Stainless steel structures in fire

The initial material cost of structural stainless steel is about four times that of structural carbon steel, largely owing to the expense of the alloying elements and the relatively low volume of production. Given broadly similar structural performance, additional areas of benefit need to be identified and exploited in order to establish stainless steel as a viable alternative material for construction. In addition to the familiar benefits of corrosion resistance, low maintenance, high residual value and aesthetics, one such area is fire resistance. Stainless steel generally displays superior strength and stiffness retention at elevated temperature when compared to carbon steel, but also exhibits greater thermal expansion. The current paper describes experimental, numerical and analytical investigations into the elevated temperature response of stainless steel structures. Comparisons are made with the behaviour of carbon steel structures in fire and proposals for improved structural fire resistant design guidance for stainless steel are described.