams was fire-protected. For beams 1, 3
and 4, which had the same steel upper member, a ISO fire exposure
was considered (see Fig. 4a), whereas a specific bilinear fire curve
was used for beam 2, in order to simulate the heating regime of a
fire protected beam (see Fig. 4b).
For the beams tested under ISO fire conditions, a runaway time-
deflection curve and a significantly deformed shape were observed
prior to 30 min, highlighting mechanical failure. Moreover, the
hydraulic jack was removed once its stroke limit, i.e. its maximum
allowable displacement, was reached, before 30 min, leaving the
specimen deflecting only under its self-weight. Nevertheless, the
thermal load was maintained until 30 min in order to investigate
the heating of the beams to the lowest standard fire rating com-
monly defined by the fire regulations. Both mechanical and ther-
mal load were checked during the fire test, to ascertain proper
input data for the whole test duration. For each test, about 100
thermocouples were installed in the furnace and at various loca-
tions along the beam in both the steel profile and the composite
slab, though most of them were located in the steel profile. Trans-
ducers were also used to check the rotations near the supports, the
bond-slip between the steel profile and the slab, and the vertical
displacements in the central part of the slab.
The deviation between the measures and the theoretical fire
curve did not exceed 6% all through the four tests. The average fur-
nace temperatures compared to the theoretical fire curve are
shown in Fig. 4.
2220 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228
900
800
700
600
Temperature ( ºC)
BEAM1
500
BEAM 3
BEAM 4
400
ISO FIRE
300
200
100
0 0
0 5 10 15 20
Time (min)
(a) ISO fire curve
Fig. 4. Average furnace temperature.
2.4. Experimental results
2.4.1. Temperatures
Fig. 5 shows the temperatures of a composite cross-section
around mid-span of all tested beams (cross-section without cell
openings in the web). This particular cross-section was the hottest
one in comparison with the ends where the temperature was lower
due to the shadow effect. Indeed, the steel beam could be 3–14%
less hot at its ends than in its central zone, whether considering
the flanges or the web. In each graph, the failure time is given by
the vertical dotted line. In standard fire tests on unprotected
beams, failure is defined as the time when the deflection limit of
span/20 or span/30 is reached. In the fire tests presented in this pa-
per, the maximum deflection recorded on all four beams ranges be-
tween these two values (see Fig. 6). As a result, mechanical failure
was assumed to occur at the time this maximum displacement was
reached.
It is observed that there was always a significant thermal gradi-
ent, i.e. up to 250 °C, between the top flange, which was the ‘‘cool-
est’’ steel part, and the remained parts of the cross-section,
especially for beams 1 and 4, for which the temperature rises were
similar. Moreover, the maximum temperature values were re-
corded in the web, reaching up to 820 °C in the beams after
30 min of ISO fire and up to 700 °C in beam 2 after 80 min of bilin-
ear fire (fire temperature: 735 °C).
2.4.2. Deflections
Mid-span deflections are shown in Table 3. As long as a
mechanical load was applied, the beams underwent vertical dis-
placements increasing progressively and linearly until the furnace
reached about 500 °C for beams exposed to ISO fire (beams 1, 2 and
3) and 400 °C for beam 4. At the time the furnace reached these
temperatures, the average temperatures of the steel profiles al-
ready exceeded 100 °C – except in the upper flange (see Fig. 5).
Hence, according to EN 1994-1-2 [23], the Young’s modulus had
started decreasing in most parts of the steel profiles, reducing
the flexural stiffness of the composite cross-section.
Afterwards, the deflections increased very quickly with the
temperature rising until collapse (Fig. 6). This sudden slope in-
900
800
700
600
Temperature ( ºC)
500
400
BEAM 2
300
BILINEAR FIRE
200
100
25 30 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time (min)
(b) Bilinear fire curve
crease was observed at an average gas temperature ranging from
700 °C to 750 °C for beams exposed to ISO fire and 550 °C to
600 °C for the other one. A look at the time-temperature curves gi-
ven in Fig. 5 shows that the average temperatures in each part of
the steel profiles are greater or equal to 400 °C within the above
mentioned gas temperature ranges. According to EN 1994-1-2,
the yield strength of constructional steel starts decreasing pre-
cisely from 400 °C, reducing the contribution of steel in the com-
posite cross-section bending resistance. As a consequence, the
plastic neutral axis of the composite cross-section moves upwards,
reducing its moment of area, and hence its flexural stiffness.
A slight deflection decrease was observed once the hydraulic
jack reached its stroke limit and was taken away, because of the
sudden load removal. However, after this decrease, some beams
kept bending downwards under their self-weight without any
additional mechanical load until maximum thermal load.
Comparing beam 1 and beam 4 puts into evidence that, in spite
of the elongated cell (beam 1) and one-side additional stiffeners
(beam 4), beam 4 underwent approximately the same deflections
as beam 1. In fact, beam 1 and beam 4 had a very similar geometry,
were made of the same materials, and were applied the same ther-
mal and mechanical load. Therefore, considering a similar heating,
the behaviour of these two beams is very close if it is related to
their heating instead of the time (see Fig. 6). Besides, even if beams
1, 3 and 4 had the same steel upper member, beam 3 behaved stif-
fer than both beam 1 and beam 4, as its lower member section was
more resistant.
2.4.3. Failure modes
For both beam 1 and beam 3, failure was due to web-post buck-
ling near the beam supports (see Fig. 7a and c). Also, the upper web
thickness/lower web thickness ratio of beam 3 had a very great va-
lue, namely 1.75. Therefore, owing to horizontal shear at the T
junction, welding breakage was observed on beam 3 at the end
of the test.
Besides, due to its web-post stiffeners, beam 4 could only have a
flexural bending failure, as it behaved like a solid beam (see
Fig. 7d). Hence, as beam 1 and beam 4 had the same cross-section,
and as their deflection vs. time graphs are very close, beam 1 col-
 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228 2221

