Appropriate assessment of the fire resistance of structures depends largely on the ability to accurately predict the material response at elevated temperature. The material characteristics of stainless steel differ from those of carbon steel due to the high alloy content. These differences have been explored in some detail at room temperature, whilst those at elevated temperatures have been less closely scrutinised. This paper presents an overview and reappraisal of previous pertinent research, together with an evaluation of existing elevated temperature stainless steel stress-strain test data and previously proposed material models. On the basis of examination of all available test data, much of which have been recently generated, revised strength and stiffness reduction factors at elevated temperatures for a range of grades of stainless steel have been proposed, including four grades not previously covered by existing structural fire design guidance. A total of eight sets of strength reduction factors are currently provided for different grades of stainless steel in EN 1993-1-2 and the Euro Inox/ SCI Design Manual for Structural Stainless Steel, compared to a single set for carbon steel. A number of sets of reduction factors is appropriate for stainless steel since the elevated temperature properties can vary markedly between different grades, but this has to be justified with sufficient test data and balanced against ease of design -it has been proposed herein that the eight sets of reduction factors be rationalised on the basis of Gardner, L., Insausti, A., Ng, K. T. and Ashraf, M. (2010) . Elevated temperature material properties of stainless steel alloys. Journal of Constructional Steel Research. 66(5), 634-647.

The initial material cost of structural stainless steel is about four times that of structural carbon steel, due largely 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. The mechanical and thermal properties of stainless steel differ from those of carbon steel due to variation in chemical composition between the materials. A comparison of these properties for austenitic stainless steel with those for structural carbon steel is presented herein, and implications of the differences explored.Accurate and efficient determination of the temperature development within a structural member upon subjection to fire is paramount. In this paper, comparisons of temperature development in structural stainless steel sections are made between existing test results, numerical simulations and the simple calculation model of

Material properties and their response to elevated temperatures form an essential part of structural fire design. At elevated temperatures, stainless steel displays superior material strength and stiffness retention in comparison to structural carbon steel.Although independently important, the relationship between strength and stiffness at elevated temperature also has a significant influence on the buckling response of structural components. This paper examines existing test results and presents the results of a numerical parametric study, using ABAQUS on stainless steel columns in fire. Sensitivity to local and global initial geometric imperfections, enhancement of corner strength due to cold-work and partial protection of the column ends is Improvements of 6% for column buckling resistance, 28% for stub column (crosssection) resistance and 14% for in-plane bending resistance over the current Eurocode methods are achieved. Ng, K. T. and Gardner, L. (2007). Buckling of stainless steel columns and beams in fire. Engineering Structures. 29(5), 717-730. 2

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