Resistance of the component ‘lateral faces of RHS’ at high temperature

The component method is the most important theoretical approach for the evaluation of the properties of joints. The present paper tries to extend this method to new fields of application. For this purpose, two subjects that have been traditionally excluded from the application of the component approach were considered: structural hollow sections and fire conditions. For this purpose, the lateral faces under compression of rectangular hollow sections (RHS) were chosen as one of the most important components in joints between hollow sections or between hollow and open sections. To study the resistance behaviour of this constitutive part of the joints under high temperature conditions, experimental and numerical research was carried out to check the validity of some analytical equations. The experimental tests, at ambient and high temperatures, are used to validate the finite element modelling, which allows for a more extensive analysis of the parameters included in the analytical formulation.