900 900

800 800

700 700

600
Temperature (°C)

600

Temperature (°C)
500 500

400 400

300 300

200 200

100 100

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time (min) Time (min)
(a) Beam 1 (b) Beam 2

900 900

800 800

700 700

600 600
Temperature (°C)

Temperature (°C)

F urnace
500 500 L ower
flange
L ower web
400 400 Upper web
Upper
flange
300 300 S lab bottom
S lab edge

200 200

100 100

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (min) Time (min)
(c) Beam 3 (d) Beam 4
Furnace Lower flange Lower web Upper web

Upper flange Slab mid-depth Slab edge

Fig. 5. Central zone: average temperature vs. time.

lapse might have been caused by combined web-post buckling and
flexural bending.
As for beam 2, the cell pitch/diameter ratio was greater than for
the three other beams (namely 1.79 vs. 1.60, see Table 1). Thus, due
to its large web-posts, no web-post buckling was observed, which
leads to the conclusion that this beam also failed by flexural bend-
ing (see Fig. 7b).
coupling procedure. This procedure benefits from the options of
two different codes which do not enable to conduct cost-effective
3D thermo-mechanical analyses when used alone at the time the
finite element analysis was carried out. The thermal analysis was
run under Cast3M code [24], and the mechanical calculation was
carried out under ANSYS code [25] using the calculated temperature
fields. Due to symmetry of the four specimens, only one-half of each
beam was modelled, applying the ad hoc boundary conditions.

3. Numerical modelling 3.1. Thermal modelling

The 3D finite element modelling of the specimens tested in fire The mesh is entirely made of 8-node 3D elements (see Fig. 8).
conditions, based on an existing model [7], uses a software The compactness of the steel deck allows modelling the slab as a
2222 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228

500
Span / 20
450

400

350
Deflection (mm)

Span / 30
300
Beam 1
250
Beam 2
200 Beam 3
Beam 4
150
Fig. 8. Mesh for thermal model (beam 4).

100

50
cross-section vertical axis, the slab is modelled with a reduced
width, saving the number of finite elements in the model.
0 The three usual heat transfer modes are considered, i.e. conduc-
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 tion, convection and radiation, knowing that the latter can only be
Temperature (°C) assessed with solid elements in 3D modelling with Cast3M code.
The laws of thermal properties – specific heat, thermal conductiv-
Fig. 6. Deflection vs. lower flange temperature. ity and density – are taken from EN 1994-1-2. The convective heat
transfer coefficients are respectively equal to 25 W m2 K1 on
fire-exposed sides, and 4 W m2 K1 on unexposed sides (top side
Table 3
of the slab) [26]. In order to take account of the shadow effect ob-
Mid-span deflection vs. time.
served near the supports of each specimen, the emissivity of the
Beam 1 Beam 2 Beam 3 Beam 4 exposed steel surfaces decreases from mid-span (em = 0.7) to the
Point load (kN) 2  70 2  80 2  30 2  70 ends of each beam (em = 0.35). For each simulation, the gas temper-
Failure time (min) 18 73 26 19 ature is defined by the average furnace temperature.
Mid-span deflection 354 442 371 403
at failure time (mm)

3.2. Thermo-mechanical model

After testing different types of finite elements, including solid

full-deep solid one, since the gaps at rib location can be neglected and shell elements, elasto-plastic shell elements were selected to
when compared to the whole volume of concrete. Considering model both the steel beam and the slab. The mesh is made of 4-
horizontal slab isotherms from a small distance from the slab node shell elements for the steel beam and 8-node, 5-layer shell

Fig. 7. Composite beams after the fire tests.

