Protected Steel and Composite Connections
Actual developments in numerical simulations of the structural behaviour in fire situation are focussed on taking into consideration the interaction of all structural members in a global approach. Therefore it is necessary to simulate the load bearing behaviour of connections. With this motivation, the authors conducted experiments and thermal FE-simulations on two different connection types. In this paper, the accompanying mechanical FE-simulations of both investigated connection types will be described. The joints are defined as an end plate connection in a steel structure and a fin plate connection in a composite structure. Besides the validation of the numerical models, the results of the described investigations show that it is possible to activate a significant moment resistance within fin plate connections of composite structures. The main requirement for this activation is sufficient reinforcement strength.