A Comparative Study Between Numerical Models and Buckling Tests of Aluminium Columns at Elevated Temperatures

Aluminium is frequently used in offshore structures due to its light weight and corrosive resistance. For all offshore structures, acciden tal fires are events with severe catastrophe potential. This is parti cularly true for aluminium structures, due to the rapid strength degr adation of aluminium at elevated temperatures. Reliable fire response prediction models are essential for design and fire safety assessmen t. Experimental tests are needed to evaluate strength models for alum inium under elevated temperatures. In the present study state-of-the- art material and FEM models for ahuninium frame structures are compar ed to experimental data obtained in tests carried out at the Norwegia n University of Science and Technology and SJNTEF Civil and Enviromen tal Engineering. The tests include AA 6082 alloy aluminium columns at ambient and elevated temperatures. Some of the tests at elevated tem peratures are carried out with constant load with increasing temperat ure, while other tests combine constant temperature and increasing lo ad. The test results of columns of the tempers T4 and T6 are compared with results from analyses with the computer programs USFOS (Ultimat e Strength analysis of Framed Offshore Structures) and ABAQUS. Analys es and tests yield similar collapse loads, while some divergence is f ound for axial compression and lateral deflection.