 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228
elements for the slab. The force-controlled large displacements
calculation is carried out on an initially deformed mesh, which re-
quires an initial imperfection. This imperfection, of which a 2-mm
magnitude was chosen in accordance with [7], is introduced in the
mesh via a modal analysis, following a sine deformed web that
underlines web-post instability.
Due to composite action between the steel profile and the slab,
the slab is only subjected to compressive stresses. Only the solid
part of the concrete slab is modelled, without any reinforcement
mesh or steel deck [6]. The shear studs, connected to the steel
upper flange and ‘‘drowned’’ in the concrete, are applied little load
in a fire situation. Hence, they heat up little, maintaining an elastic
behaviour through the fire exposure of the composite beam. As a
consequence, the shear connection is represented by 2-node elastic
beam elements, linking the mid-planes of the steel top flange and
the concrete solid slab.
For both steel and concrete, the mechanical laws are taken from
EN 1994-1-2, referring to the measured values for the material
characteristics at normal temperature (see Table 2). However, to
avoid any early divergence, both horizontal and descending parts
are withdrawn from the steel stress–strain curve (see Fig. 9). The
concrete stress–strain curve is defined by ANSYS Drucker–Prager
model. Assuming a full connection, the Young’s modulus of the
studs has a constant value equal to the Young’s modulus of struc-
tural steel at ambient temperature.
To prevent lateral torsional buckling, continuous lateral re-
straints are applied at upper and lower flange-to-web junction.
The vertical displacements of the steel bottom flange are also re-
strained at the end of the beam to simulate simple support condi-
tions. In order to take into account mid-span symmetry, axial
displacements and rotations about vertical and normal axes are re-
strained. The mechanical load is applied on the steel top flange, and
the thermal load is defined by the temperature field calculated un-
der Cast3M on each node of the mesh.
3.3. Numerical results and comparison with tests
The maximum equivalent plastic strains in the lower Tee of
beam 1 central part (see Fig. 10a) underline a flexural bending fail-
ure after 17 min of heating. The lateral displacements also show
the beginning of web-post buckling near the support (see
Fig. 11a), which was observed during the test.
The equivalent maximum plastic strains in the lower Tee
around the elongated cell of beam 2 underline a flexural bending
failure after 71 min of slow heating, which was already observed
during the test.
For beam 3, collapse occurred after 21 min of heating during
test. The equivalent plastic strains, localized in the upper part of
the last three web-posts (see Fig. 10c), and the magnitude of lateral
displacements in this critical zone (see Fig. 11b) put into evidence
the same failure mode as that observed during the test, i.e. end
web-post buckling.
fay,θ tan-1 (Ea,θ / 1000)
fap,θ
EC4-1-2
tan-1 Ea,θ ANSYS model
εap,θ εay,θ εau,θ
Fig. 9. Typical stress–strain curve of steel at a given temperature h.
2223
For beam 4, after 17 min of heating, the equivalent plastic
strains localized in the lower Tee of central zone (see Fig. 10d)
highlight a flexural bending failure, already observed during the
test.
It can be noticed that overall failure always occurs earlier in the
finite element simulation than in the test, especially for beam 3, of
which mechanical properties were partially unknown (see Table 2,
lower member). This observation is confirmed in Fig. 12, where one
can also notice that beam 1 and beam 4 seem to behave the same
way, regardless of their geometrical differences. Hence, critical
temperatures must be compared to check the model validity.
The temperature distribution at failure time is given in Fig. 13. It
can be observed that unexposed parts of the slab and the steel
profile heat up very little, with temperatures lower than 100 °C.
Regarding the exposed parts of the steel profile, especially the
web and the lower flange, the cross-sectional temperature field is
quite homogeneous. However, in the specific case of beam 3, the
significant thickness discrepancy between the upper and lower
members leads to much lower temperatures in the lower flange
than in the rest of the steel profile.
A comparison of the temperatures calculated in the critical sec-
tion of each beam to the experimental ones underlines a good cor-
relation between the finite element calculation and the tests, with
a maximum deviation of 4% (beam 4, see Fig. 14). The temperature
of the fire-exposed side of the slab calculated at failure time is also
compared against that measured during the test, underlining less
than 10% deviation. Therefore, the finite element model can be
considered precise enough to run thermo-mechanical analyses on
composite beams.
4. Parametric study
Once validated, the model is used in a parametric study aiming
at checking the validity of the analytical method proposed in the
Refs. [10,13] (see Figs. 15 and 16). This analytical method is a de-
sign tool for steel and composite cellular beams at both normal
and elevated temperatures. It follows the principles of the Euro-
codes and is mainly based on the specific failure modes described
before, considering each Tee-section of the steel profile. The inter-
nal forces considered for each failure mode are given in Figs. 15
and 16. Regarding web-post buckling, a critical horizontal cross-
section related to the maximum principal stress is defined, its loca-
tion depending on the cell diameter and spacing (see red1 lines in
Fig. 15). Regarding Vierendeel bending, an inclined cross-section is
considered, from vertical to horizontal direction (see Fig. 16). In a
view to assess the critical temperature, a uniform temperature dis-
tribution is assumed through the cross-section checked. This conser-
vative assumption can be justified when the thickness of the web is
close to that of both steel flanges, and if the steel beam is fire ex-
posed on four sides, leading to a homogeneous cross-sectional tem-
perature field. Otherwise, it can be very conservative, considering
the results given in Fig. 13.
Through this comparative parametric study, the behaviour of
steel and composite cellular beams in a fire situation is thoroughly
analysed, focusing on different parameters.
4.1. Geometrical parameters
For both steel and composite steel and concrete cellular beams,
four spans are studied: 8 m, 12 m, 16 m, and 20 m. The steel
beams, with a symmetrical cross-section, are made of standard
European profiles (HEA 400 or HEM 900). For composite beams,
1
For interpretation of color in Fig. 15, the reader is referred to the web version of
this article.
2224 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228

