Heat transfer analysis can be studied efficiently with the help of so-called modern dimensional analysis (MDA), which offers a uniform and easy approach, without requiring in-depth knowledge of the phenomenon by only taking into account variables that may have some influence. After a brief presentation of the advantages of this method (MDA), the authors applied it to the study of heat transfer in straight bars of solid circular section, protected but not thermally protected with layers of intumescent paints. Two cases (two sets of independent variables) were considered, which could be easily tracked by experimental measurements. The main advantages of the model law obtained are presented, being characterized by flexibility, accuracy, and simplicity. Additionally, this law and the MDA approach allow us to obtain much more advantageous models from an experimental point of view, with the geometric analogy of the model with the prototype not being a necessary condition. To the best knowledge of the present authors there are no studies reporting the application of the MDA method as it was used in this paper to heat transfer.

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The modern steel structures use mostly the intumescent paintprotection against the fire. One of the main problems of these protective paints consists of the layer's thickness in order to optimize both the fire protection's problem and the costs of this protection's procedure. The authors offer some preliminary experimental results on intumescent paints layer's thickness optimization in order to assure as soon as possible the same heat transfer-gradient and also the same strength of the joint's members material.

Summary The authors present the first stage of their theoretical and experimental investigations focused on the fire protection of the steel structures using intumescent paint. In this initial stage, their results concerning the temperature distribution law (the theoretical law is validated by effective meticulously conducted measurements) are described. Their original testing bench destined to perform high‐accuracy monitoring of the temperature distribution along straight bars, having a given αg angular positioning with respect to the vertical direction is also described. By involving this testing bench in meticulously conducted experiments, the authors obtained both the effective temperature distribution along the bars and also validated the theoretical (exponential) thermal distribution law. By searching experiments, they also validate the m = const. hypothesis with respect to the massive cross‐sectional bars. Among their further goals, one can mention the searching experimental analysis on the validity of the m = const. hypothesis for the tubular cross‐sectional bars, followed by a combined experimental and numerical analysis of the 2‐D and 3‐D (unprotected and protected with intumescent paint layer) structures, as well as the paint layer's thickness optimisation, too.

In this contribution, the authors continued their initial study on the efficiency of the analysis of experimentally obtained temperature curves, in order to determine some basic parameters that are as simple and reliable as possible, such as “m”, the heat transfer coefficient. After the brief review of the previous results, on which the present article is based, the authors offered a brief argumentation of the importance of dimensional methods, especially the one called modern dimensional analysis, in these theoretical-experimental investigations regarding the propagation of the thermal field of structural elements with solid sections, and especially with tubular-rectangular sections. It could be concluded that modern experimental investigations mostly follow the behavior of models attached to the initial structures, i.e., prototypes, because there are clear advantages in this process of forecasting the behavior of the prototype based on the measurement results obtained on the attached model.