Thermal creep strain test and model of Q460GJ steel at elevated temperatures

Q460GJ steel is a typical high strength and high-performance structural steel. The thermal creep test on two thicknesses (8 mm and 12 mm) of Q460GJ steel plates at elevated temperatures (400–800 °C) was carried out. The test results showed that the thermal creep strain increases with the increases of temperature and stress. When the temperature exceeds about 500 °C and the stress ratio is greater than about 0.55, the Q460GJ steel plate specimens has obvious creep deformations, so it is necessary to consider the thermal creep deformation of steel at elevated temperatures for steel structural design. The difference in plate thickness does not affect the creep properties of the 8 mm and 12 mm Q460GJ steel plates at elevated temperatures. When the temperature is no more than 600 °C, the second stage creep strain rates of Q460 steel are obviously higher than that of Q460GJ steel while the stress levels are close. The Fields & Fields creep model is suitable for fitting the thermal creep strain-time curves for Q460GJ steel. The findings will contribute to providing theoretical support for design of high-performance steel engineering structures under fire.