0 2.9 5.7 8.6 11.4 14.3 17.1 20.0 22.8 25.7 % 0 1.5 3.0 4.5 6.0 7.5 9.0 10.5 12.0 13.5 %
(a) Beam 1 (b) Beam 2

0 1.2 2.3 3.5 4.7 5.8 7.0 8.2 9.3 10.5 % 0 3.5 7.1 10.6 14.2 17.7 21.3 24.8 28.4 31.9 %
(c) Beam 3 (d) Beam 4
Fig. 10. Equivalent plastic strains at failure time.

-12.5 -10.7 -8.9 -7.1 -5.4 -3.6 -1.8 0.0 1.8 3.6 -26.3 -21.4 -16.5 -11.5 -6.6 -1.7 3.2 8.2 13.1 18.0
(a) Beam 1 (b) Beam 3
Fig. 11. Lateral displacements at failure time (mm): (a) beam 1 and (b) beam 3.

only HEA 400 sections are investigated, and the steel beam is fully
connected to a 120-mm deep slab that can be either solid or com-
posite – including a Cofraplus 60 trapezoidal steel deck, commonly
used in the French construction market.
Four types of geometry are shown in Table 4, where Htot is the
total depth of the steel cellular beam. Theses geometries corre-
spond to:
– Eight types of steel beam geometry for each span, i.e. 32 types of
geometry studied.
– Four types of steel beam geometry for each span, i.e. 16 types of
geometry studied.
4.2. Material parameters
4.3. Loading conditions
The mechanical load can be either linear only (steel and com-
posite beams), or combined to a two-point load (steel beams only),
the point load being applied at a distance of about span/3 from the
support. The 30% load ratio chosen in this study is considered.
The gas temperature follows the ISO fire curve for 30 min. Steel
beams are four-side fire-exposed, whereas composite beams are
three-side fire-exposed. The emissivity of the surfaces is equal to
0.7, whether the latter are fire-exposed or not. The convective heat
transfer coefficient is equal to 25 W m2 K1 for fire-exposed sides
and 4 W m2 K1 for unexposed sides [26].
This gives an overall number of 128 steel beams (studied with
Cast3M code only) and 64 composite beams (combining Cast3M
and ANSYS codes).

