A Study of The Thermal Performance of Cold-Formed Thin-Walled Perforated Steel Studs (Thermal Studs) in Fire

Perforating thin-walled steel studs in steel framed housing is an effective method of reducing heat loss and improving energy efficiency. Steel studs with perforation for energy efficiency are called thermal studs. This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the thermal performance of lipped thermal studs in fire. Four tests were carried out in the fire-testing laboratory of the University of Manchester, Isowool 1000 was used as internal insulation in all tests. Gypsum boards were attached to both sides of the test sections. All tests were conducted under the standard fire condition and lasted for 2 hours. These test results were compared with those of an existing test using solid steel section. Test results show that perforation had significant influences on temperature distributions in thin-walled steel sections. Even with a very small perforation size. there is a large temperature difference across each perforation. Overall, the temperature difference between the exposed and unexposed sides for a perforated section is much greater than for a solid section, under the same fire condition. These tests were simulated using a general finite element package ABAQUS. The purposes of these numerical simulations are to check the capability of ABAQUS in simulating complex temperature fields, to select appropriate simulation strategy and to determine appropriate material properties.