For each type of geometry, the steel beams are made of either
S355 or S460 steel grade, while the NWC slab is made of either
C25/30 concrete grade if S355 steel grade is utilised or C30/37 con-
crete grade if S460 steel grade is utilised. This gives 64 steel beam
cases and 32 composite beam cases.
4.4. Numerical results and comparison against the analytical method
Results from the parametric numerical simulation put into evi-
dence a fire resistance lower than 30 min in all cases. Three failure
modes are observed, depending on the parameters: web-post
 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228 2225

500 500

T es t T es t
FEA Beam 4
400 400 FEA
Deflection (mm)

Deflection (mm)
300 300
Beam 1

200 200

100 100

Beam 3

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time (min) Time (min)
(a) Beams 1, 3 and 4 (b) Beam 2
Fig. 12. Mid-span deflection vs. time.

12 89.7 167.3 245.0 322.7 400.3 478.0 555.7 633.3 711 ºC 12 84.2 156.4 228.7 300.9 373.1 445.3 517.6 589.8 662 ºC
(a) Beam 1 (b) Beam 2

16 96.9 178.1 259.2 340.3 421.5 502.6 583.7 664.9 746 ºC 16 92.5 169.3 246.1 322.9 399.8 476.6 553.4 630.2 707 ºC

(c) Beam 3 (d) Beam 4

Fig. 13. Temperature field at failure time.

buckling near the support, web-post shear near the support and
Vierendeel bending near point load location.
4.4.1. Failure modes
Equivalent plastic strains and lateral displacements underline
out-of-plane web-post buckling for all 192 steel and composite
beams (see Fig. 17). This web-post buckling can be combined with
web-post shear or with Vierendeel bending for steel beams (see
Fig. 18).
Web-post shear is observed for very slender web-posts, with a
very little e/a0 ratio (61.10), regardless of the initial standard steel
profile, the span and the loading conditions. This failure mode is
also observed on 8 m and 12 m HEM 900 beams with an e/a0 ratio
equal to 1.18 or 1.26. However, regarding 8 m HEM 900 beams,
only point-loaded beams are concerned by this failure mode.
As for Vierendeel bending, the web-post shear failure mode is
only observed on point-loaded steel beams with a span greater
than 8 m and a great e/a0 ratio (P1.49), regardless of the initial
2226 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228

750
70
700
60 -10 %
650
50
600
Test (min)

Test (°C)
40
550
Beam 1 - steel
30
500 Beam 2 - steel
Beam 3 - steel
20 Beam 4 - steel
450
Beam 1 - concrete
Beam 2 - concrete
10 400 -10 % Beam 3 - concrete
Beam 4 - concrete
0 350
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750
Simulation (min) Simulation (°C)
(a) Failure time (b) Critical temperature
Fig. 14. Failure time and critical temperature vs. time.

Table 4
Geometrical parameters of steel cellular beams.

Sections Cell diameter, Cell pitch, e/a0 Overall depth, Htot/a0

a0 (mm) e (mm) Htot (mm)
HEA 400 410 510 1.24 580.5 1.42
610 1.49 559.7 1.37
500 550 1.10 630.7 1.26
615 1.23 625 1.25
HEM 900 955 1205 1.26 1362.5 1.43
1430 1.50 1315 1.38
1190 1286 1.08 1495 1.26
1400 1.18 1487.5 1.25

Fig. 15. Forces in the steel Tee sections and the slab [13].

-53 -38 -24 -9 5 20 34 49 64 78 mm

Fig. 17. Lateral displacements of an 8 m span beam at failure time.

Therefore, the failure modes depend on the geometry and load-

ing conditions, but not on the material properties of the beam.
Applying the analytical method leads to web-post buckling as the
first failure mode for all 192 beams: the critical temperature corre-
sponding to web-post buckling is always lower than that corre-
sponding to other failure modes.

Fig. 16. Inclined Tee section at the location of an opening [13].

standard steel profile. It must be noticed that, for a 12 m span, this
failure mode is only observed on HEA 400 profiles. Failure occurs in
the loading zone where the vertical shear reaches a maximum va-
lue. This failure mode is not observed on composite beams which
are only applied uniformly distributed load.
4.4.2. Critical temperatures
According to the numerical results, the fire resistance of the
beams can be defined as:
– a slightly decreasing function of the mechanical strength;
– a decreasing function of the span (for little e/a0 ratios);
– an increasing function of the span (for great e/a0 ratios).
 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228 2227

0 1.6 3.1 4.7 6.3 7.8 9.4 11 12.5 14.1 % 0 2.2 -4.3 6.5 8.6 10.8 12.9 15.1 17.2 19.4 %
(a) Web-post shear (b) Vierendeel bending
Fig. 18. Equivalent plastic strains on steel beams at failure.

481 500.7 520.3 540 559.7 579.3 599.0 618.7 638.3 658 °C 20 98.2 176.4 254.7 332.9 411.1 489.3 567.6 645.8 724 °C
(a) Steel beam (b) Composite beam
Fig. 19. Temperature field at failure.

20 20
Safe Safe

16 16
HEA400 - 410 - 100
HEA400 - 410 - 200
12 12
HEA400 - 500 - 50
HEA400 - 500 - 115
Δ θcr (%)
Δ θcr (%)

8 8

4 4

0 0
HEA400 - 410 - 100 HEA400 - 410 - 200
HEA400 - 500 - 50 HEA400 - 500 - 115
-4 HEM900 - 955 - 250 HEM900 - 955 - 475 -4
HEM900 - 1190 - 96 HEM900 - 1190 - 210 Unsafe
-8 -8
8 12 16 20 8 12 16 20
Span (m) Span (m)
(a) Steel beams (b) Composite beams
Fig. 20. Finite element model vs. analytical method.

In the case of composite beams, the fire resistance can also de-
pend on the type of slab: at an identical load ratio, a steel beam
connected to a solid slab seems less fire resistant than if it is
connected to a composite slab. However, a reverse tendency is
observed on 8-m beams.
For steel beams, the temperature in the web at failure time
ranges from 610 °C (L = 20 m, e/a0 = 1.23, solid slab) to 730 °C
(L = 8 m, e/a0 = 1.23, solid slab). The temperature in the lower
flange at failure time ranges from 500 °C to 670 °C, and from
270 °C to 420 °C in the upper flange. The temperature of the lower
side of the slab can reach 460 °C, without the slab playing any part
in the overall mechanical failure (see Fig. 19).
Fig. 20 gives the deviation between the critical temperature
from the numerical modelling hcr,FEA on the one hand, and the ana-
lytical method hcr,AM on the other hand. This deviation Dhcr is
determined as follows:
2228 G. Bihina et al. / Engineering Structures 56 (2013) 2217–2228
hcr;FEA  hcr;AM
Dhcr ¼ 100  ð1Þ
hcr;FEA
The values of this deviation are mostly positive, implying that the
temperature given by the analytical method is lower than that from
the numerical modelling in most cases. In other words, compared
results highlight the conservativeness of the analytical method for
all the steel beams, and for most composite ones. For composite
beams, with unconservative cases, the difference remains rather
low (<10%). Besides, this discrepancy seems to decrease when the
span decreases mainly for composite beams. Thus, the analytical
model predicts in the safe side the critical temperature of steel cel-
lular beams. However, its accuracy could be improved to reduce the
gap between the analytical and the numerical values. In the case of
composite beams, the analytical model predicts safely the critical
temperature in most cases. However, it needs improvement for
the cases where the prediction is on the unsafe side even if the dif-
ference is lower than 10%.
5. Conclusion
The use of cellular beams, endowed with aesthetical and
mechanical advantages, requires a good understanding of their
behaviour, at both ambient and elevated temperatures. Therefore,
four fire tests were carried out on unprotected composite cellular
beams, in order to enlarge the fire test output data available for
such beams. The tests results have put into evidence that beams
with slender web-posts and an asymmetrical steel cross-section
were prone to fail by web-post buckling. On the other hand, beams
with ‘‘reinforced’’ web-posts or large web-posts failed by flexural
bending, like solid beams. At failure, the critical temperature could
reach up to 500 °C at slab mid-depth, and exceed 700 °C in the steel
web.
The results from these fire tests have allowed developing the 3D
numerical model presented in this paper. This numerical model
could simulate both thermal and mechanical behaviour of the
tested composite steel-concrete cellular beams. Once validated,
this model was used for thermo-mechanical analyses of cellular
beams in a fire situation.
Besides, an existing analytical method for designing cellular
beams at elevated temperatures was evaluated by comparison
with the finite element model results. The comparison highlighted
the overall conservativeness of the approach. These finite element
and analytical models are checked for isolated beams. This study
can be completed by a more extensive approach to estimate the
real behaviour of cellular beams as integral parts of a floor fully
or partially exposed to a fire.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Research Fund for Coal
and Steel, as well as all partners of FICEB project, especially Dr. O.
Vassart who coordinated it.
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